fourfortravel

We have a scant 2 full and 2 partial days in Belgium at the end of May. This is DD's last T&F tournament, and she is "expected" to break school and tournament records in her field events, so DH and I want to be there for that.

Here is the loose itinerary:
Day 1 (Saturday): Arrive late-morning, drive to Ghent for the day. (No jet lag since we're coming from Vienna.)

Day 2 (Sunday): Dinant, and possibly Namur (for the Citadel)?

Day 3: (Monday) Only the afternoon, so this is where suggestions would be appreciated. We'll be starting from south of Brussels near ISB.
Charleroi, because the Wallonia tourism page makes the city sound interesting?
Mons?
Somewhere else?

Day 4: (Tuesday) Only the afternoon. Perhaps Antwerp before heading to the airport (1900 flight)?

We have been to Brussels and to Bruges, so those are out. DH has no interest in the Ardennes or Waterloo. Cool castles, pretty cities, and possibilities for a wander rank higher than museums for us. Restaurant suggestions (all budgets, all cuisines) in any of these cities are welcome, too.

Thank you!

PalenQ

Antwerp is so cool -take train from there direct to airport. Train station itself is a gem - town center short walk.

hetismij2

Where are you flying to at the end? It affects what time you need to be at the airport, and tbh I don't think you will have enough time for Antwerp, especially if you to have to travel to Antwerp from elsewhere and then back to the airport. What will you do with your luggage? Even carry-on will get annoying to lug around the city.

PalenQ

Antwerp Centrale station don't have left luggage?

joannyc

lavandula

Tournai: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/d...rs-in-tournai/

You could combine Tournai with Lille, maybe Mons, but maybe not Charleroi, which has an industrial past but has not recovered well from the loss of its industry. Dinant is special; make sure you see it from the other side of the river (the railway side). You can even do a boat trip on the Meuse.

If you did see the Ardennes (and Dinant is the gateway), Han-sur-Lesse (caves), La Roche-en-Ardenne, Chimay, Bouillon are all nice.

Lavandula

joannyc

Tulips

If you have a car, and are planning to use it to visit Antwerp before heading to the airport; I wouldn't do that!
Traffic is terrible, several main roads broken up, and the motorway between Antwerp and the airport gets very busy. For a 19:00 flight you want to be at the airport at 17:00 - earlier for a transatlantic flight.
Do what Lavandula says! If you have extra time, then stick closer the the airport. Mechelen maybe, for lunch before heading to Zaventem.

fourfortravel

Thank you! Tournai was on the list originally and fell off, so I'll reconsider. Too bad about Charleroi; we like industrial cities for the architecture, but if it's not worth a visit... No caves for us (DH is 2m+ and hates caves. ) La Roche-en-Ardenne, Chimay, and Bouillon all warrant investigation, thank you!

fourfortravel

Railway side view is duly noted. Thank you!

fourfortravel

Excellent advice. We will have a car for the duration. The flight is domestic, so we'll have about 5 hours following the end of the tournament at ISB (south of Brussels) before we'll need to be at the airport. Will look into Mechelen for lunch and pleasant wandering. Thank you.

fourfortravel

We are flying out of BRU and into VIE and will have a rental car. Though, with traffic and road construction considerations, Antwerp is probably out.