Belgium

"...not big on churches and museums." It might be worth opening your mind to these options a little. If you have formed this conclusion without having been to Europe, it may change your mind. If you are wandering the cobblestones and need a place to sit for a few minutes and happen upon a random church somewhere, the beauty within might surprise you. On a hot day, it can provide a nice cool down. You might be the only people in the church, or the only tourists anyway. There are all sorts of museums. In Bruges there is a hospital museum that I thought was really interesting. A mixture of old medical equipment, art and religious artifacts. Should say though that if you are wanting to avoid touristy areas, Bruges has many of them.

Maybe a daytrip from Bruges to Ieper and the WW1 things nearby. It is an easy drive -- but if you won't have a car then I think there are some tour companies that do day trips. Lots of sites -- trenches, cemetaries, memorial gate and ramparts in Ieper. We are not huge museum people -- but the WW1 In Flanders Fields one is very special. Interactive and well done. My family -- older teens.early 20's -- thought our day doing all this was very interesting. We all learned things about a war we knew little about.

Do you have RS guide book that covers Belgium yet? If so, good. If not, you should get one as soon as possible as it has lots of good information that we used when traveling thru the places you have mentioned. Happy travels

We were in all three cities in September. In Brussels we stayed at Les Escrins, about 10 minutes from Grand Place near Saint Catherines. We had an apartment, but they also have rooms. We loved the location, and the owners could not be more friendly. In Bruges we stayed at Hotel Egmond, which is a small B&B in Minnewater Park, fairly close to the train station. We loved the location, but our room was really small. We did Ghent as a day trip. All three cities provide endless opportunities for wandering cobblestone streets. The food and beer are both great. Do you like castles? there is a very good one in Ghent. We also went to Bastogne, but you can't get there by train. We took a train up to Ostende from Brugges. It's very close. I thought the city was really ugly, but the beach is pretty. You can take a tram along the coast and get close to nature, but we didn't want to spend the time. In Brugges, you can rent bikes and ride along a canal to the village of Damme, and then all the way to Holland if you are inclined. We loved Belgium! I hope you do too.

In Bruges, Absolut Verhulst is a great B&B. The town is great for wandering. Check RS book for bike tour if you like that-it was great. In Amsterdam, Boogaard's is a nice B&B as well. Trains are easy among those cities.

If you want to hike in Belgium, look at either the Eifel mountain in the far east, the Meusse valley south of Namur, or the Hoge Kempen near Genk (not Ghent)... Without a car, though, these will be difficult. I also agree that Oostende is not a particularly attractive seaside town. But De Haan, a dozen or so kilometers up the coast, is. If you want a nice walk along a wide sandy beach in an elegant little town, try this one. You can reach it via public transportation from Oostende.

I like Ostende with the beach, the sea, the dunes, the old WW2 gun emplacements along the beach, and the chocolate isn't quite as pricey as in Brugge. Have you had a look at what you could see in Antwerp?

If you have not seen the movie In Bruge rent it. If nothing else just for the travel aspects...but is entertaining too.
Sounds like a great trip.

Bruges is wonderful, but the movie "In Bruges" is horrible! In no way is it a motivator to visit. The movie will make you think the town is filled with crime and horrid people. We watched it before our visit last year and now laugh our heads off about it -- but while the movie was playing my husband looked at me and said -- Why are we going to Bruges???????

Janet, Isn't that the underlying joke of the whole movie. The Colin Farrell character can't see what a beautiful place it is? A very dark comedy, and not everyones' cup of tay.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Bruges. I really liked Ghent (the Graslei is cool, with a Romanesque warehouse; and you can tour Gravensteen Castle) and also Tongeren (has Roman and medieval walls), one of the two oldest cities in Belgium along with Tournai. Tournai is another favorite and much of its sights you can see as you walk around town, since you said you aren't big on churches. Tournai's Roman and medieval roads still exist; it has a Roman gate which was used in the Middle Ages to protect the town from invaders. Its cathedral is huge and I recommend it to you only because it has a fascinating archaeological history - it's built over Roman baths, a defensive gate from the first Christian church built on this site, and 3 successive Carolingian churches. Near the cathedral is an outline of stones in a small square that shows the foundations of the first Carolingian church built in this area.

That museum is actually in Louvain-la-Neuve, which is significantly to the south of Brussels. There is a Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art in Brussels, which has a small amount of material on Kuifje/Tin-Tin (I read him in Dutch, so I tend to use that name...). I wouldn't really recommend this museum unless you have a good working knowledge of French or Dutch. Unless you're familiar with Belgian comics, you'll probably only recognize the Smurfs... ...speaking of which, they're pretty pissed off in Belgium about the upcoming CG Smurfs movie. Having seen the preview, I can understand why.

In Bruxelles is the Tin-Tin museum. Look up Tin-Tin at your library before you go. I know you said you're not museum people but I think this one is different. I haven't been yet but follow it and the movie, rumored to be underway by S. Spielberg. The museum is on my short list and looks intriguing. The author and artist, Herge, have a large international following. Probably worth a visit. http://www.museeherge.com Hope this helps. Terry Constable
Prague, CZ

I loved "In Bruges" !!! Speaking of Bruges, after doing the touristy things in the town center, you MUST go a couple of blocks away from the center - you'll have the town to yourself. (do this in ANY town/city!) Walk around the lake, go see the windmills, etc...You'll probably be the only tourists you see. If you want "wandering around cobblestone streets and nature/hiking", it's a very good place for that. OK - maybe not 'hiking' LOL, but...

I second the side trip from Bruges to Ypres (or Iepres), especially the In Flanders Field Museum. This is a very good interactive museum that will take you through all aspects of the Ypres war effort. My husband and I also liked Bruges the best after 5 when the "bus people" (day trippers) left. Wandering around the streets then were so special, we still talk about those wanderings. Also, loved In Bruges...and we talked about it when we were in Bruges, pointing out locations for certain scenes.

imho the area around the Grand Place is the only place to stay in Brussels. Great architecture, good for walking and nice restaurants. Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert, the oldest indoor shopping mall in the world, is located a couple of blocks off Grand Place. Most of Brussels is very plain, but the old town is charming. Near Brussels is the Waterloo battlefield; perhaps you can get a tour if you are interested.

My partner and I did a trip to Paris in 2004 and did a side trip to Tournai, Belgium for the day. It was a "roots" trip for me as my ancestors are from that town. It was pouring down rain all day, but it was great. Beautiful main square, massive cathedral that looks more like a castle (the largest in Belgium I believe, but you might want to check that), and a really cool bell tower that you can climb up and look all over the town. We ducked into a great restaurant for beer, chicken and fries, and were the only ones there. If I remember correctly, the main square had those whymsical fountain jets that shoot out in long blurps.

Check out Leuven. It is a stop on the train going east out of Brussles. Has some wonderful architecture, and a great town square with restaurants. Also known for Stella Artois, if you like beer.