The Hague

Just an FYI - the Mauritshuis is going through a renovation until early 2014 and some of the museum's collection (including The Girl with a Pearl Earring) is on tour around the world.

As mentioned, the Mauritshuis is closed until mid-2014 for reno, but the masterpieces will be at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. Check the Mauritshuis website for more info. From Brugge, you probably stop and change trains in Rotterdam and Leiden. If you wish to go to the Gemeentemuseum to see the masterpieces, you can get there from either Rotterdam or Leiden, and it takes about 40 minutes from either station. To get to Haarlem from the museum will take about an hour. Use this website for planning your public transport in Holland: http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/home

Thanks! that info makes my whole trip easier!

Nancy, originally the Mauritshuis sent about 100 works to the Gemeentmuseum. But many of them (particularly Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring) have been flying all over the world. If you check the two websites (Mauritshuis and Gemeentmuseum), you can probably learn what will be in town during your visit. 15 paintings went up at the Frick Collection in New York City on Tuesday, including GWAPE. The Hague is a major rail stop, but the Mauritshuis is on the other side of town. They have a good tram system. You have to check on luggage storage ... Would you visit Delft (also by TRAM! from Den Haag? Of course, most of the paintings made in Delft aren't there anymore. I personally wouldn't devote 3 days to Bruges, even though we like to stay in one place and unpack. I would think that the Van Eyck in Gent would be a must-see for you. Although the big KMSKA museum in Antwerp is closed for renovation as well, some of their works, particularly home-town boy Rubens are on show elsewhere in town. The collections in Brussels (although the city itself is a bit drab) are astounding, including a whole museum of Magritte. But maybe you want to focus on works like The Death of Marat by David - who had to lam it out of France after the Revolution. We presume you've already seen the paintings in Amsterdam, or that you'll visit from Rick's favorite (?!?) city in the Netherlands. Not mine.

We will be in Amsterdam for 4 nights prior to Bruges. This is a hastily planned trip based on a good deal on the airline tickets. Is Ghent too far from Bruges to day trip to from there? I am a huge fan of the Dutch and Flemish painters. Thank you, Also, could you recommend an inexpensive place in Ghent to stay- under 100 euros?
thanks

We had a short visit to Haarlem from A'dam recently. The Frans Hals Museum there is worth seeing - wonderful old building also - a former orphanage. Perhaps you can day trip to NY to see The Girl With The Pearl Earring at Fricks? It was here in Atlanta recently and was a must-see for us.

Bruges and Antwerp are (by train) right on either side of Gent. I would say it's 30-50 minutes to each-from Gent. But if you love Flemish painting, you should take a (NOT Monday) day-trip to Brussels instead (with KMSKA closed in Antwerp.) The collection at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts is huge and unbelievable. Although I adore Antwerp, the art is too spread out with the museum closed. The MAS is a "fair" substitute, but it's not near the train station. Although there are many things to do in Brussels, the best museums are walking distance (uphill) from the Centraal Station. Everyone will tell you to visit Grand Place, but that's architecture, and the other way-if an important site. Check what's on show at Bozar in case it interests you. I've only slept in Antwerp, and at the 200 euro range. But since Gent is a university town, you should have no trouble. I use TripAdvisor dot com. There are so many reviews for each property it's easy to avoid a few suspicious reviews. In other words, the train is Oosteende-Bruges-Gent-Antwerp-Brussels. (Intermediate stops left out.) To my mind, the art in Bruges skews towards medieval, and it's worth seeing. Note this closure report:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g188671-i448-k6597308-FYI_Gruuthuse_museum_closed_for_the_rest_of_the_year-Bruges_West_Flanders_Province.html

Susan, yes, we will try to get to NYC to see the Girl, maybe in the winter if she's still there. Thank You! Tim thanks for that info. Since we have reservations to sleep in Bruges for 95 euros, does it make sense to just daytrip to Brussels on the weekend to see the art? We will be in Bruges for 3 nights, arriving Friday and leaving Monday, but could change that. I understand it's about an hour train ride to Brussels. Thank you for letting me know about the museum closing, and all the other great info! Also, we have a room for 2 nights in Haarlem just before flying home from Amsterdam. We are rethinking that one as there does not seem to be much that interests us there, and it's harder to get to the airport. Maybe it might be better to go back to Amsterdam, since we will have a Museumkaart and be able to revisit some museums, and have an easier trip to the airport. The second half of our trip is poorly planned.
Thank You All

The long red bus - can't remember the name at the moment (probably not 300, just can't remember) from Haarlem to the airport is fast and easy. The train to the airport isn't hard either, just go a few minutes to an easy change at Amsterdam Sloterdijk and down to the airport. It all depends on what you want to see in Haarlem and where you are staying...

The NMBS/SNCB (dutch/french) railroad site is very useful and has an English language option. Keep in mind that the Brussels (only) the tram and bus agency is STIB, and elsewhere it's De Lijn. That means that everywhere in Belgium except Brussels you can use the same card (buy a ten? trip multi) to get from your hotel to the train station if its not walkable (like in Bruges.) Their sites also provide excellent timings. Google Maps is also surprisingly useful for pedestrians. There's a one-day museum and transit card option in Brussels. However I have sometimes found the TI in the Centraal and Midi train stations unattended. The Hals museum in Haarlem is important, and the town is worth a daytrip. But I've never agreed with Rick about staying there instead of Amsterdam. That said, Amsterdam is today more crowded and dirty than my home-town of New York. (Just saying, not whining.) But there is no alternative to visiting that wonderful city! I agree that it is perfectly possible to daytrip to Brussels from Bruges, if not ideal. Who knows, you may find Bruges so magical that you are glad you booked three nights. Many people (other than me, I mean) feel that way about it.

Nigel, thank you for that info. Tim, Thanks to you, as well. I think we will skip Haarlem and go back to Amsterdam. I think we will day trip to Brussels. I will make use of that train/bus info. Thanks again.

If you're going to be day tripping to Brussels on the weekend, check out the Weekend Tickets here http://www.belgianrail.be/en/travel-tickets/tickets/weekend-ticket.aspx. You can get train tickets for half price for travel from Friday at 7pm through Sunday.

Thanks for that information! We will be going on the weekend.