Germany or Belgium in the spring?

Your time is limited so Brugge and Ghent could keep u busy. Brussels has very little of interest.

Both countries are great to visit.

I lived in Augsburg, Germany for four years and loved Bavaria. There is more to see in Southern Germany and nearby Austria than in Belgium.

You can see Brugges, Ghent and Brussels in two or three days, since you have nine days, if you choose Belgium, I would advise you to visit Amsterdam or even Paris. Take the train.

If you go to Germany you could fly into Munich, visit that city for three days, then down to Berchtesgaden and Salzburg, Austria. Then head to Garmisch, Germany and see the castles there, go up on the Zugspitze, the see Oberamergau, then head up to Augsburg and if possible take the Romantic Road, at least as far as Rothenberg on the Tauber it is a perfectly preserved Medieval City. You probably don't have time to do the Romantic Road unless you cut your time in the other places, but consider it as an option.

Germany for me in the spring.

Southern Germany would be nice in the spring. But Belgium and the Netherlands would be very nice as well. It's only a couple of hours by train from Brussels to Amsterdam. And April should be prime viewing for the Keukenhoff (sp?) gardens!

Belgium and maybe add Antwerp. The Grand Place Brussels is worth a day trip

Posts that state that an entire country or city has nothing to see amaze me.

Belgium is beautiful, with a marvelous coastline. Besides Bruge, Brussels, and Ghent, there is also Antwerp or even Ostend. Lots of museums & galleries, beautiful churches, great food, interesting Art Neuveau architecture, especially in Brussels. All of the war history with battlegrounds to visit. Walking along the coast and seeing the bunkers left over from WW2 nestled in the sand dunes is chilling.

That said, Germany is very pretty in the spring time. The trees are all in bloom, and the weather is usually pleasant. The Taunus mountains and the many quaint towns near Frankfurt as well as the Rhine Gorge with its' many castles make landing here a plus.

What are your interests? This will help you get better replies with things to see and do in each country.

Thank you everyone; we pulled the trigger on Brussels RT tickets. Glad we did because prices were back up much higher as of last night.

Ms. Jo, we are very happy travelers and enjoy just about everything! Exploring new places, both big and small, architecture, museums of different varieties, history, nature, cultural events, food and wine and beer, castles, ruins, and more!

Bruges looks wonderful and romantic to me. Going to the tulip fields would be an absolute highlight if we have time (wondering if we should save Netherlands for another trip). I would be interested in WWI history at Ypres.

I am very loosely considering Amsterdam 3 nights, Antwerp 2 nights, Bruges 3 nights (visit Ghent and Ypres from there), Brussels 1 night. More moving around than we typically like to do but it seems to be a bit normal for travel in this area? I can start a new thread in Belgium if that would be better.

Also, Ghent is a nice base - it's more of a hub to get to other spots (Antwerp, Bruges), so if you didn't want to change places, you could stay in Ghent the whole time and daytrip.

We did NL and BE for the first time this past April. Seeing Keukenhof and biking around to gaze at the tulip fields was absolutely amazing. And we loved Belgium - probably because we went in with no expectations - we spent 3 nights in Ghent, stopping in Antwerp on our way from NL and spending the afternoon. From Ghent we daytripped to Bruges and Ypres and spent a few scant hours in Brussels on our way to Paris. (We stayed 5 nights in Ams and 3 in Dordrecht).

Now, weather is every changing from one year to the next, but I really should have packed a few warmer sweaters and some light gloves for NL (we went early April). Arrival day was gorgeous, then the temp dropped and the winds came up. It was quite nice by the time we got to BE.

If you do decide to do NL and Keukenhof, post another thread or PM me and I can tell you about our experience there and time of day to go and whatnot (well, what worked for us).

I think you're overestimating travel times a little here. Brussels and the Netherlands are small and next to each other. There's no reason you can't combine a few places in both countries on a 9 day trip.

Also since you're going in April, it would be a sin not to go to the Keukenhof to see the tulips. I planned a cheap Amsterdam trip around airfare a couple years ago, just happened to realize after booking that it meant the tulips were in season. It's an easy trip from Amsterdam with a tour bus or you can drive yourselves.

Belgium.

Belgium is my favourite European country for a few reasons. The first is it should not exist. Flanders is The Netherlands with a different king, Wallonia is France with a king.

Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp in Flanders. Brussels in itself.

Namur, Bouillon, Vielsalm, Liege in Wallonia.

Belgium is a fascinating country and one of its jewels is Bouillon in Luxembourg-Belge.

Yes to what Sarah said about short travel times - you can take a train from Antwerp to Amsterdam in under 90 min.

https://www.rome2rio.com/ is an amazing website for travel times - I use it a lot when planning...it shows you average bus/train/driving/walking times between spots. Even public transport within cities - what lines go where - it's a great resource.