gobarbgo

Traveling with my 22-year old daughter who's never been to Europe. After spending three days in Amsterdam, we'll be taking the train to Paris. On the way I'd like to stop for one day & night in either Antwerp or Bruges.

Would appreciate any advice on which city to see. We both love great architecture, music, fashion, beer & good food. We'll only have one afternoon & evening there.

Also...what would be the best train to take to Paris? Thanks so much!

sparkchaser

One day and one night? Bruges.

gobarbgo

Thanks, sparkchaser! What are your "must-see" sights in Bruges?

And any particular hotels/restaurants you'd recommend?

My hotel budget is "2-star" -- meaning located near the city center (we are walking or taking public trans), clean, safe, private bath a must...and not far from the major sights. No elevator, big lobbies or fancy little soaps necessary.

And we're very open to any kind of cuisine.

sparkchaser

Do the brewery tour at Brouwerij De Halve Maan.

Get your drink on at De Kelk.

Eat at Oud Handbogenhof or Pieter Pourbus.

Before you leave for your trip, if you have not yet seen it, watch "In Bruges".

gobarbgo

thanks so much!

Tulips

You really can't compare the two. If your daughter is seriously interested in fashion, then of course Antwerp. Good food? Antwerp. Architecture? Antwerp. Convenient for the train to Paris? Antwerp.

If you want to visit a charming well preserved old small city (albeit overrun with tourists) - then Brugge, but that is not what you asked for.

Tulips

For train to Paris you can book the Thalys - the earlier you book the better. Or there's an intercity which is less expensive but takes much longer.

Thalys Antwerp-Paris takes 2 hours. There's also a direct Thalys from Brugge, but less frequent and it takes longer (only once a day I think, early in the morning). From Brugge look into the train to Lille and transfer there for Paris.
www.thalys.com or www.be-europe.com for regular trains.

Desinator

I would definitely say Bruges for an incomparable experience in a beautiful well preserved historic town. The trains in Belgium are very good, so getting to Paris from either is easy. If you go to Antwerp, eat at Zuiderterrasse, an excellent restaurant overlooking the harbor.

PalenQ

For the average tourist Bruges for sure - I ran thousands of folks thru both cities on group tours and it was near unanimous that they thought Bruges was so so romantic - especially at night after the day bus groups had gone and all the humpbacked white wooden bridges and ancient Flemish warehouse facades standing silent sentinel tto the day's when Bruges was one of the world's richest cities and largest ports.

When the port silted up the ships went to Antwerp instead, still one of the world's largest ports.

Antwerp is cool but it is a big big city in feel - most will find smaller older looking Bruges more their cup of tea.

as for trains to Bruges take either the Thalys train (or Fyra) from Amsterdam to Angtwerp Centraal station and change to a IC train to Bruges - takes about 3.5 hours or less all told. You can also take a regular IC train Amsterdam to Antwerp that may be cheaper but can take an hour longer to Antwerp.

For Paris there are two routes from Bruges - my favorite goes via Lille Flandres station by local train from Bruges then French TGV to Paris-Gare du Nord - about 2.5 hours all told.

You can also take a local train to Brussels and hook up with the Thalys train to Gare du Nord but that could be muchmore expensive if you did not get one of the limited in number discounted tickets that must be booked weeks in advance - the Lille route even at full fare is not that expensive and you can get Lille to Paris discounts too at www.voyages-sncf.com or www.capitainetrain.com - same fares and trains just different booking enging.

If deciding on Antwerp then it is only the Thalys train from there to Paris that is a viable option. www.thalys.com has some really nice discounted fares - from 29 or 39 euros Antwerp or Brussels to Paris.

For lots on trains in these countries check out these IMO superb sites - www.seat61.com - good tips on discounted tickets); www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Again on either route to Paris itself from either Lille or Angtwerp or Brussels you can save a ton by booking very early but those tickets are train-specific and non-changeble nonrefundable. Caveat emptor!

PalenQ

How about doing both Angtwerp and Bruges? When changing trains in Antwerpen Centraal station - one of the gloriest Beaux Arts motifed train stations in all of Europe IMO - at least get out of the station and take a look at it outside and in - but put your bags in a station locker and bop around Antwerp for a few hours - the station is smack in the town center and then move on for the night and all next day in Bruges - one day is certainly enough for compact Bruges' historical city center.

isabel

Here are photos of both:

http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/belgium

StCirq

I'd choose Antwerp in a heartbeat.

gobarbgo

Thanks so very much to everyone for your generous and extremely helpful advice! I'm going through all the suggested hotels this weekend and will post when I have my finalists.

FYI, we will be in Amsterdam, Bruges/Antwerp the first week in August, then onto Paris during our second week. I'm guessing it's going to be quite hot...and very crowded...

BTW, Everyone's train info is AWESOME!!!! Thank you, thank you, kind travelers.

Isabel, thank you for the photos. StCirq, why Antwerp "in a hearbeat?"

and PalenQ i love your idea about squeezing both cities in. we are both HUGE walkers and love putting some serious mileage on our walking shoes.

With gratitude,
Barb

Tulips

Antwerp is not necessarily crowded in early August - many locals will be on holiday.

From the beautiful central station, it's a short walk to the Groenplaats and Markt, in the old center. Visit the Fashion Museum if your daughter is interested, in the Nationale Straat. In August there's an exhibition called 'Birds of Paradise'. There are some interesting shops in that area (Nationale Straat, Kammenstraat).

If you are interested in modern architecture, visit the MAS museum; beautiful view from the top of the building.

I know most tourists will choose Brugge over Antwerp, but in early August, and with a 22-year old daughter, I would go for Antwerp. I live near Antwerp, and have daughters that age - they find Brugge boring.

Maybe spend the day in Antwerp, and train to Brugge in the late afternoon to spend the night there. It's better once the tour groups have left in the evening and you can enjoy its beauty on a (hopefully) nice summer evening.

PalenQ

two cities with completely different looks and feel - one a huge city feel other a smaller town though it ain't - you can't go wrong - for more than one day I would take Antwerp as there is so much to see there - like cogels Osylei - a wonderful street of art nouveau turn of the century facades and Middleheim, one of Europe's finest outdoor statue parks plus the old warehouses lining the old port, world-class art museums and even an Amsterdamesque Red-Light Disrict north of the old town center.

http://www.spottedbylocals.com/antwerp/cogels-osylei/

Cowboy1968

While Antwerpen IS much bigger than Brugge, I would not say it has a "big city feel" as in Paris vs some small town in Provence.
With only very little time to play with, Antwerpen has many advantages as it is on the Amsterdam- Brussel - Paris highspeed line. So you do not lose time connecting to and from elsewhere.
Right at Antwerpen Centraal station you find many hotels of different price categories so once you got off the train, you could get rid of your luggage and were out exploring few minutes later without much ado.
The main pedestrian street leads from the station to the historic center with loads of shops.
The MAS museum is great, as tulips said.
There are tons of nice restaurants, quirky pubs etc in the historic center. I know many people from Brussels who go there for a night out as it is so lively, diverse (and not so touristy). Actually, I often stay there when I need to go to Brussels as the overall feeling of the city is so nice as in historic but also vibrant. And the hotels often have much better rates or better value for money than in Brussels or Brugge.

PalenQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQLCZOG202k

Historic Flash Mob in Antwerp Central Station - see how ornate the station is - patterned stone floor, etc. Great great show - ignore first commercials - this video is a treat.

StCirq

What Cowboy said...Bruges was incredible 25 years ago. Now it's become Disneyesque, IMO, though still small and incredibly picturesque. Another Rick Steves casualty to some extent. Most North Americans won't have Antwerp on their radar, and not having an incredibly lovely, lively place on the radar says "Go there!" to me. Brilliant city, better value, great eats, good fashion, no groups with the tour guide with the umbrella.

Everyone flocks to Bruges. Go to Antwerp.

Andrew

I found Bruges very touristy, as expected, but I still loved it. It's a pretty town with beautiful canals and neat buildings. And it is possible to get away from the tourists.

Rick Steves raves (in his Belgium snapshot guide) about how hip Antwerp has become, but I didn't care for the town much at all. I visited in May and the seemed dead, like it was off season or something. I did enjoy the Ruebens House (even though I generally don't care for museums), but I found the rest of the town just not very interesting or attractive, except for a few squares, the cathedral area, etc. The waterfront is mostly pretty ugly.

joannyc

Ditto what Andrew said. Go to Brugge! Loved it.