CarolSKov

Can you recommend a Company that does walking tours to see and understand more about Brussels? What about a tour to Waterloo?

lavandula

I confess I've never done any of these tours. However, Brussels is all about Art Nouveau and these are the people who can take you there.

http://www.arau.org/en/tours

They are a special group that focus on the architectural styles present in Brussels, not a regular tour company (of which there are many others). They only seem to organise tours around particular dates, which may not suit you, but check it out anyway. There are also Art Nouveau walks that you can take yourself on, available from the tourist office, and also walks to see all the cartoon murals around the city (of which there are a few).

Lavandula

CarolSKov

Thank you. We will definitely try to take a tour with Arau. But my husband wants to go to Waterloo and it might be more informative with a guide. Are there any tours that you are aware of?

Vttraveler

I am not aware of any tours of Waterloo although there must be some. A book with good self-guided walking tours is a possible alternative to going on formal tours. We used and enjoyed using Brussels for Pleasure by Derek Blyth on our trip to Belgium last fall.

lavandula

In the absence of any other replies I found this on the Belgian tourist office website:

http://www.visitbelgium.com/index.php?page=world-war
(scroll down for the Waterloo info).

I think there's not much about Waterloo specifically on Brussels websites because basically Brussels is its own region and anything outside Brussels (as Waterloo is) belongs either to Flanders or Wallonia (and I think Waterloo is Wallonia).

Good luck!

Lavandula

Vttraveler

The links from the general info link provided above took me to the following page which has information on Battlefield Tours and Guides at the end
http://www.waterloo-tourisme.com/Pub...mid=12&lang=en

If you go to Waterloo with a car you might also want to visit the nearby site of the Cistercian abbey of Villers-la-Ville. This is a very beautiful spot

In Waterloo you could visit the cafe/traditional bakery, Ferme du Hameau du Roy

OUTinkerbelle

Was in Belgium visiting a friend last summer and they live near Waterloo. You can very easily rent a car and get to Waterloo from Brussels. If I remember correctly, you can't get there by normal bus or train. Or if you can, it is a lot of stops and walking. The town itself isn't very large and I don't remember spending much time there (however, friend did insist we buy our chocolate from the grocery store and not the overpriced tourist traps).

The battlefield area you will not need to book a tour company for. We spent about 3 hours there. We shopped in the gift shop, watched a movie about the battle, climbed up the monument, went to the museum and bought tickets to take a tour of the battlefield itself (a train/tram that leaves every hour that takes you out to the fields). The train/tram ride was worth it. The descriptions are given in French, Flemish and English and you really get a feel of the battle. One of the farm houses is still standing. The museum/ monument area isn't large at all. And when you see the battlefield it really is just a lot of land. I would advise to do your own research of the battle prior to departure to understand more about what happened.

If you need more information feel free to contact me at [email protected]

OUTinkerbelle

Oh, I also HIGHLY recommend Villers-la-Ville abbey. We spent the most wonderful morning walking around and taking some of the best photos of our trip there. Magical place. I bought the hand held tour guide/walkman thing (sorry - don't know how to describe it) and loved hearing all the history of the area. Worth every penny we spent there.