Hi all, my partner and i from Canada, are trying to plan out a 3 week trip to France but we also want to see Belgium mainly for the bridges and pubs. We don't really want to rent a car. So we hope to travel by train and bus mainly, unless some one has any other ideas. Could some one give an approx. good route that we could take that would probably look like around 2 weeks in France and 1 week in Belgium. It sounds like alot of people are recommending Bruge in Belgium.
Thanks
A difficult request, since we dont know the time of year, or your budget, interests, priorities, or previous experiences in Europe. Given France's size, and it's many disparate regions, all of which are worth a visit, I would suggest first looking at a few guidebooks or online tourism sites to help narrow down your choices. Keep in mind that the more rural areas can be harder to reach by public transportation. You might start your research here: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france
Bruges is indeed often recommended in Belgium, as are Ghent and Antwerp. What bridges are you interested in?
Depending on your final itinerary, you might consider multicity flights (not 2 one ways), flying into one city from home, then returning from your final city. This would work especially well if your itinerary included places in the south of France, like Nice or Marseille.
Welcome to this newsboard cwallace, with your first post.
Month of year?
France is a huge country, and it's unclear what you don't "need" to see. Belgium is a big enough country that you can't see wide parts of it in just a week. It's a unclear what you mean by "bridges." Belgium does have good system of unreserved local train service that covers many places, including some smaller cities and towns. Among the main interests people have in Belgium are medieval town centers, alas, surrounded by prosperous postwar sprawl.
In most cases, both France and Belgium are often visited by taking multiple daytrips by train from a base city. Here are some examples, just to give you an idea of what many posters on this newsboard do.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/loire-base
Your perfectly good idea is heavily impacted by the radial nature of most rail networks. This is particularly true of France, where Paris (for instance) has many train stations, each one serving "that direction" of the country from the station. Even locally, to visit more than one town in a day can require choosing from towns that happen to be on the same rail line. For example, despite its popularity, Bruges, Belgium is a "spur" journey from Brussels, and even if it weren't a rich, full-day destination, would take time to get there and back to Brussels (or Antwerp, a place I much prefer to Brussels.)
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains
You mention pubs, but not "beer". I say that because abbey brewing (requiring a car) is a notable interest of many visitors to Belgium.
What kind of bridges interests you? There are ofcourse bridges in Belgium but as far as I know not that to my opinon merits a journey. So can you tell us more?
An easy way to get started might be to click on the "explore europe" link on the left side of this website; select France; select "plan" and look at the suggested itineraries for a 2 week stay, and explore the descriptions of various towns and regions. Then do the same for Belgium for a one week stay. You may ultimately choose to add places recommended elsewhere. There is no need to restrict yourself to RS recommendations but they are a place to start; it covers the most popular areas for tourists. Train travel within Belgium is quite easy. Train and bus travel in France is good in many areas but there are some places where a car is preferable so you can choose accordingly. If you fly into France and end your time in France in Paris, you can then take a train from Paris to Brussels or another location in Belgium such as Bruges or Ghent (my preference) ending your trip to fly out of Brussels. I would also suggest, as others have, consulting guidebooks and providing more information on your plans and interests for better advice
Read RS Belgium and France Guides, for starters and perhaps develop some structure for your idea. As everyone has pointed out it’s a lot of territory to cover and while three weeks is generous you’ll spend a lot of time getting around. You’ve got to participate by creating a framework and then letting people critique your ideas. It’s not a trip to an amusement park but a complex trip with benefits to be had if YOU participate in planning.
We have done several trips to France and know that in three weeks, you will only see the tip of the iceberg.
Suggest visiting Strasbourg, France and the Alsace region.
Also, Normandy for 2-3 days.
Those places are close to Paris, as are the Loire River Vally, which has some great Chateaux in the Blois area.
If you are interested in WWI history, then visit Verdun.
We did a great Rhone River cruise for the SE area of France, but you probably don't have time to do that.
Belgium, Brugges is not to be missed.
Hi all and thank you for all your comments. Here is our draft itinerary for any further comments. Ideas of what to do in each location and hotel recommendations would be helpful too. We are pretty relaxed about staying places. mid range hotels or air bnb's. We're more into the culture than the fancy places but the odd fancy place is great too if it has something special about it. popular local food/drink places are good. Also local music in pubs, etc.
Leave: Sat. May 2nd 2026 Toronto
Arrive: Sun. May 3rd 2026 Brussels (approx. 7 hours)
Week 1
Sun. May 3rd
Walk around city
Stay in Brussels at
Mon. May 4th
Walk around - see Grand Palace square and the city
Breweries - See Cantilla, and Brasserie de la Senne
Stay in Brussels at
Tues. May 5th
Train from Brussels to Brugge
Walk around and see the bridges
1.5 hours
Stay in Brugge at
Wed. May 6th
Walk around and see the bridges
Stay in Brugge at
Thurs. May 7th
Train from Brugge to Brussels
1.5 hours
Flight from Brussels to Bordeaux
1.5 hours
Stay in Bordeaux at
Fri. May 8th
Stay in Bordeaux at
Sat. May 9th
Stay in Bordeaux at
Week 2
Sun. May 10th
Stay in Bordeaux at
Mon11th
Train from Bordeaux to Montpellier
4 hours
Stay in Montpellier at
Tues. May 12th
Stay in Montpellier at
Wed. May 13th
Train to Marseille (Port town)
2 hours
Stay in Marseille at
Thurs. May 14th
Stay in Marseille at
Fri. May 15th
Bus/taxi from Marseille to Aix En Provence
½ hour
Stay in Aix En Provence at
Sat. May 16th
Stay in Aix En Provence at
Week 3
Sun. May 17th
Bus/taxi from Aix En Provence to Marseille
½ hour
Train from Marseille to Nice
3 hours
Stay in Nice at
Mon. May 18th
Stay in Nice at
Tues. May 19th
Stay in Nice at
Wed. May 20th
Train from Nice to Lyon
4 hours
Stay in Lyon at
Thurs. May 21st
Stay in Lyon at
Fri. May 22nd
Stay in Lyon at
Sat. May 23rd
Train from Lyon to Paris
2 hours
Stay in Paris at
Sun. May 24th
Stay in Paris at
Mon. May 25th
Stay in Paris at
Tues. May 26th
Flight from Paris to Toronto
