The Hague or Ghent

[Messyisthenewtidy]

I was musing over popping over to Amsterdam or Bruges on the bus for a couple of days when I saw that maybe Ghent or The Hague were nice cities that were less touristy.

Has anyone had any experience of these cities and any recommendations for where to stay?

Anyone?

My sister lives in The Hague and I am very fond of it. It's not funky but it has some lovely old buildings, great art galleries etc. You can easily get to the beach too. We had a really nice family holiday when we house swapped.

Another time we stayed at a very swish hotel that was chosen for how close it was to my sister's house, so probably not much use to you.

PS: The Hague is a lot less touristy than Amsterdam in my experience.

I don't know the Hague but Ghent is lovely. A bit like Bruges but less twee and with more of a lived in feel. I stayed with a friend there so don't know hotels but you would want to look for something in the old town, not the station area as that's quite far from the centre.

I thought my thread had died so this is great thanks! Both sound so nice tbh.

Ghent is gorgeous!

Amsterdam is gorgeous!! I've been to bruges, love it but Amsterdam by far...

Both lovely! The Hague is nice with kids as you can have beach fun with your city break.

Delft is another good one—vibrant but without the tourists.

We Airbnb'd in the area last year (on boats and a farm as I wanted something different for DD, but there were some lovely apartments available).

I much prefer Ghent to Bruges. It has a younger vibe and it is a bigger place. The University means that there are some cheaper places to eat too. Yes there are some scruffy/run down bits but you can easily avoid those.

We didn't really get the hang of Delft (as we struggled to find somewhere to park and DH went into a huff). They have a great IKEA with an organic bakery though! Oh and they still stock 3m curtains (UK IKEA has cropped theirs to 250cm).

Den Haag is also a great place, with the attraction of being near the coast. We loved the Escher Museum. For me it seems a little more Amsterdamy.

If you enjoy live music - then den haag
Basically wander round in the evening, listening to music coming up stairwells until you hear something you like!

I haven’t been to The Hague, but I really loved Ghent. The Novotel in the centre has a pool, and the city is just lovely for wandering around (and eating waffles).

We've been to the The Hague many times and I think it's beautiful. There is so much to see there and it's very pretty. There's also a beach very close by. Have never been to Ghent so can't compare the two but The Hague is a great place to visit.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. I once had a great time checking out the beach bars in Scheveningen (the seaside part of The Hague). But the beer's probably better in Ghent...