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I'll be staying 4 nights and 3 full days in Antwerp. I'm planning on two days in the city and one for a day trip. Are 2 days enough for sightseeing?
Also, I want try some cuisine from the former colonies when I'm there. Can anyone recommend an African restaurant? |
Keren, that B&B looks lovely. The location is fine; not right in the old center, but an easy walk.
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@ Keren
I can only agree with Tulips. Bed, Bad & Brood looks lovely and it's in a good neighbourhood. @ Gary You can see a lot in two days. Antwerp is only a small city where everything worth seeing is 'walking distance'. |
Myriam you are a marvelous person. So much good information and such willingness to share! Thank you.
I have written to the Hotel Cammerpoorte. The price is fine if it includes breakfast. Also picked up on Keren's question and wrote to the B&B as well :) Thanks for the extra info on the chocolate in supermarkets! Looks like there will be plenty of places to get a good breakfast. Yes, I read the reviews on the Scheldzicht on Trip Advisor and on Virtual Tourist. Seems that it is noisy because of the coffee shops/restaurants on the street under its windows. They all close by 2 am though and I am a night owl anyway. Also it seems that it is possible to request a room in the back. That part doesn't bother me. One person on Virtual Tourist did mention bedbugs, but I didn't see that anywhere else. Did you notice anything about that? |
Una, no mention of bed bugs. If that were the case, they would have to close their doors anyway and have the place desinfected by a specialized company.
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Thank you, both, Myriam and Tulips. If I go to Antwerp in April I think I'll choose this B&B for a place to stay.
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I would recommend Antwerp, Brugge and Brussels in that order. Brussels is the largest but Antwerp is more lively and its city center is 100% walkable. Brugge is very charming for a night out.
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We just got back from a trip to Baden-Baden, so I didn't have the opportunity to post earlier. However, given some of the OP's other posts, she would probably enjoy a longer stay in Antwerp.
I was very surprised to read this comment: "I wasted a lot of time in Brussels trying to use public transportation to get to the Horta museum, which is unique. Take a cab, and pay close attention to the opening hours." Getting to the Horta museum by mass transit is really quite simple. And the opening hours are 2 to 5:30 pm, except for Mondays when it's closed |
So, to help future visitors confused by Brussels mass transit
Getting to the Horta House in 4 Easy Steps: 1. Get on the 91 (direction Stalle) or 92 (direction Fort Jaco) trams. Sometimes the tram routes may be shortened, with the final stop listed as Ma Campagne. Which is fine because that's the stop you want. The easiest places to catch the trams are in front of the church on the Sablon or by the Louise metro stop. If you're staying over in the EU area, either catch a metro to Louise or take the 27 bus to the Sablon. 2. Take the tram to the Ma Campagne stop. The trams will run along the Ave. Louise briefly, then bear right at Place Stephanie, heading up the Chaussee de Charleroi. Keep looking out the RIGHT side of the tram. Once you pass the big Brico building (a hardware store chain, Belgium's answer to Home Depot), you will be getting off at the next stop: Ma Campagne. It is at this intersection, FYI, that the Chaussee de Charleroi's name changes to Avenue Brugmann. 3. Exit the tram at Ma Campagne. Turn and walk back down the Chaussee de Charleroi for two minutes on the opposite side of the street from the Brico store. When you get to the corner of Chaussee de Charleroi and rue Americaine, turn right. Note: at this corner, you will see a Gil's Intermin temp agency sign and the Univers Particulier bookstore. It's also directly across the street from Brico. 4. Walk one minute along rue Americaine until you reach number 25. Voila! The Horta House! |
Anyway to continue:
Best time to visit the Horta house and Ixelles neighborhood: Plan your visit, if possible, for about 3 pm on a Wednesday afternoon. You will be finished with Horta by about 4 or 4:30 PM. After you leave, head UP the rue Americaine instead of going back to Chaussee de Charleroi. When you get to the rue Page, turn left and you will find yourself in a block full of cafes and wine bars. If you're still in an Art Nouveau mood and you don't mind a little smoke, the Bistro des Restos on the corner of rues Americaine and Page is a great little spot. Anyway, continue down rue Page for a block and you wil come to the wonderful Wed. afternoon Chatelain street market. As good as anything in Paris. One of the first stands you will pass sells delicious artisanal waffles. Mmmm. They're made to order. The market also has numerous stands selling food you can eat on-site as well as places to sample wine. But after spending an hour or so wandering the market and having a drink or two, you may be hungry for an early dinner. Well, congratulations, you are in one of the best parts of town for finding excellent, attractive restaurants serving terrific food at moderate prices. Go back to Rue Americaine. Keep heading "up", checking the restaurants you pass along the way. Nothing catch you fancy? Continue along, go pass the Audi/VW dealer until you reach a round point. Bear right on rue Tenbosch and head up to the corner of Tenbosch and rue Prevot. A couple of choices there: the new and elegant Le Fruit Defendu or the casual and friendly local Chinese restaurant, La Cantonnaise. In the mood for tapas? Then turn left onto rue Prevot and walk a block (another round point at the entrance of the park; note the memorial to the Armenian genocide in the middle) to Parachute Parc, also a new spot. OR you could continue along the rue Tenbosch to the Chaussee de Waterloo. At the corner is the ever popular Toucan brasserie and the newly renovated Lettre a Elise, specializing in grilled meats. Turn left on the Chaussee de Waterloo and you'll pass En Face de Parachute, another neighborhood institution. The boots, FYI, are made with antique wooden tram seats. Or turn right on rue Americaine and browse the choices there, like Element Terre, a vegetarian favorite. And note, heading down the Chaussee de Waterloo will take you right back to the Ma Campagne tram stop where you can head home. |
Btilke,
Maybe your confusion stems from not knowing where I was in Brussels when I began my journey to the Horta house. Having dealt with the Brussels tram system and its maps as a visitor, and looking at your directions, I stick with my advice to another first time visitor that a cab to the Horta museum is worth the few extra euro when you time is at a premium, and you get to see more of Brussels aboveground to boot. |
Terrific information. Bookmarking.
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Nessundorma, actually, by taking the trams I suggested, you'll see as much above ground as you would with a cab, perhaps more so. Because the taxis tend to use the tunnels whenever possible, which run underground.
I am not confused at all. I believe you said in another post that you were in the EU area. The 27 bus serves that area and takes you to the Sablon (all above ground, FYI). Or you can take the nearest EU metro stop (Schuman, Merode, or Trone if one happens to be over by the Luxembourg train station, which is also EU territory). It's not difficult to negotiate by mass transit. |
BTilke,
But I didn't go to the Horta House from the EU area. The museum doesn't open until 2pm. I disagree that it is not difficult to negotiate Brussels mass transit for a someone just arriving for 2 days, and while you didn't say this, mass transit in Brussels is not particularly good relative to other European capitals. I stick with my tip that the Horta museum is most efficiently reached by taxi for people short on time. |
Well, stop being so coy and tell me where you were when you had such great difficulties getting to the museum.
The problem with taking the taxi is that when you go to leave, there are no taxi stands in the immediate vicinity. It's much easier to walk all of *3* minutes along a VERY straightforward route to catch a tram that takes you back down to the Louise metro stop in less than 10 minutes. And from there, you can get to almost anywhere in town. I go all over the city by mass transit. And have done so for more than 6 years. There are very few places where you can't go by mass transit. And if you're confused...all you have to do is ask for help. |
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