Belgium recommendations

[user1471522161]

Hi all,

Looking to book a last minute trip to Belgium for in a couple of weeks time. Would be flying into Brussels, however have heard Brussels itself isn't great. I definitely want to go to Bruges, other potentials are Ghent and Antwerp.

I will only be there 3 full days - where is best to stay as a base, Bruges or Brussels? And would people recommend bothering with Brussels? Or focusing on Bruges/Ghent/Antwerp, or elsewhere?

Thanks

Depends what you like doing really. Brussels has some lovely architecture and good museums. Antwerp has lots of cool shops and the Red Star Line museum is excellent. Some good restaurants too. Bruges is very pretty - but a day is sufficient to have a look round and do a boat trip. I really like Ghent - the centre is pretty like Bruges but doesn't have nearly as mainly tourists. The Gravensteen castle is worth a visit. The centre is not that close to the station though. I would probably stay in Brussels (Novotel or Ibis or Hilton) right near Central Station and do day trips - the trains are frequent. Gent and Antwerp are about 30 mins, and Bruges slightly longer

Brussels is actually not bad at all: nice museums, some great architecture, good food, easy metro and trams and some great shops. It's very walkable for a capital city.

We go to Ghent a lot as it's close to us, it's a lovely place with lots to do, friendly and safe. Bruges is nice but can be ridiculously busy and is very touristy.

The coast is not great, Ostend in particular is a dump, some of the smaller coastal towns are ok but a bit concreted over.

There's some lovely bits in the Ardennes in the country but the towns tend to be less nice.

Have a lovely time!

I'd agree with the recommendation to base yourselves in Brussels, which has much to offer, and to add on a couple of day trips.

All the places you mentioned are well worth visiting, but as you'll just have three full days, personally I'd probably spend a day in Brussels and then also visit Ghent and Antwerp.

I love Belgium and agree that Brussels is an interesting city. But of I only had 3 days I probably wouldn't spend them all there. Maybe you could get a city tour on your arrival or departure day to take in the main sights?
Bruges can feel a bit like a theme park rather than a real place when it's busy but it is beautiful* *and definitely worth visiting. Ghent is also an interesting place to visit.
Are you planning to visit the WW1 battlefields at all? Obviously there is a lot there but you can get a decent overview of things in a day if you book on a guided tour. Ypres is again, touristy, but amazing. I think the Menin Gate is currently under restoration, though I'm not sure when that's due to finish.
Belgium is one of my favourite holiday destinations but given 3 of my biggest interests are cycling, history and chocolate that's perhaps not surprising! Have a great trip.

One day in Brussels, one in Bruges (beautiful, but very touristy and 'artificial) and one day in either Antwerp or Ghent. Ghent has a canal like Bruges, but is a more vibrant, real city.

I take offence at Ostend being a 'dump'. The Belgian coast is very over-built and not the most beautiful, but there's nothing really wrong with Ostend in this context. It's a place to go in the middle of summer though, not in a few weeks' time.

Ypres is quite far away to do in a 3-day trip if Brussels in the base and you also need a car really because the Last Post is around 8, which is later than the last train back to Brussels.

I wasn't assuming Brussels was the base though. The OP has asked for ideas "elsewhere" in fact.

Stay in Gent and tour from there by train. It's beautiful and not over-touristy. Antwerp and Brussels are both nice to visit. Bruges (which is actually called "Brugge") is full of day trippers wondering why the locals aren't speaking in French; if you skip it you aren't missing much.

FWIW, the locals don't speak French in Gent or Antwerp either; an amazing percentage of Flemish-speaking Belgians are more fluent in English than in the other main official language of their country. Some people make not speaking French a point of political pride. (On a related note, Ypres is actually called Ieper.)

As she's flying into Brussels, I think it would make sense to make Brussels the base, or somewhere not too far away.

"(On a related note, Ypres is actually called Ieper.)"

It's called Ypres in English, just like Brugge is called Bruges in English. You used Gent, Antwerp and Brussels yourself rather than Ghent, Antwerpen and Bruxelles/Brussel. There's nothing wrong with using the English names in an English conversation when the locals don't object.

wondering why no one has suggested Leuven. It's 20min from Brussels and way way way better than disneyland Brugge. One day is enough. Then I'd do Antwerp amd Ghent. I'd stay in Antwerp, ie in between the other cities.

I stayed in Ghent for 4 nights last April and did day trips out to Bruges and Antwerp by train which was really easy. Ghent is great as a base, pretty busy in the day but day trippers leave in the evening when it becomes a little more chilled -with lots of great food and drink options. Loved Antwerp and thought Bruges was a little toy towny and very very touristy. But hate complaining about that when I am, in fact one of those tourists.

I like Belgium a lot and although Brussels is a great place to live, I wouldn’t stay there if I only had 3 days. I would stay in Antwerp op and visit Ghent and Bruges from there.

What are you interests op? Are you a foodie or are you interested in WW1? Or Art Nouveau architecture? Or beer and chocolates? Lace? Bicycling? Do you have young dc with you?

Well, Ieper is what you'll see on the road signs. Good luck driving around Ostend or Kortrijk and trying to find Lille in France, because some of the signs still say "Rijsel".

Also, on both sides of the linguistic divide, there are quite a few people who do object. I've seen a sign to "Luxembourg" vandalised in (bilingual) Brussels because it didn't also say "Luxemburg". I'm sure they will grin and bear it coming from a tourist, but I think it can be useful to know that there is an issue. (A lot of Brits still seem to think that everyone in Switzerland speaks French too...)

Also if you go to Leuven you are not far from the best-named town in the whole world, Erps-Kwerps. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Erps-Kwerps,+3071+Kortenberg,+Belgium/@50.9006222,4.550457,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x47c3de37083b7193:0x7ef6bcba602ffac5!8m2!3d50.9006097!4d4.5607782!16s%2Fm%2F0479m0d?entry=ttu

We love Belgium - lots of lovely places further east which aren’t too touristy. Might not be feasible on this trip, but the area around St Truiden/Tongeren/Hasselt/Maastricht is nice and historic. Mechelen is also worth visiting.

Otherwise, Ghent is a lovely town and Antwerp is good for shopping and restaurants. I’m not a huge fan of Brussels myself but the Grand Place is beautiful.

I spent my 40th birthday in Brussels and everyone was telling me I should spend longer in Bruges but I loved Brussels.

I went to the atomium on the first day and wandered around the city. We went to the Musee des Beaux-Arts and to see the Magritte exhibition which as a full day and AMAZING.
We wandered around town and saw all the different areas on our third day, never even made it to the EU part of the city. There are fabulous seafood restaurants. My favourite was Nordsee where we ate on the street with chilled white wine.

There were some areas with nice cocktail bars and live music. Other nice things to do such as coffee shops and bakeries.

I'd have like to go to the musical instrument museum.

You could do a day trip to Ghent, mechelen or antwerp or leuven.

I wasn't that bothered by Bruges but e had a nice few days there. I preferred Brussels.

DH loved the beer!

"I've seen a sign to "Luxembourg" vandalised in (bilingual) Brussels because it didn't also say "Luxemburg"."

That's totally different. Signs in Brussels should obviously be bilingual.

I thought you were trying to tell OP that she needed to use the Dutch names for Flemish towns when she's speaking in English and I don't agree with that. Neither to any Flemish people I've met. Yes, of course, they have issues with people assuming they're French speakers and speaking to them in French without asking first whether they'd prefer English or French, but they don't generally object to people using the English names for their towns while having conversations in English.

Bruges is absolutely fantastic. Nothing beats it IMO. Not at all "theme park" like as a PP said. So much to see and do. Ok it does get busy but I like that about it. It's bustling, vibrant, architecturally stunning with lovely friendly people and we are going again later this year for the third year in a row.

It's great, I totally agree, but while I didn't call it a theme park, I did say it was a but artificial and I stand by that. It should definitely be one of the places OP sees, but it's also good to see some of the normal life you can see in Ghent or Antwerp.

Thanks so much everyone for all of your suggestions. We have extended the trip to 5 nights, with flight times we will have pretty much 5 full days there, as there was so much we wanted to do! Staying 3 nights in Bruges and the final evening in Brussels 🙂

Planning to potentially get the train to Ghent and Antwerp if we have time for day trips! Very much looking forward to it.

Ghent is worth a day trip, hope you can do it whilst you are there. Word of advice that Belgians only seem to get upset if you speak the wrong language for the place you are in, so no speaking French in Bruges I suggest.

I love Belgium. I disliked Bruges but Ghent was my favourite place.
Antwerp is lovely and Brussels itself a lovely city. But I loved Ghent the best

Yes, but what is a bit strange is that we use the French names of those cities. If we're going to use a 'local' name, why not use the Flemish one? That's historical because the French speaking Belgians were the toffs/in charge and that was who we copied. Lots of British people think that speaking French in Flanders is being polite, but actually they'll probably be pissed off. Unless they're from a bilingual family, they'll only speak French as a language as a second language, not their home language. They all speak excellent English anyway.
Anyway the coast is not a dump. It's absolutely beautiful. Be warned that the people from the coast aren't the friendliest though but they're like that with everyone so don't take it personally.