What's wrong with Brussels? Also visiting Paris and Amsterdam

9 days isn't a very long trip. For what you are looking to do, I would simply split your time half & half, between Amsterdam and Paris.

Honestly I'm not sure about the reality of meeting girls while biking around small Belgium towns! I think you'd have better luck in a bar in a major city.

I like Brussels, but most of it is hideous when you get away from the preserved sections.

The cobblestones are not very bike friendly either.

Antwerp has a better bar & club scene (for the bit younger folks). But most action will be on weekends, so don't expect too much if you go there on a Monday or Tuesday. If it can stand the comparison with Amsterdam - I don't know. No coffee shops in Belgium.
I think you will get more or better recommendations re. bars & nightlife from people your age at lonelyplanet's thorn tree.

There are some great cycle routes in and around Brussels, such as the "promenade vert" (green trail), a 60km path that circles most of the city.

There are a lot of cobblestones in the centre but it's not a big deal, I cycle quite often around Brussels and don't find they make it too difficult.

If you don't have your own bikes, you should be able to use the "Villo" public bikes available all around the city, provided you have a credit card. http://en.villo.be/

Nightlife-wise, a couple of suggestions would be to check out the area around Place St Boniface in Ixelles (try the bar called L'Ultime Atome at 14 place St Boniface), and the St Géry/ place St Catherine area in the centre.

If you like beer, try Chez Moeder Lambic at 68 Rue de Savoie in the St Gilles district - incredible selection of hundreds of beers, great atmosphere and very friendly and knowledgeable staff.

I can't give you any advice on Brussels I'm afraid (never had the desire to visit) but just wanted to make sure you've got Rue de Lappe on your list of places to visit in Paris.

It's a bar lined street near Bastille, and as you've mentioned you like drinking and are looking to meet girls it should be the perfect spot. The crowd's pretty international, so you shouldn't have any trouble meeting English speakers (if your French skills have taken a battering from too many Kronenbourgs) who are up for a good night, as there's no other reason to be in rue de Lappe...

I once met a very accommodating Swedish teacher in Rue de Lappe, but that's a story for another place.

If you'll allow me to be presumptuous by suggesting you need it, here's a tip on 'meeting' girls in Amsterdam. Most girls you meet will have been chatted up by numerous drunk/stoned/wasted blokes throughout the course of the day. If you can keep your drinking/smoking in check and be the 'sober' guy that can hold a normal conversation, you should be able to reap the rewards. Make the most of it.

The description of your trip is bringing back many happy memories for me and I'm very, very jealous. Have a great time.

What is wrong with you planning to stay a couple of days in Brussels and asking here why!?!? With the mindset you have about this trip, agree you need to split time between Amsterdam and Paris. An overnight from AMS?; take the train from Amsterdam to Duesseldorf for a great time in pubs, etc... (great college town!).

Have a great time! Be safe!!! (hope you catch the undertone...)

Brussels is nice but try Bruges-really quaint

Not much in Dusseldorf accept a mile of bars

EXCEPT sorry

Stick with Brussels. Visit the Atomium.

There is nothing wrong with Bruges and Brussels. I recently visited Antwerp, Bruges and Brussels following a trip to Amsterdam. I would completely skip Antwerp but I think you'd enjoy one night in Bruges and one night in Brussels. We rented bikes in Bruges and found the town with its sights and many delicious beers to be absolutely wonderful. We flew out of Brussels and spent our last night drinking beer in the square at Grand Place, which was beautiful. However, if you are looking for action (nightlife, girls, etc), you might be better off in Amsterdam and Paris.

Bruges sounds better for a short stay, but we love the area around Grand Place in Brussels, and have been going every September for over 25 years.
We attend a trade show at the exposition Center.
There are streets of restaurants and bars in the area, and it is always lively.

I actually like Brussels. Really good food and I find it good value. If you are into beer, then Belgium is worth the visit for the beer alone.

This is not to say, though, that Brussels compares with Amsterdam or Paris. It doesn't, at least in my opinion, but it does have its charms.

Bruges is certainly a decent day trip and a beautiful city. However, it does seem a bit twee and much of the night life seems geared to tourists. But, hey, that might not be the worst thing in the world, as tourists don't always work on the same clock as everybody else. Antwerp is definitely the hippest city in Belgium and a top European design capital, but I don't find it a very attractive city for visiting - haven't tried the night life.

If you are looking to meet locals, one benefit of Amsterdam over Paris is the fact that the Dutch all speak English. The Belgians (at least the Flemish Belgians) speak it almost as well. And Brussels is a truly international city, thanks to the EU and NATO HQs.

That being said... and I don't know how to say this... I wouldn't say that the Dutch are the most beautiful people in the world. Tall, though. But I would rate the French ladies a notch above. I won't repeat what a friend of mine thinks of the Belgians.

Go to the Kinepolis cinema multiplex near the Atomium -- there is a big restaurant and bar zone right next to it, which gives an excellent example of the mix of Brussels residents.

If you want to get a "feel" for Brugge - by all means rent the movie "In Bruges" Something tells me the movie should be entertaining for you even if you don't want to visit the city.

I think that unless if you already know people (have local friends) in Brussels, it won't be as fun as Amsterdam.


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Have fun!!

I'm Belgian, live near Antwerp, and have a son your age. I'm sure my son would never recommend someone young, who is looking to make fun, to go to Bruges. Bruges has hardly any nightlife. In Belgium, Antwerp is the best place for clubs, bars and nightlife in general. Partying usually starts on Thursday night and lasts until Sunday night, or rather Monday morning! 'Noxx Thursdayz' are famous until far in the Netherlands!
All Belgian cities have a lot of cobblestones but we all ride our bikes. It's not bad at all, unless you plan on renting a race bike! That being said, the countryside, which is never far away, is much prettier for a bike ride. For instance the 41 km long Castle Route in Schoten.

hoppock20,

You hardly have enough time for Paris or Amsterdam, much less Brussels, Antwerp, etc.

You set your dates as Aug 29 (Sat) to Sep 6 (Sun). If you are flying out on the 29th you will arrive on the 30th, a Sunday. Therefore, you miss all the weekend action in Amsterdam, and there is plenty, probably the best in northern Europe. Remember that most Amsterdamers have a job and live a civil life during the week. You want to be there for a weekend. Arriving on a Thursday would be good so you can get over some of your jet lag by Friday evening. Same goes for Paris.

Unless you are fairly fluent in French don't count on finding any French girls in a few days. OTOH, everybody in Amsterdam speaks fluent English, and Dutch girls have always been very sweet to Americans, at least to me. I hope you are tall, as mentioned above. Don't be dishing out stupid pick-up lines or you will be dropped in short order. I've lived in Holland and visit every year or so. I recommend a trip over to Haarlem for the night life around the Grote Markt. There are fewer tourists and friendlier locals than in Amsterdam.

This site is amazing! Thank you all for your time and valuable insight. I definitely appreciate it and know it will help us out. I have booked our flight to arrive in Paris on the 29th, which will allow us to be in Amsterdam over the next weekend.

I haven't started looking for places to stay yet. I've heard the Leidseplein area in Amsterdam is good, but not sure what areas of town to be looking for hotels in the other cities. Can you provide some areas to look that would be 50-80 euros a night in Brussels, Amsterdam and Paris? We would like to be somewhat close to active areas, so we're not taking 30 min cab rides back to our hotels every night.

I've also heard to use priceline.com to look for the best deals.

For Paris, it's impossible to give you a specific area that would be cheap, as all the different areas will have cheap and expensive accommodation cheek by jowl.

A couple of hotel options are the Hotel de la Herse d'Or (http://www.parishotelherseor.com/french/location.html)

which, whilst it won't win any awards, is cheap €55 - €89 a night and right in the centre.

At the other end of the scale (for design anyway) is Mama Shelter (http://www.mamashelter.com/) which often has offers if you book online of €79 for a single. Whilst it's much further out from the centre, it's opposite one of the most famous live music venues in Paris (Le Fleche D'Or) which has free, live concerts most nights. The surrounding area has some of the most interesting nightlife (in my opinion) in Paris but you won't be experiencing the Paris you've seen in guidebooks. It all depends on what floats your boat.

For Amsterdam I'd suggest avoiding staying actually in Leidseplein. Even though you're probably thinking you won't be doing much sleeping anyway, it's better to make that decision yourself , rather than have it forced upon you. I'd suggest staying a 15 to 20 minute walk away, so you've got it at arm's length, but a short stumble back to bed...

I'll see if I can dig out the address of the hotel I stayed in when I 'did' Amsterdam at the age of 20. If it's still there...

hahaha...much appreciated Jay_G

No problem.

I've had a look and can't find the cheap hotel I stayed in in Amsterdam (I like to think it's still there, it was only a decade ago after all), so can't help any further I'm afraid.

Other than to say the area near the Heineken brewery (what's now called 'The Heineken Experience' for some god-awful reason) has lots of reasonably priced hotels and is walking distance to all the sights, sounds and smokes.

Can we expect a trip report when you get back?

If you can remember any of it that is...

Another vote for Antwerp if you want a nightlife plus lots of atmosphere and good food and drink. Not Bruges.

Ghent is a university town and would also be my choice over Brussels or Brugge.

Also check out www.eurocheapo.com for cheap hotel ideas...have fun!