Brussels and Battlefields

Google Battle of Bulge from Brussels and you will get a lot of information.

Most of Belgium is day-trippable from any other part of the country, and because all the major rail arteries converge on Brussels, it's pretty easy to day trip. That being said... Of what you had in mind, Waterloo is the only "battlefield" that you can really visit without a car or organized tour. It's the only one where the action took place in a relatively compact area. And I have to say... I was a little disappointed. Unlike a Civil War battlefield, which are well marked with information plaques, there's only relatively few around Waterloo, plus a handful of rather plain memorials. You can watch two short films over the battle, visit a cyclorama and a small wax museum... and that's about it. In contrast, the action around the Ieper salient occurred over a vast area spreading out from the small city that gave the battle its name. Most of the former battlefield has reverted to active farmland, and the preserved sections and countless memorials and cemeteries are spread piecemeal over a large geographic area. Ieper itself is compact and easily explored on foot, yet to visit some of the remnants of the trench warfare, you need some kind of wheeled transportation. Ditto the remanants of the Battle of the Bulge, but public transportation in this region of Belgium is rather scant. You can't even take a train directly to Bastogne.

Alyssa, If you want to spend some time at Waterloo, it's best to be motorised. Luckily the only time I was there I had that means. To see the entire campaign area, you need a car and set aside two days to track down the sights. I had about 7.5 hours. The second day for the other villages...Wavre, Placenoit, etc. See the town, the various museums, and above all, the various sites connected with the battle. For that you need the car.

I would recommend a good GPS while driving to the Bastogne area. Lots of small and very interesting local Museums. Spa is also an interesting Hotel stay.

We went to Flanders Fields and Ypres, Belgium (about 40 minutes outside of Bruges)in June. The museum in Ypres was excellent as was the WWI British Memorial Cemetery. You would definitely need a car for this trip. It would be difficult without one.

I don't know if it's possible from Brussels, but I know it possible from Bruges with a company called 'Quasimodo tours'. A full day in he battlefield from WWI (Ypres and surroundings = city where biological gas was used for the first time ever in a war).