My husband and I are traveling to Belgium in about 10 days and have booked a hotel in Ypres but now are thinking maybe Bruges, which we will visit for a day, would be better Does anyone have a particular opinion or preference?
Posted by
Gettysburg, PA
1589 posts
" particular opinion or preference" ?
Bruges has a lot to offer in terms of the ambiance & scenery, imo.
Posted by
PA
2737 posts
If you have interest in it, staying overnight in Ypres will allow you to observe the "Last Post" ceremony at the Menin Gate, without then having to rush to a connection to get elsewhere. Bruges is not a direct connection from Ypres.
Posted by
Fredericksburg, VA
236 posts
Barbara: I would go with the overnight in Bruges. Bruges is beautiful in the evening and has wonderful restaurants and is just enjoyable. However, as Larry mentioned, if attending the "Last Post" ceremony at the Menin Gate is something you want to do, then you probably need to stay in Ypres. They have a nice museum there as well. You can watch a "Last Post" ceremony on youtube and decide if it interests you.
Posted by
PA
2737 posts
I will just throw in that last year we did a day-trip to Ypres solely so we could observe a "Last Post" ceremony and pay our mental respects. it is very moving, and in its own way Ypres is a little fairy-tale town, as is Bruges. Primarily we did not overnight in Ypres because we ran smack into a a huge celebration and school week-off and could not get the lodging we wanted, so we trained from Ghent, and then the next day went on to Bruges. We were thus in this corner of Belgium from a Saturday evening through Thursday morning, and enjoyed all of it.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks, all! Very helpful. Sounds like spending time in both places is worth doing, which is our plan.