Villages close to Brussels and Antwerp

Dinant and the old town of Ghent are worth a visit.

What do you mean by villages? I for instance think that Ghent, Leuven, Mechelen are as charming as Bruges, but I would call them cities. Just like I call Bruges a city, not a village.

Month and year of travel?

It's helpful to understand that the many magnificent "medieval town centers" of Belgium tend to be, today, embedded in sprawling postwar, low-rise, masonry cities. Some "old towns" are large, others are very small (if often the same high quality). Because of traffic and medieval street plans (!), it can be annoying to navigate to a parking garage (often underground), and pay for a one-hour stop at a small one.

This area is very prosperous and crowded. Having a car is simply not recommended. Daytrips by unreserved train (typically five per hour or more often) are easy and cheap. (Because of business, my wife (sometimes with me) often drove from Antwerp to Turnhout, and it was always over an hour of agony, in stop and go traffic, like an American "mall strip" on Saturday. One time, a reckless motorcycle took off her side mirror, without stopping.)

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/belgium/day-trips-from-brussels-768c7c85-75b9-4374-ad13-ae36967bc521

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/belgium/day-trips-from-brussels-besides-bruges-and-ghent

You need to understand that there are no wooden shacks that the American and Canadian G.I.'s just left behind. All the brick and stone old-towns are "ready for tourism", although parking can be in short supply. Antwerp has a (19th-20th century) historic town that was abandoned during the latest "new river port" construction, but it is only open a few hours on Sundays. Medieval Fort 5/Mortsel in Antwerp used to be open on Sundays. Some town halls (none of them over 200 years old) are open by tour on Sunday (tickets at the TI), and not to tourists any other time.

I happen to like Turnhout, because it is quiet and untouristed, and has a feel of prosperous local living. I'd compare it to Amersfoort in the Netherlands. (Have not been to Turnhout in ten years.) Lier is also less touristed, but more historic than Turnhout. (see links above, I think.) The open air museum mentioned there is also very nice, if not a real village.

I would also make the point that Antwerp is a huge city, that is "different" in every direction you might walk (and Tram tired legs home.) For example, the family-life on weekends in the Rivierenhof public park is absolutely charming. The historic Cogels Osy Lei in Antwerp is often overlooked. I once took the bus to the end of the line to get a look at Antwerp's disused airport, but was not really successful.

In Belgium there are just a handful of places you can really call villages (and not cities or towns) that are charming enough to merit a visit to MHO. To think about Damme and Lissewege, but too close to Bruges and so too far away from Antwerp and Bruges.

Bruges is not without reason a top destination, but Mechelen between Antwerp and Brussels is to my idea the best alternative. Easy to reach by train within a half hour from both places, car is a burden in this case. Leuven has a stunning Gothic style town hall and very lively being Belgiums most well known university city, has one of most charming beguinages of the country too btw.

Bergen / Mons isn’t bad too, but more worth to visit if combining it with Doornik / Tournai and maybe even with a visit to Lille just across the border in France. Bergen takes about 1 hour with the train from Brussels, Doornik some 15min. more.

Nevertheless I would go to Mechelen.

Finally: Rule of thumb is using the train for visiting cities and a car for exploring the countryside in Belgium and the Netherlands.

I am also a fan of Leuven, although a big fire 100 years ago means many of the buildings are not so old. The lovely [Catholic] University of Leuven Library building has been rebuilt twice, once after German bombing, and once after American bombing. The interior of the magnificent Town Hall can only be visited by a Sunday tour booked at the TI.

People are answering what they think the OP means by “village” but I am curious what the OP means and wants.

By village I meant a town/city that is smaller in size than Antwerp or Brussels. Although I guess size may not be important. What I want is a town/city that is convenient to both Antwerp and Brussels because we will probably need to travel there. I don't want to stay in either of these cities because I prefer a place that is less crowded and has charm. We were hoping that we could find a place that has the feel of Bruges.

Thank you all for your answers.

deirdre, thank you for the additional details. I mainly sleep in Antwerp, because there is so much to do. But perhaps one answer to your question is Ghent. Many posters here enjoyed their stay in Ghent, whose old town has some (smaller) aspects of Bruges. Theoretically, if you can get a room, it is possible to stay in Bruges and train to Antwerp and Brussels, even though Bruges is to one end of the high-tourism area.

It is probably true that my NYC upbringing makes me like staying in Antwerp, but it is not a high-rise city, and I find that it has a great deal of charm. One problem with pretty Lier is that the old town is a long walk from the train, and a change is needed for some destinations. One problem with pretty Turnhout is that there are few attractive rooms (DO NOT stay at the Best Western), and there is not a lot to do other than restaurants. I have said before that Antwerp has some of Amsterdam's ills, but what European city does not?

I have to repeat that driving with a target of Antwerp or Brussels will not be a pretty picture. My wife (company paid) parked in Antwerp because she and her colleagues were not willing to spend two weeks in Turnhout or Beerse. The knew they would pay the driving price, and accepted it. (And it was 12 years ago! European tourism is way up, as well as local wealth.)

BTW, Turnhout has a superb cathedral, with excellent wood carvings, and a nice Art Deco town hall, which (ten years ago) was open to the public. The Beguinage, playing card museum, and town museum are all excellent. I believe they built a huge underground parking garage near the cathedral. But Turnhout is not a center of tourism. With a car, interesting Turnhout restaurant (if still open today):

Bistro Het Meulderke, Cash Only? Steenweg Op Mol 40 lat="51.321438" lon="4.961399" (x Mon dinner and Tues) 0475-87-38-83 French steaks presented for inspection before grilling.

I would not stay in Turnhout if I could not get Hostellerie Ter Driezen, Heretalsstraat 18 (OLD hotel report!). But I refuse to recommend that you stay in Turnhout! I can get behind the Mechelen recommendation, but it is not a "small" place, and there is not as much to do as Antwerp - which cannot be seen in three full days.

Thank you so much.
Your reply was very helpful.

To this I would add Durbuy - it's no secret, it's very popular with Dutch holiday makers. But you should also google Flemish Brabant and you will get a number of rural communities close to Brussels (stately homes, breweries, gardens).

Lavandula

Fully agree that Mechelen has indeed a vibe comparable with Bruges. And both have in common the history of the Burgundian period. Bruges was the wealthy seaport and commercial city, Mechelen the administrative capital of the Low Countries for a while during the 15th and 16th century. It has also the second highest number of classified buildings in Flanders. As I said in my earlier post it would be my choise too.

The recently renewed Museum Hof van Buysleyden is topnotch and hope to visit it soon. There is also a brewery "Het Anker" offering guided tours.