Choosing between Benelux or Normandy/Brittany?
 

Given limited time in 2008, we would LOVE to hear your opinions as to where we should focus our attention?
Benelux - Brussels, Brugge, Antwerp, Luxembourg, Amsterdam or Brittany/Normandy?
Thank you in advance for any advice you can give us.

You don't mention the age of the travelers, but if you have kids, you should definitely go to Normandy. To see history first hand in that place is something I wish every young person could see. Starting with the great museum in Caen that literally walks you thru the war, the Dday beaches, the towns and the incredible cemetery. I still get goose bumps when I remember the bels tolling at noon and not a human making a sound.

Brussels , Brugge isn't all that far from Normandy. I actually find the WWI war memorials and cemetaries more interesting than the WWII.There are so many and all so different and all with a different focus..mainly on individuals rather than on whole. We've had no problems flying into Brussels, driving to Brugges, then heading down thru the countryside , thru Lille, Ieper, and surrounding areas, into Normandy and WWII battlefields. The driving is easy. If you are not planning on driving .

It always amazes me that Americans neglect the part they played in WWI and fail to recognizes the 10;s of thousands that still lie there.

Forgot to finish my sentence!

If you are not planning on driving, it is still any easy trip from Brussels to a point in NOrmandy that you could base and do booked tours.

Myself I prefer a car and my own agenda, since there are so many guide books to help you plan

I have been to Europe many times and actually lived in the Netherlands for 4 years. I have never been to the Normandy beaches, and I really regret that....I will go back one of these years. I have been to Mont St. Michel, but I don't really think that's part of either Normandy or Brittany. It was quite nice. Having lived in The Netherlands, I am kind of partial to the Benelux countries. Amsterdam is nice and can be a lot of fun. I absolutely love Brugge....I lived in The Hague, and it was about a 3 hour train ride to Brugge....I went there a few times a year for a weekend. It is a very nice, clean, safe city. Ghent is another very nice, clean city, like Brugge....although it is more of a college town. It's close to Brugge. I like Antwerp, although it's a little more spread out than Brugge or Ghent. Perhaps it's not as clean, but it is still nice. I've been to Luxembourg City twice...I quite liked it. There is a lot of history there, with an American Cemetery; Patton is buried there. I once stayed at a hotel that proudly displays a picture of Omar Bradley who once stayed there. While I can't recommend one over the other, I would say that you'll see and do a lot in the Benelux countries and certainly enjoy your trip, but, again, I do regret having not gone to Normandy.

One thing about Antwerp I forgot to mention: last time I was there, about 3 years ago, there was a lot of reconstruction on some of the old buildings....that had been going on a few years earlier, when I was living in Europe. That's probably one reason I have the impression that it is not as clean as Brugge and Ghent...I do not know the status right now of the reconstruction projects. Antwerp is also a large port city, so as you are approaching it, you see a lot of industrial areas....another reason for my impressions of not being as clean....but, in the old town is a nice place.