We will be flying into Amsterdam in September, meeting family in Brussels five days later. We have four nights with no plan and we're looking for a quaint, or fun, or interesting place to spend four nights before we go to Brussels. We will spend a few days in Amsterdam at the end of the trip before heading back to the US. Any suggestions are appreciated!
Posted by
NorthCarolina
1283 posts
we are not fans of Brussels. Glad we saw it, but 1-2 nights was plenty for us. We LOVE LOVE LOVE both Ghent & Brugge. Small, quaint, amazing architecture, both on gorgeous canals.
Posted by
Sydney, Australia
368 posts
Utrecht? Leiden? Antwerp? All of these would be OK (they are all on the most direct pathways to Brussels) but I don't know if your relatives would want to show you their Antwerp. Or you could go more off the beaten track and try somewhere like Maastricht, which is not on the way but it is not hard to get back to Brussels from there. Delft is also nice and there is a bit to do in that area (porcelain factory), plus you could take a day trip into Den Haag. I guess Delft you would call quaint, it's very picturesque. Maastricht is a little bigger and doesn't really feel Dutch, you don't get any of that typical architecture that reaches down into the Flemish cities. It is what they call Burgundian in lifestyle and food and drink.
Or you could go really off-piste - somewhere like Middelburg or Vlissingen (which gave its name to Flushing, NY). That would be a real change of pace. Not really a foreign tourist destination, Zeeland is unspoilt and has a maritime climate. That is where Belgium's mussels are grown. Middelburg and Vlissingen are medieval cities and would be lovely for a couple of days.
Lavandula
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2407 posts
Four nights mean three whole days. If you want to have a few relaxing days Middelburg and Vlissingen can be certainly interesting.
I would use Middelburg as a base. You can do there the usual tourist things like climbing Lange Jan, the bell tower of the abbey. Magnificant views of Middelburg and the peninsula of Walcheren. Visiting the Kuiperspoort with adjacent alleys and the streets around the Oostkerk. Not to miss is Veere, a little historic harbour and one of the cutest places in the Netherlands. It’s easy to reach with the bus or if you like e-biking you can explore the whole peninsula of Walcheren. Domburg is an old fashioned sea resort that has kept it’s character very well.
https://www.zeeland.com/en/visit/islands/walcheren/towns-and-villages/middelburg
Did you know that the telescope and likely the microscope too are invented in Middelburg? There is a little museum next to the gothic style city hall, but only open each Friday from 7:30 PM. If you are interested contact them anyway.
https://www.lansbergen.net/en/visitor-information
Etty Hillesum was a Jewish diarist and died in Auschwitz. Her birthplace in Middelburg is nowadays a museum.
https://ettyhillesumhuis.nl/en/
Further you can visit the Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier, the world’s largest movable dam. There is a visitor centre.
https://www.rijkswaterstaat.nl/en/projects/iconic-structures/eastern-scheldt-barrier
https://www.neeltjejans.nl/en/park/
If you are interested in WW2 you can visit the Liberation Museum Zeeland in Nieuwdorp. It’s about the Battle of the Scheldt playing a crucial role for making the port of Antwerp operational. That port played an essential role in liberating Europe, think worthwhile to know. There is a bus stop in front of the entrance of the museum
https://bevrijdingsmuseumzeeland.nl/en/
For going to Brussels / Brussel you can take the ferry from Vlissingen to Breskens and from there the bus to Bruges / Brugge. You can store your luggage at the railway station. The historic centre is at walking distance. There are direct trains to Brussels with a stop in Ghent / Gent, where you can store your luggage too at Sint-Pieters railway station in case you want to visit it too.