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

If you go to Ghent, the Ghent Altarpiece is awe inspiring. Feel free to pm me as I know Flanders very well 😀

"If we're going to use a 'local' name, why not use the Flemish one? "

Some of the English names have historical connotations.

If local people ask for the Dutch name to be used even in English, that's a different matter, but they haven't done that.
Welsh people have asked for Snowdon to now be known as Yr Wyddfa and Brecon Beacons as Bannau Brycheiniog, but a similar thing hasn't happened in Flanders.

The country Turkey is now supposed to be known as Türkiye but I suspect it will take a lot of people quite some time to come around to it.

And yes of course, people visiting Flanders should do the most basic research before going there and should now which language is spoken in which region in Belgium. I think the most basic travel guide or web entry would alert tourists to the language situation of Belgium.

I think the Belgian coast is amazing - just a shame it's summer weather is as reliable as the UK's because the beaches are fantastic.

We were staying somewhere just over the French border on the coast and made the mistakes of assuming French would be the lingua franca. They asked us to switch to English and just because our French was rusty.

I was in a shop on the coast when a French guy (French not Belgian, could see from his car number plate) and spoke to the ladies in French. The atmosphere cooled by about 10 degrees, partly because his attitude was a bit arrogant.
In decent French she said 'I don't speak French; let me go and get someone who does.' Kept him waiting for ages, until eventually someone appeared who was 'the only French speaker in the staff'.

No they won't do that because it's a lost cause - look at the football commentators inability to pronounce De Bruyne correctly. No wonder the poor guy looks pained every time he gets interviewed.
But it is a bit of an oddity. Everyone says Zebrugge not Zeebruges, and yet they call Brugge Bruges, even though Zeebrugge is the modern version of Brugge.
That is presumably because it has only come to prominence since Flemish has pushed back a bit - in the past Flemish was very much suppressed, which is part of the reason that Flemish guard their language quite strongly, although they blooming love speaking English!

Oh and just to add if you are interested, it's not that long ago that over the border in that bit of France the language was Flemish, not French. You still see that in the place names, which are Flemish/Dutch, not French.

That reminds me of an experience I had on my first visit to Belgium many years ago when I was a student, Interailing with a friend. There used to be a great bike hire system at Belgian railway stations - I don't know if they still do it. But you could hire a bike at a station and return it at any other, so my friend and I decided we would get a bike in Ghent and ride to Bruges. As we approached the hire desk, the young man started talking to us in Flemish which neither of us understood a word of so we decided we'd try French as that was probably better than being typical British tourists and insisting everyone speaks English. We had rather out of date O level French and he seemed reluctant to speak French but we eventually managed to explain what we wanted and complete the transaction. We were feeling quite proud of ourselves, not realising how lots of Flemish people feel about French. The final thing was that he asked for ID, so we both produced our passports at which point the grumpiness disappeared and he laughed saying (in perfect English) "Oh you're British,why on earth didn't you just say so?!"
That took the wind out of our sails somewhat. 😂

Bruges is absolutely great for 3 days. I wouldn't go for a week though. Go on a horse drawn carriage ride, canal boat ride, up a windmill, tour of diamond , chocolate and beer places. Buy some gorgeous Belgian chocolates and lace is lovely in Bruges too.

We absolutely loved Ghent.

All fantastic suggestions up thread.
I would just suggest getting the train there rather than flying. It's tons less stressful drops you off right in the centre. And time wise by the time you have checked in and gone through airport security etc its often faster

I’m going to disagree with the majority and say Bruges is amazing. Yea it’s touristy. For a reason. It’s stunningly beautiful and actually if you stay in Bruges in the evenings it’s actually not that busy. There are some fantastic bars and restaurants. I’ve visited countless times because I absolutely love it and am still finding corners I’ve not explored. Ghent is also very nice, Brussels is not all that pleasant. I would base myself between Bruges and Ghent for the majority of the time with maybe a day in Brussels

I'm up in the north east of England so it would be more of an ordeal for me to have to get the train to London first, and then get the train back after (also really expensive to get to London)

Bruges is expensive, we ended up budgeting at least £50-60 per person for a meal out and that was with 1 small drink each, a good 10 years ago. Adds up quickly over the course of a few days.

As others have mentioned atomium is amazing and very underrated, especially at night. Nicer than the Eiffel tower imo.

I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time OP. I know you're only going to be in Brussels for one evening but in case anyone else wanders over to read this...

Brussels is a working city with pockets of stunning beauty, usually under Leopold's influence. The Grand Palace was jaw-dropping and we loved the museums including the Museum of Musical Instruments and the Comic Arts.

What blew us away was our last afternoon when we decided to wander over to the pretty Parc du Cinquantesaire and loitered by the aircraft / Army museum there which looked very unimpressive from the outside. Still, we had time to kill and went in - and were stunned. None of us are that into this stuff but it was brilliant- and HUGE. Proper wartime aircraft and planes and, well everything. We agreed afterwards that it's one of the best museums we've been to - a real hidden gem

We felt like this about Brussels too: had such a good time. Everyone told us there wasn’t much to see there but we really fell in love with it. It felt like a smaller, less pretentious Paris.

That's interesting because I didn't think much of the military museum, mainly because I'm not into that kind of thing.
I love the Museum of Fine Arts, the ancients part rather than modern or Magritte, but my favourite museum is the Belvue, a small museum on the history of Belgium. It's very royalist, which is not my thing at all, but I just adore that little place.