I am starting to plan our trip(surprise for my wife and my 40th birthday gift to me) for June,July or August of 2010.I know these are peak times,but that's when the weather is best.I am looking at staying in Bruges the entire time,but am open to the possibility of splitting the stay between two cities(i.e.Brussels and Bruges)My hope is to stay somewhere off the beaten path in "actual"non-tourist towns,but have the access to transportation we need to easily move about the country and into the Nehterlands.What recommendations can you help me with?Is May a nice month to be there?Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!Perhaps you can suggest other towns to stay in.I can't wait to go!!!!!!
Posted by
Grand Rapids, MI, US
37 posts
Hi Terry. I got back yesterday from a 17-day trip that included Bruges & Amsterdam in the Low Countries. Brussels is about an hour train ride from Bruges. Amsterdam is about a 3.5 hour train ride (with connections) from Bruges. We stayed in Bruges two nights. This was enough for me. It's pretty touristy but it gets quieter at night and it's very pretty. Amsterdam was great. We were there three nights & I want to go back for longer. Rick mentions several small Dutch towns in his Amsterdam, Bruges, & Belgium book that includes Delft and Edam. I'm not familiar with any in Belgium. Trains are super easy in the low countries. Have fun planning!
Posted by
Powell River, Canada
359 posts
Terry; don't forget Antwerp. Easy connections to Brugge, Brussels, and the Nederlands. May is perfect in that part of the world (or should be)and while April can produce snow (2 years out of 3 when I was living in Den Haag) it's gone within a day. Intercity trains (versus Thalys) from Antwerp will get you anywhere you want to go in the low countries for 1/2 the price and no advance reservations.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Although I love Belgium, "off the beaten path" in this country can be a little underwhelming for tourists unless you speak the language. Plus, without a car and a working knowledge of Dutch, it can be difficult to explore the more rural areas not services by rail, at least in Flanders.
Here's a list of some places to research that I have enjoyed, besides the ones already mentioned: Hasselt, Ghent, Leuven, Kortrijk, Sint-Truiden, Oostende, Blankenberge, Dinant, Namur, Waterloo, and Tongeren. Near the city of Genk in Limburg province, you can visit one of the more impressive outdoor folk museums in Europe, Domein Bokrijk.
If possible, I would consider going in the spring. Temperatures at this time are usually very pleasent, and all the tulips will be in full bloom. July and August can occassionally be uncomfortably muggy.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
8955 posts
It has been a few years since I was there, but we thought Antwerp was fun and interesting. From Brugge, you can take the train abut 15 min. and be in Oostende on the North Sea. This is kind of cool. Love the beaches there. They have a tram that goes all the way down the coast, right next to the beach. You can walk the sand dunes, see the old German gun emplacements left there on the coast, and the downtown area is fun for shopping, especially for chocolate. We have been up there on the coast about 6 times and have never had a problem with language. Lots of little towns around and taking public transportation was easy in Belgium. I think Brugge is very pretty, but the masses of tourists there can be somewhat annoying, especially in the summer months.
Posted by
Wollongong, Australia
2 posts
When we were in Belgium last September, we spent a few days touring the WW1 battlefields along the Western Front. Ieper / Ypres (depending on whether you are French or Belgian) was very interesting and close to many of the WW1 memorials, including Tyne Cot, There is an excellent museum there called 'In Flanders Fields' and at 8pm every evening, there is a memorial ceremony held in the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, in the centre of the town, to commemorate all the Allied soldiers who went missing in Flanders during WW1 and who were never been found. We found accommodation and food to be relatively inexpensive and it certainly was not touristy... make sure that you sample the chocolate and beer!
Posted by
blacksburg/toronto, va/on, us/ca
8 posts
we had a nice time in Ghent, it is a good deal less touristy than brussels or brugges, though both of those cities were fun too. for 7 days though.... I'd just do brussels and brugges. brussels will keep you busy for 7 days easy in itself, so much to see and do, we were there for 7 days and saw about half of what we wanted to. Leuven is another great town about an hour from brussels.
Posted by
washington
837 posts
Just returned from 3 weeks in the area. Mid May was quite nice, a bit late for tulips. We spent one day in Bruges, a side trip from Brussels, and felt we saw everything. Now, that did not include museums. Brussels is wonderful and the old section takes several days to cover. However, without question, we found Amsterdam to be the jewel. We stayed there five nights, including side trips to Den Hague, Delft, and Haarlem, and would love to have had more. Haarlem is great for a day or so, but like Bruges, quite small. We find the City Walks boxes of 50 walking tours wonderful for all available cities. There is one for Amsterdam. Could easily spend a full week in Amsterdam alone.