Andrew

I don't think it's a mistake to base in either Ghent or Bruges. In Ghent, you'll probably want to take a tram from the train station to the center of town, which is what I did. Not a big deal, but be prepared for that. In Bruges, you could have a pretty walk from the train station to the center if you were day tripping - less practical if you have luggage. I don't think the walk from Ghent's train station to the center would be so interesting as I recall.

buzzcolin

Thanks again Andrew. Think we will probably stay on the edge of the old town in Bruges with only 10 minutes walk from the station. Then the walk into the centre will be without luggage.

PalenQ

t'Zand near where you are staying is a hoipping nightlife area for young adults in Bruges.

PalenQ

Thanks again and by the way I am a (much travelled)South African>

curious - you speak Afrikaners? If so can you understand Dutch?

buzzcolin

Thanks PalenQ re the t'Zand area. I am now looking at apartments from Home & Away and have seen some great ones in some good central areas. All with 5 star reviews. Anyway I will wait a while now and do my bookings towards the end of the year. Yes I can speak Afrikaans but it in not my home language - that is English. Afrikaans is more like Flemish than Dutch but it does help us to understand in both those countries.

Whathello

Gent is a real city and imo the most beautiful of Belgium.

Brugge is a medieval preserved town turned into some kind of Disney tourist trap. Beautiful but not representative of my country at all. And full of not nice people by belgian standards.

Bruxelles is great but takes some effort to like : some places are superb, some are ugly, albeit it tends to get better again with time. I never tired of Bruxelles. Visited the grand place hundreds of times, love the place sainte-catherine, love the sablon, the galeries; I recently found some very nice places in Anderlecht, I dislike the area around gare du nord and gare du midi, I like Ixelles hate the atomium know too well some hospitals etc etc.

Trains when not on strike are working very well so basing yourself in Gent would be ideal logistically speaking.

Afrikaner is considered here as a lot worse than Flemish - it derives from what the first Boers (farmers) spoke when arriving in SA - not the nicest of the language since most of these guys were barely educated (farmers at the time !) quite litterally starving and fleeing the Netherlands. Akin to Australia ;-)

buzzcolin

Afrikaans is not a pretty language whereas I think Dutch and Flemish are. I especially like their accents when speaking English. We always follow the big cycle races on TV and just love to listen to the Flemish and Dutch guys being interviewed. Thanks for the info Whathello.

jan47ete

Just got back last night and as promised my take on Brugge, Gent, Antwerp and Brussels:

Brugge: loved it. If you took all the 20th century clothing off people (let me finish) and dressed them in period garb--that is Brugge! Extremely crowded during the day as a small area for lots of tourists to see the same sights. I was glad I stayed there and then took a day trip to

Ghent: larger city than Brugge, loved the canals and very easy to get to. Again, crowds everywhere.

Antwerp was on my way to Brussels, drizzling so not that og a great first impression. Seems to me a lot more modern structures interspersed with the old which for me detracted from the charm of a Brugge.

Brussels: very big, huge number of tourists, the small quaint, narrow streets of Lower Town and then the big, wide open blvds of Upper Town made it seem like two different cities.

I also hit Mechlen, Leuven and Lier on a day trip. I wouldn't recommend using as a base but Leuven is a university town and really hopping with a great Old Town and University Library that is beautiful having Flanders oldest university. Little Lier is charming as it circled by a canal which is really its claim to fame.

dundebdav

We are planning our trip for the end of April, so hoping the masses of tourists will not taint our hope of a quiet time in Brugges and then heading off to see more historic sights of Flanders. Any recommendations for a hotel/B&B in Brugges? We are driving to Brugges, but hope to stay very close to central squares and walk a lot. Thanks

pariswat

I might point out that you are a tourist and thus contributing to taint the hopes of locals to have quiet in their city.

April is ok however. But the weather can be awful - check the week before and think in layers.

Last : it is Brugge in Flemish translated into Bruges in French and English. Not a mix of both spellings !

Can't help fir B&b I ssleep one hour away.

joan

We loved Bruges, and especially loved the very special apartment where we stayed. Here is the link (great location, Jacuzzi, Sauna, and the coolest coffee machine in the world, with six choices including matching drinkware):

https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-re...071055#summary

IMDonehere

Did not like our hotel in Brugge called Martin's Relais.

Thoroughly recommend the B & B in Gent-Snooz Inn

-http://www.snoozinn.be/