Belgium Ardennes home base?
Sep 3rd, 2019 | 10:44 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Sep 2013
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Belgium Ardennes home base?
We’ll be in Belgium next May and plan to make Ghent our first home base to explore that area. Well, more like one of the villages near Ghent. We’d like to explore The Ardennes, but can’t decide on a home base. We would like a town smaller than Namur. We’re into kayaking, easy hikes, historic sites (not so much battlefields, we’ve seen a lot of them), and pretty sites. We won’t have a car unless we really really have to. The Lesse River tunnels sound interesting, as do the Ardennes caves.
So, suggestions on an Ardennes home base?
So, suggestions on an Ardennes home base?
Last edited by AbbyAdams; Sep 3rd, 2019 at 10:47 AM.
Sep 3rd, 2019 | 02:42 PM
#2
Joined: Jan 2007
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Hi Abby Adams, you will find it difficult to explore the Ardennes without a car. The rail network, which is so dense in other areas, is not that good in this corner and you may be catching buses for some of your time:
This is a map of the rail network. As you will see, hubs in that area are Namur and Liège. I know you want smaller, but I would probably pick Namur as my hub on a trip like yours, more in the Ardennes (indeed Namur and Dinant are thought of as gateways to the Ardennes). Liège is less nice a city (a big city) and less where you want to be anyway. I am suggesting Namur as you may well want to visit Dinant and Ciney - they are both good destinations on rail lines - and by staying in Namur you can visit both easily. If you were to pick one of those cities it would mean backtracking to Namur every time as they are on different rail corridors.
Lavandula
This is a map of the rail network. As you will see, hubs in that area are Namur and Liège. I know you want smaller, but I would probably pick Namur as my hub on a trip like yours, more in the Ardennes (indeed Namur and Dinant are thought of as gateways to the Ardennes). Liège is less nice a city (a big city) and less where you want to be anyway. I am suggesting Namur as you may well want to visit Dinant and Ciney - they are both good destinations on rail lines - and by staying in Namur you can visit both easily. If you were to pick one of those cities it would mean backtracking to Namur every time as they are on different rail corridors.
Lavandula
