Belgium - Battle of the Bulge tours

Not sure about TI in Brussels, but if you google Bastogne/Battle of the Bulge I think you'll find guide we DIDN'T use. We sort of did a self guided tour based on "band of Brothers" series. We went in February,lots of snow, but as realistic as US soldiers had it back then. I think you'll love it IF you are into WWll "stuff". IF you rent a car, MUST have gps, otherwise you'll lose a lot of time. Many good small museums around Liege, Bastogne area! As I've been told, a lot of WWll tanks etc. were melted down so there are not that many tanks that survived. Hopefully October weather would allow you to walk into the woods at Foy, they say some of the fox holes can still be seen. IF, you are taking a loved one consider a splurge in SPA, Belgium; Radison Hotel and Spa, an indoor/outdoor pool/spa, quite amazing. Our trip started from near Koln and made a special effort to see Siegfried Line. Very amazing,many are unchanged due to the cost of having to remove structures. If you show more interest, I'll review and give more precise details. Also there were enactments going on while we there. Try going to Trip Advisor, click onto Bastogne or BOB FORUM and see what you uncover

I think you could do it on your own, especially if you find the right book here in the states. We stayed 2 nights in Bastogne for that reason, enjoyed the Hotel Collin (and Cafe 1900 ) last month, even tho RS says Bastogne isn't the best location for the B of Bulge. It is a big area . There is a museum in Bastogne as well as the Mardasson Memorial Hill, and a TI in the square next to a tank. We had a car and drove to the military museum in Diekirche, Lux. which is said to be the best Battle of the Bulge Museum ( only 5 euros). Also drove to a field where foxholes are supposedly visible ( on private property) but too grassy; saw only the peace forest and a small monument to one of the Airborne Divisions. Handy to have the GPS.
The Ardennes are really lovely and the food and drink @ cafe 1900 was delish- especially the famous Ardennes ham.

PS The official name of the museum in Diekirch is "the Museum of the Battle of the Ardennes" . The TI address in Bastogne is www.paysdebastogne.be But this site was good reading before we left: http://www.visitbelgium.com/?page=bastogne-waterloo#TOBelgium

Found some of my notes pertaining to BOB trip. We stayed at Hotel Melba,a Best Western brand, don't remember much, was OK,cost 114 euro for 3 people, Feb. of 09. I agree with previous poster, Musee Historique Al Brauerei Dikirch, was fabulous, almost too much to see, you could probably stay there for hours and not see it all. Also check out this one: www.baugnez44.be We came from Spa/Liege and went south from Bastogne, a little out of our way to Diekirch and then towards Luxembourg (There is an American Cemetery there, Patton is buried there). BTW, it's also interesting to visit both armies Cemetery's and note the young age many men died at. What a shame! We then traveled to Trier, saw an amazing huge Wall left from the Roman Empire. There are several other small museums scattered about in the general area of Bastogne, a little research will dictate where you want to go. If you are a bicycle or auto racing enthusiast, the Spa/Liege/Bastogne area has world class events. I'm interested in seeing other WWll sites. Posted a question on Eastern Europe forum in regards to Poland/Wolf's Lair and received no responses. Good Luck

I booked a private tour with Henry Mignon in Bastogne for a battle of the bulge tour. He was very reasonable priced and met us at our hotel. (Best Western in tour that his niece owns). We spent about 8 hours with him and we drove our own car. He sat in the back and gave us directions to the sights. It was great and we learned a lot from Henry. The World War II museum in Bastogne was very good too. We did spend two nights in Brussels we visited a Beer museum that was just okay and the sour beer tour in tour that was interesting but the beer was yucky! It is called Lambic beer and it is a required taste that is very sour.

Jim, Since you're interested in WW II sites, I'll suggest a couple here where few or hardly any Americans go to: In Berlin, 1. Treptow...the Soviet military cemetery, huge. 2. Berlin-Karlshorst...the site where the Germans surrendered to the Soviets the day after they did to the Anglo-Americans. That building, still in the original paint, now houses the historical museum on that event and prior Ger-Soviet relations. 3. The military site in this area is Seelow, which can accessed by train from Berlin and public transportation. This is the site of the Seelow Heights battle, west of the Oderbruch; the Museum focuses on that event and is mostly or all in German. There is even a small book shop there. It doesn't surprise me at all that no reponses were made to your question on Rastenburg. I myself have not been that far east in the former East Prussian area, but if you go there, see Gdansk (Danzig), which I spent a few days visiting in 2003. But I didn't have the interest then to see Westerplatte, where the attack began.

Thanks Fred!