We are taking the RS Belgium Netherlands tour ending in Amsterdam Saturday April 25. Plan on taking a train to Brussels Airport Saturday and picking up a rental car to head to Bastogne to meet Reg Jans for Battle of Bulge Tour on Sunday April 26. Looking for hotel b&b suggestions in Bastogne or very nearby for two nights. Thinking of then heading to Ettlebruck as a base for two nights and looking for accommodation recommendations there as well. Quiet is first order of the day, easy parking, and charming would be nice .
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8917 posts
We used Booking.com to find a place, the map lets you know where the place is, you can look at hotels, B&Bs, and apartments, as well as see if parking is included.
If no places meet your fancy, you can simply look on Google maps. there are not that many hotels in the town.
Posted by
3712 posts
In 2019, we stayed at the Hotel Melba in Bastogne. It is currently the #1 Bastogne hotel on TripAdvisor. It is quiet, has parking (we didn't have a car), and is very well located. It's not physically charming, but the staff were polite 6 years ago.
https://www.hotel-melba.com/en
Reg Jans is a wonderful guide - hope you enjoy your time with him.
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
2307 posts
Less than an hour away is the major fortress of Sedan, which has seen a lot more fighting then Bastogne ever did. This is where the French held in WWI, where Rommel was stopped in WWII, and where for over 600 years this river crossing in the Ardennes has hosted major battles. It's also a huge fort. And while I have not stayed there, they have a really nice hotel. Easy parking, good restaurant, interesting town.
Posted by
Belgium
107 posts
This (Sedan) ... where Rommel was stopped in WWII
Who told you this? Sedan was undefended and just run over. Perhaps read here for the real (very successful story) of Rommel's 7 PsDiv https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/A_bias_for_action_-_the_German_7th_Panzer_Division_in_France_%26_Russia_1940-1941_%28IA_biasforactionger00stol%29.pdf
Posted by
San Francisco
15669 posts
I heartily agree with seeing Sedan.
It is the site of a perfect battle of encirclement in 1870, (Kesselschlacht), where Napoleon III and his 120,00 professional troops were boxed in by the Germans mastered minded by Moltke and compelled to surrender.
These French professional troops were released earlier than had been planned so that they could be used to slaughter their fellow citizens in the Paris Commune.
In 1940 the German Tank Corps under Guderian crossed the Meuse at Sedan. Rommel's "Ghost Division" in the other Tank Corps crossed Meuse at Dinant in 1940.
You can reach Sedan by train from Charleville-Mezieres in the Champagne Ardenne region. I went to Charleville Mezieres in July but the day's trip in exploring the centre-ville was cut short because ominous clouds and I didn't want to be caught in the open in a drenching downpour.
Posted by
San Francisco
15669 posts
It is true that in May of 1940 the Germans were quite concerned about their extended flank, once they crossed the Meuse, only the Panzer commanders didn't concern themselves with this.
Rommel was indeed counterattacked by the British, which he easily beat off. This was near Cambrai on 20-21 May.
In Arras (and I've seen this specific site twice) in the centre-ville there is a stone marker telling of this armored counterstroke undertaken by the British (no details listed on what happened), it is assumed the reader of the stone marker knows what took place.
How? The dates are given , 20-21 May 1940. From that piece of info the reader should know.
I had no knowledge of this marker's existence, a French woman in Arras showed me this site.
Posted by
Seattle
154 posts
In Bastogne, I stayed at the Hotel Wagon Léo, which has a brasserie as well. It is well located in the center of the city, and offers its guests discounts in their restaurant.
Posted by
Somewhere out there
188 posts
The Rick Steves Chapter of the Liddell Hart military history club is alive and well here.