Hello, we are visiting Belgium in June and are having to re-evaluate our time. Suggestions please. We are well-traveled, early 60s. We are booked at the Hilton in Brussels for 3 nights (but are considering adding two nights, as, when using points, book 4, get the 5th "free" and includes breakfasts). We prefer to not move hotels every 2 days, so hoping that we can be satisfied with one or two day trips to Ghent - is one day enough? Its about 45 minutes each way by train, I believe. Bruges seems to be 90 minutes from either Brussels or Antwerp, but can it be a day trip or it best visited with a 1 or 2 night hotel stay? Is Antwerp worth a night or two? Dunkirk and Flanders Field ~ anyone visit those from Brussels? We enjoy history, museums, etc. We have "Rick's" recommended sites to visit in each of these cities. We can walk 5-7 miles in a day.
Posted by
The Netherlands
1348 posts
You can definitely do day trips to Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp and Ypres from Brussels. Trains are frequent, see the official website of the Belgian national railway company for schedules
https://www.belgiantrain.be/en
In case you’re 65 years or older, be sure to read their information about the senior ticket; https://www.belgiantrain.be/en/tickets-and-railcards/senior-ticket
Dunkirk is a bit more difficult to reach since it’s in France, but it can also be done.
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
1995 posts
Ypres (Ieper in Dutch / Flemish) is not so well connected with Dunkirk / Dunkerque with the train and actually Brussels too. So visiting both this way in one day is to my opinion not doable. Besides this a visit to Ypres is more worthwhile including the sites outside town like Tine Cot and the nearby Passendaele Museum in Zonnebeke. Unless you join a tour you will need a car.
As Dunkirk was heavely damaged during WW2 it’s not an attractive place and a reason to visit is for Operation Dynamo, there is a little museum near the beach and a memoral too. Worth if you really want to see it. Interesting too and having time are both former V2 launch bases Le Blockhaus and La Coupole near Saint-Omer between Lille and Dunkirk.
Worth considering too is the Atlantikwall Museum near Oostend(e).
You can drive from Brussels, or take a highspeed train to Lille just across the border in France and rent from there. Tournai / Doornik and Veurne are interesting stops to consider driving back to Brussels.
Ofcourse you can't all do this in one day, see it as an overview what to do heading west from Brussels for deciding what is worth visiting.