– to Brussels-South-Charleroi (CRL) or

Brussels (BRU) 

Brussels-South-Charleroi airport (CRL) is a 40-minute drive from Dharma City and traffic jams are not frequent.

From Charleroi airport: Ryanair flies to Charleroi airport.

1st option: by taxi

Take a taxi from Charleroi airport to Dharma City. SEE MORE DETAILS (link)

2nd option: by bus.

Take “Bus A” to Charleroi-Central train station. The bus is to your left when you go out of the airport. The journey takes 11 minutes. Then take the bus 138b to Florennes (details in the BUS section BY LOCAL BUS)

You can take the ticket in the bus. “Bus A” from airport to Charleroi Train station: 6 euros. Bus 138b to Florennes 3,50 euros. You need to have enough cash (cards are not accepted in the bus), coins or small-denomination banknotes.

Brussels airport (BRU) is about 75 minutes from Dharma City if there is no traffic. Dense traffic jams are expected at peak hours.

From Brussels airport (BRU):

1st option: taxi

take a taxi from Brussels airport to Dharma City SEE MORE DETAILS (link)

2nd option: train + bus

take the train from Brussels airport to Namur or Charleroi, then a bus or a taxi SEE MORE DETAILS (link)

There is a train station in the airport level -1.

You can take the train to Namur (change at Brussels-North / +- 1h30 in total), or you can take the train to Charleroi-Central (change at Brussels-North, +-1h40 in total).

Plan your journey on the Railway website.

At the train station, take a taxi to the Retreat Centre, or a local bus (more in BY BUS SECTION)

The closest train station are Charleroi-Central or Namur. (Note that the  Charleroi-Sud train station was renamed as Charleroi-Central in 2022)
You can plan your journey and see the prices for tickets here https://www.belgiantrain.be/en. You can also check the train and bus schedule in Google map.

From Brussels airport:
Take the train to Brussels North,
change to the train to Charleroi or Namur,
then take a taxi SEE MORE DETAILS (link) to Dharma City or a local bus to Florennes (bus 138b from Charleroi to Florennes or E86 from Namur to Florennes, see  BY BUS section for details)

From Brussels (North / Central /Midi train stations):
Take the train to Charleroi or Namur, then a taxi SEE MORE DETAILS (link) , or a local bus to Florennes (more in BY BUS section).

Train stations which are closest to Dharma City:

• Charleroi-Central: 29 km, 30 to 45 min from Dharma City by car – this is an important train station with direct trains to Brussels (note that this train station was called Brussels-South before Dec 2022).  Buses and taxis are available to Dharma City.
• Namur: 34 km, 35 to 55 min from Dharma City by car – this is an important train station, direct trains to Brussels. Buses and taxis are available to Dharma City.
• Godinne: 22 km, 22 min by car (direct trains to Brussels and to Brussels airport. Taxi at agreed price  to Dharma City are available, but no bus.)
• Gembloux: 40 km, 41 min (direct trains to Brussels, but no bus to Dharma City. Taxi at agreed prices to Dharma City is possible but must be booked well in advance)
• Philipeville : 13 km, 14 min (on the local line 132 Charleroi – Couvain, but no bus or taxi at agreed prices to Dharma City)
• Auvelais : 25 km, 30 min (on the local line 130 Namur-Charleroi, no bus or taxi at agreed prices to Dharma City)

BY INTERNATIONAL BUS

Flixbus https://global.flixbus.com/ offers trips to Charleroi from many European cities.  (for example from Paris, Maastricht, Lisbon, and many more cities, check the list here https://global.flixbus.com/bus/charleroi).

The Flixbus bus stand in Charleroi is located Rue de la Villette, at the back entrance of the main train station.

From Charleroi take a local bus:

BY LOCAL BUS

Plan your trip on the TEC website. There are timetables and routes.

• For Charleroi-Central train station, use “Charleroi-Central”
• For Namur train station, use “NAMUR Gare des Autobus ”
• For Florennes, use “Florennes Place de la Chapelle”
• For Dharma City, use “Florennes ferme pavillon” (very local bus, runs only on school days)

Bus 138b from Charleroi-Central to Florennes
From Charleroi-Central train station, take bus 138b to Florennes (45 min.) – or bus 137a to Mettet, if you really have no other option.

(Note that the  Charleroi-Sud train station was renamed as Charleroi-Central in 2022)

Bus 138b schedule https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vgSeNk500YLzNvU5N-aDssKtORQlGzI6/view?usp=share_link

Bus E86 from Namur to Florennes
From Namur train station, go to bus station Platform 8. (located on the 2d floor of the train station). Take bus E86 and get off at Florennes Place de la Chapelle (55 min).

Bus 138b schedule https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gOcEou4P9grAo70z_kmTWLpvJXudecUV/view?usp=share_link

From the bus stop in Florennes to Dharma City

The main bus stop in Florennes Place de la Chapelle is +- 30 minutes walk from the Retreat Centre. The road is not safe to walk. If you are in Florennes, give us a call and we’ll find someone to pick you up (we do not pick up people in Mettet, Charleroi, Namur or anywhere else).

Small bus 61 to Dharma City

Bus 61 runs between Florennes and Mettet and stops in front of Dharma City (the name of the bus stop is “Florennes ferme pavillon”).
Unfortunately this bus runs only a few times per day during the week, and never on the weekends

Bus 61 schedule https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P0vryeXcxli7vkgOecYknd8IM_v3tGHo/view?usp=share_link

We asked local companies for their fares and we attach the list

SEE MORE DETAILS (link)

They are available for people travelling to Dharma City all the year long. Before the start of the course, participants can try to share a taxi. 

You can always contact us through info@zpi.patrulrinpoche.net if you need assistance to book a taxi. To get the best fares, book your taxi several weeks in advance.

A few days before the end of our major events, a volunteer will organize taxi sharing.

Taxi on the meter
From Charleroi airport to Dharma City: the price in 2022 was approximately 100 € on the meter for an ordinary taxi, but you may ask for a fixed price

Once you are in Belgium, you can try to find someone who drives to Dharma City. Drivers are usually communicating through the Telegram App, on the “Car Sharing Dharma City – Brussels” group.

Contact us by email if you need more information: info@patrulrinpoche.net