The wife and I are spending half a week (4-5 days) in Belgium next May and the other half in Paris. We would rather lay our heads down in only one place in Belgium while seeing other parts on day trips, and I'm having a bit of trouble deciding where to base ourselves. <BR> <BR>Brugge was my first choice given the rave reviews it has received on this forum, but I'm growing concerned that its "perfectness" will not outweigh the large number of tourists and the expected increases in costs that come with them. <BR> <BR>And since we're staying in Paris for the rest of the week, I think we'd prefer something smaller than Brussels as a contrast. <BR> <BR>We are also considering Ghent (read that it's almost as nice as Brugge without the hoards of tourists) and Antwerp (recommended by a Belgian business associate). <BR> <BR>I'm a firm believer that you can only get the full experience of a city if you spend the night there (when the day-trippers leave), so I don't want to miss out on Brugge, but if we're going to feel like we're staying in a fabricated tourist town for 4-5 days, I think I'd rather base ourselves elsewhere. <BR> <BR>Sorry if I haven't presented my thoughts in a cohesive manner. Any thoughts/recommendations you may have on this would be much appreciated. And Elvira, please don't recommend that we simply spend the entire holiday in Paris.

I guess I should add that my wife and I enjoy strolling through old neighborhoods, finding cute shops and restaurants and bars (beer is a reason for the stop in Belgium) and like to have some nightlife options. We are not huge museum fans, but will stop in one when we feel that we need to git sum culture.

Living 25 km north of Antwerp I would very much recommend to come to Antwerp. Our city looks very much like Brugge, but is less touristy. It has also an ancient quarter with narrow streets, antique shops, many restaurants and pubs, also top fashion boutiques, musea, the highest cathedral in Belgium (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe-Kathedraal), etc... <BR>You can book a guided tour to learn more about the history of Antwerp ; you can book a boattrip on the river Schelde for a few hours (or further away for a whole day). There are plenty of things to do. <BR> <BR>Feel free to email me if you want more information. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Don't have any advice yet... but I will be in Brugges and Ghent next week. I will report back.

While I don't think Brugge is as relentlessly touristy as some other popular small towns, you could visit it as a day trip and just stay longer than most of the tourists. Whereas San Gimignano, say, requires you to leave by 8 or so if you're taking public transportation, the last train from Brugge to Ghent is around 11:30 pm. <BR> <BR>Elvira, would you really tell him to spend the whole time in Paris? What about chocolate? What about beer? What about those charming Belgians?

I would recommend Antwerp. While Brugge is pretty, I found it a little overrated and very expensive. Ghent is a nice alternative, but there is less to see and do. Antwerp is a great city. I was surprised by its beauty. I especially liked the fact that the people on the streets were Belgians and other residents, not tourists. It is a great, lively, vibrant city.

Welcome back Mr. Fowler. Thought I'd selfishly bring this one to the top for you. <BR> <BR>I am struggling between Brugge and Gent (will probably save Antwerpen for another trip). Thanks.

I confess that I'm prejudiced because I have good friends in Ghent, but I'm pretty fond of the place. Either Brugge or Ghent would be a good base; I guess it depends upon whether you want picture-postcard lovely or more of a diverse, living city. As well as being significantly larger than Brugge, Ghent has a university and is the regional capital, and so it has more nightlife, cultural activities, and "local" (as opposed to tourist-oriented) cafes, restaurants, and bars. Parts of it are big-city uninspiring, but there are also interesting old areas, not all of which seem to be mentioned in many guidebooks. And, as somebody else pointed out, you can easily go to Brugge from there and come back fairly late at night. It's also very accessible to Antwerp, which I highly recommend. <BR> <BR>Two random Ghent suggestions: 1) If you see Van Eyck's wonderful altarpiece in St. Bavo's, the taped commentary is quite good (and I don't generally like those taped things). 2) Daskalides chocolates, made in Ghent, are among my favorites (and I've tried many, too many, Belgian chocolates). <BR>

Forgot to suggest an interesting book of walking tours, since you said you liked exploreing old neighborhoods. It's Flemish Cities Explored by Derek Blyth, originally British but published in the US by Univ. of Rochester Press, ISBN 1873429568.

Thanks for all the responses. <BR> <BR>Meg, welcome back. Any reflections on Ghent/Brugge? Thanks.

Hey, Brian. We returned last Friday - not our finest trip (I got sick and my husband had run in with the cobblestones in Brugges and busted his knee), so Brugges was not the highlight. We had only planned to spend an afternoon there to begin with, then our train into Antwerp was late, we missed our connection, etc. which further shortened our time there. We had a good meal at Bistro Den Huzaar (Vlamingstraat 36 - just off Market Square), bought some incredible chocolates on Geldmunstraat, and wandered around a bit as best we could with my head cold and Patrick's knee. The highlight of the city for us was the Bejignhof (Beguinage) b/c we own an Edouard Boubat photograph - Beguinage de Brugges - that was taken there in 1954. We caught our afternoon train to Ghent and checked into Sint Jorishoff (Cour St. Georges) which was right around the corner from the three towers - and is also billed as the oldest hotel in Europe dating back to 1228 which was what grabbed our attention in the first place. It was an interesting place. Again, due to our respective ailments, we didn't cover as much ground as we usually do. We saw the three towers (St. Bavo's Cathedral, the Belfry and St. Nicholas Church), walked down the Graslei, took a canal tour and visited the Castle of the Counts. I have a thing for castles, but the grillion or so spiral steps nearly did Patrick's knee in - so that was the end of Ghent for us. The waffles were to die for. I am usually very well prepared for our visits to new cities, but I wasn't for these two cities which I'm sure contributes to my less than enthusiastic attitude about them. We are both glad we went, but neither city captured my heart like Paris or Amsterdam did on our first trips there. I think they language thing really bothered me - I can't understand one single word of Dutch or Flemish. When I tried to speak French, I would be responded to in English. I just never felt relaxed - it was more foreign to me than Asia if that makes any sense. I can't explain it. Oh - one place we tried to go in Brugges but it was closed was recommended by Wes Fowler - T'Brugs Beertje on Kemelstraat that has over 300 varieties of beer - sorry that we missed that.

Meg, thanks for the report. Sorry to make you re-live your injuries, though. <BR> <BR>Would you recommend your hotel in Ghent? Looks like we're leaning towards basing ourselves there. <BR> <BR>Did you buy a train pass or just buy individual tickets. Any problem getting tickets just before you got on the train? <BR> <BR>We feel the same about Amsterdam. Simply enchanting. Hope my wife likes Paris as much as she did Amsterdam (this will be her first time). <BR> <BR>The biggest suprise from your post was the language issues. I had thought (perhaps erroneously) that non-Flemish speakers should lead with French in Brussels, but with English in Flanders outside of Brussels. Like Meg, I can be slightly thrown off if I run up against language problems, and know better than to attempt Dutch or Flemish. Anyone have any thoughts on this? <BR> <BR>Thanks again for your post, Meg.

In the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, I do what I usually do in a country where I don't speak the language. I learn to say "I'm sorry, I don't speak (blank). Do you speak English?" (or something that sounds close enough that they can guess what I mean in the native language, in this case Flemish, and start out with that. In Ghent and Brugge, most of the time people then speak English to me, though I've had a couple of people respond in Flemish or French by saying "No. Do you speak French?" and then I limp along in my very rusty French. <BR> <BR>Although Belgium is bilingual (trilingual, actually, there's a a small part that's officially German-speaking), you can't assume that all of the people are -- I have run into people, mostly but not always in small towns or older people, who speak only their regional language, be it Flemish or French. And then, of course, there are the regional sensitivities about speaking the "other" language. <BR> <BR>As for trains, I've never found it economical using a rail pass, and I've never had trouble buying a ticket just prior to departure.

Yes, I would recommend the hotel, Brian. The location was great and the rate was good. We upgraded to a "charm" double that was 4600 BEF (around $120US), but later regretted it b/c I read that the regular doubles (about $100 a night) are in the old section of the hotel - the charm doubles are across the street in the "modern" annex which probably is from the 17the century or so. Anyway - we were interested in what the old rooms looked like. The "charm" double was interesting - it had a spare bedroom which we didn't need. Anyway - it's within a 1 minute walk of the three towers and a 5 minute walk from the Graslei and the canal boat departures. The castle was less than 10 minutes away. <BR> <BR>We just bought individual train tickets since this was our only travel outside of Amsterdam. We bought them a few days before just because we happened to pass the international ticket office at Centraal Station. We went first class for 225 guilders each (about $112). On these trains though (as opposed to the Eurostar), there didn't appear to be that much difference in first and second class except that there weren't any rowdy school children in first class. The trip from Brugges to Ghent was only 30 minutes. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>I'm sure your wife will adore Paris.

Hi, Brian. My wife and I just back from a trip to Belgium & Germany. Since Belgium is relatively small, why not base yourself in Brussels and take day trips to Ghent, Antwerp, & Brugges. Brussels offers a lot in terms of history, food & beer plus the Grand Place has some of the most spectacular architecture in Europe. You may want to consider renting a car and driving around since everything in Flanders is within close proximity. I would also suggest a trip to Cologne, Germany which is 2-1/2 hours by train from Brussels. You may even want to do an overnighter in Cologne. It's a beautiful city located right on the Rhine. Pick up just your basic words for French conversation and you can limp by with English. The Belgians are pretty forgiving as Brussels is such an international capital. If you do decide to stay in Brussels, I would suggest Hotel Welcome, run by Michel & Sophie Smeesters (check out http://[email protected] on the web). No matter where you end up, you'll find Belgium charming and worth additional visits. Enjoy!

Even though you seem decided on Brugge or Ghent -- I'll add my voice to those recommending Antwerp -- or Anvers as they say in the South (of Belgium). Simply put, it is larger -- without being too large -- and has much more to offer in variety; much more "traditionally european" than Brussels. Another place that we liked was de Haven on the North Sea coast -- a little out of the way and May is a little early in the season; but it seemed a nice sea-side town. We found Belgium to be a really pleasant country, friendly people, good food, managable distances, very ugly, muscled-up cows that from a distance look sort of like long legged pigs (Belgium Blues -- a breed rarely seen in the US).

We spent 10 days in Belgium last fall. The only time language was a 'problem' was in Dinant in the French-speaking part of the country. But that was part of the fun of vacationing and seeing something new and different. I spoke German *which is a major faux pas I found* so a lot of pointing and sign language did the trick. <BR> <BR>Personally, I didn't care for Antwerp and loved Brugge. However, remember you can drive from one part of the country to the other in a few hours. I'd base someplace outside of Brussels but near the center of the country. I'd rent a car and take day trips. The southern part of the country is very hilly and beautiful. I highly recommend Dinant. But also in the east, I'd look into a trip to Bokrijk. It is an open-air living museum which was a joy to visit. I don't know what kind of interests you have, whether you are 'city' people or 'country' people. But for us, we took a couple of hours and drove up to Zeebrugge just to see the North Sea. I see the advantage of 'basing' in one location, but trying different accomodations is part of the fun. In Brugge, I highly recommend Hotel Hansa. It was medium-priced but with first class service and morning breakfast. <BR> <BR>Have fun!!! <BR>

I'm the other half of the "we" Nancy spoke about. I guess I'm not a big city person either because I did not care for Antwerp or Brussels at all. Too big and too noisy. <BR> <BR>I highly recommend driving about the countryside. The scenary is beautiful and the little towns are really worth seeing. <BR> <BR>I also want to tell you that not one native Belgian we talked with was anything less than friendly. We wanted to trace some of Nancy's ancestors in a small church cemetary and the choirmaster interrupted a youth practise to find someone who spoke English to help us. The people taking care of the cemetary looked at every stone with us and did their best to help us even though they didn't speak very much English. <BR> <BR>Anyway, I feel in love with the country, the people, and the fruit beers. I can't wait to go back. <BR> <BR>ENJOY!!!

<BR>P.S. Brugge did not strike me as being "touristy" at all. There were the tours and the tour groups but I think we may have been after the season ended.