Brussels - the Netherlands day trip, where to go?
 

I have a Eurostar ticket from London to any Dutch station. I'd like to visit the Netherlands for a day. I've been to the Netherlands and I've seen Amsterdam, The Hague, Delft, and Rotterdam.

Any suggestions on which city to explore? I'm looking for something with good train connections from/to Brussles and I will need to pay for a one ticket from the Netherlands back to Brussels.

Thanks.

You are going to Brussels, why not see a pretty place in Belgium? Bruges or Ghent?

With the any Dutch Stations fare be sure to not take Thalys or Fyra trains as they are not covered. Thalys is the fast train to Holland so stick to the slower IC trains.

Haarlem, right on the footsteps of Amsterdam is a really neat city in its own right - easy to spend a half day or more there - museums - great looks - canals - large market place with outdoor market many days -or Bruges yes in Belgium is IMO the nicest old-world looking city north of the Alps.

Fyra is long dead.

What about Maastricht, den Bosch or Breda? You will need to change trains to get to each one but it is pretty painless.

Have a look at nsinternational.nl and see what the connections are like. Given you only want a day trip those three cities are close to Belgium. Doesn't mean they are fast to get to, I haven't looked.

hetismij - Eurostar site says Fyra - for my info what replaced Fyra - anything - no surcharge now for railpasses I hope?

Thanks

Fyra was killed off in 2013. No highspeed trains at the moment only intercities I believe.

dank u wel!

Utrecht is a fascinating city with dreamy looks in its centrum and lots of museums and awesome churches.

Dordrecht ride near the Belgian frontier is unherladed but IME a rather neat city on a wide river - the usual vibrant pedestrian shopping zone.

Gouda is a dreamy old town - famous for cheese - a neat large town square - really cute! A short train ride from Rotterdam: https://www.google.com/search?q=goud...=1600&bih=1099

Try and come on cheese market day!

Leiden is another dreamy canal-laced city - great for anything you want - on the main IC train route to Amsterdam:

https://www.google.com/search?q=leid...=1600&bih=1099

Thank you. I have been to Brugge, and plan on visiting Antwerp and Ghent on this trip. I will spend a day in the Netherlands too. It looks like Utrecht is 3 hours each way by train. I'll look at the other places suggested.

Thank you. I have been to Brugge, and plan on visiting Antwerp and Ghent on this trip. I will spend a day in the Netherlands too. It looks like Utrecht is 3 hours each way by train. I'll look at the other places suggested.

Middleberg, in far southern Holland, is a neat city that may be closer than Utrecht or Leiden - too bad you can't take the Thalys train as they would be an hour closer:

https://www.google.com/search?q=midd...=1600&bih=1099

As pix shown a nice old town but few tourists here at least ever say they're going there.

Middelburg is two and a half hours each way from Brussels.
Why not visit some smaller towns in Belgium? Leuven, Mechelen, Lier, Liège, Mons (European Cultural Capital), etc.

Because she/he has the All-Dutch-Stations fare and wants to see a Dutch town apparently. But I agree Belgium has some sweet towns too and the same ticket could be used to get to them - The Any Belgian Station fare I assume is possible along with the All Dutch Station fare?

she is returning to Brussels so may have some Belgian visits planned too.

Again someone mentioned Breda, close to Belgium like Dordrecht is and both are relatively non-touristed for foreigners but really nice regional Dutch towns.

Breda is a good shopping city, but it is not of great cultural value, IMO. But if shopping is what TS wants, then yes! Brussels-Breda is a 2 hr train ride and involves at least 1 change. Breda is not on the Brussels-Amsterdam line.

How about Rotterdam? I love Rotterdam and it's new covered market (Markthal), the weird architecture of the cube houses combined with the historical monuments at Museumkwartier or the warehouses at Scheepvaartkwartier. A very interesting city! It's also a 2 hr journey but it's on the direct train from Brussels.

OP says in her OP she's been to Rotterdam.

Oops ... must have missed that.

Yup she's been to Delft, Rotterdam and The Hague - all neat cities that are easily reached from Belgium - no other great tourist cities close to the Belgian border it seems. But regional towns like Breda are typically Dutch cities if just wanting to experience a vibrant Dutch city.