The main language in Brussels is French, but given that it is home to a number of expats and is very cosmopolitan in nature like Washington, D.C., English is very much part of the lingua franca here. However, all menus and signs are in French, Dutch and English since there is a large Dutch-speaking population in the Belgian region of Flanders to the north and the French-speaking region of Wallonia to the south. It's no surprise that the menus are as big as chapter books! There is also a very small Germany-speaking region at the border of Belgium and Germany; however, German is not prominent in Brussels.
The main currency used here is the euro. Occasionally, if you're using a card that the machine or system recognizes as a U.S. card, you may be asked if you would like to pay in euros or U.S. dollars.
Water here is actually quite expensive relative to its price in the U.S. You can just about never get water for free, and it usually costs somewhere from 2,00 - 3,50 euros! In currency numbers, we use commas in Brussels like we use periods in the U.S. for dollars.
