After much going back and forth and changing calendars my husband and I have booked a last minute trip to Belgium for the week of Christmas/NYE. We’ll have 7 days on the ground 24-31. I’ve been to Brussels and Bruges before but it’s been years and I went in the summer time as a college backpacker. Otherwise location was chosen based on ease of getting there and ticket prices. So I have no idea where to begin planning! We are fine with dreary rainy weather. It’s home climate and we’ve done Amsterdam this same time two years ago. I love the dark and twinkly lights of season. We enjoy WW2 sites, museums, architecture, beer, Christmas markets (I know the don’t compare to Germany). Some other threads have recommended a home base like Ghent and day tripping into other towns. Is that the better move for shorter stays like ours?
Posted by
Hickory, NC USA
527 posts
In April this year, we split our stay as 3 nights in Bruges, with a daytrip to Ghent, and 2 nights in Ypres, with a full day tour of WW1 sites and a visit to the excellent In Flander's Field museum. We were happy with our choice. In Ghent we particularly enjoyed the visit to see the Altarpiece and we did the virtual reality beforehand. I'm glad we added that, as we learned a bit. In Bruges, one of our highlights was a private evening photography tour and just walking around town is a joy. Can't help more bc what we did didn't really cover your list of interests.
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2135 posts
Nothing wrong with Ghent. The Christmas Market is bigger compared to the one in Bruges. Does it mean it’s better? But I think you must be lucky with the weather in the first place. It influences the atmosphere and as you have already booked you have to make the best of it in case it doesn’t cooperate as desired.
From Ghent it’s easy to take the train to Lille in northern France, takes 1h 15min. , from Bruges some twenty minutes more. Especially the old part, Vieux Lille is with it’s cobbled streets and flemish style buildings an enjoyable place to visit. Worth visiting is the Museum of Fine Arts there. All mentioned places are beautifully illuminated after sunset and to my opinion the best time for a stroll.
For WW2 you can visit the Atlantikwall Museum near Ostend / Oostende. Easy to get to with the coastal tram from the railway station. This trip easy to combine with a visit to De Haan, known for it’s Belle Epoque architecture and the temporary home of Albert Einstein before he moved to Princeton. For everything related to the Battle of the Bulge it will take to much time to my idea from Ghent or Bruges.
Other places you can visit are Mechelen and Leuven. Brussels has a few very interesting buildings in Art Nouveau style, especially those designed by Victor Horta. Antwerp has it’s Zurenborg district with it’s turn of the century architecure. For more art museums Brussels and Antwerp have a lot to offer.