hernanc2002

Hello:

I know my question is a bit large and may be I can make a post for each city but I thought it's better to do all in one.

I'll be travelling round Europe for 34 days in 8 cities and in the way to some parts I want to stop for a few hours (may be 4, 5 or 6) to do some trips.

The cities are: Dresden, Brussels, Ghent, Brugge and Lille.

In Brussels I will be around 6 hours and I will visit the Grand Place, Manneken Pis (only for a photo, ja!), San Michel Cathedral and may be the european quarter.

At this moment, I didn't planified the other four cities (Dresden, Ghent, Brugge and Lille)

Can you tell me what's the best I can do in such a short time for this cities. What are the main interest?, sightseeing?, what I should not miss?

Thanks a lot in advice!!!!!


HernanC.-

Girlspytravel

I think you might want to go to Ghent and Antwerpen-rather than Lille, have you thought about that? Both of these cities are close to each other and are lively, interesting, great shopping, great sights, you've got Rubens House in Antwerpen, (very interesting), the lovely guilded Town Hall and Grote Markt area, great clothes shopping, then in Ghent the imposing Gravensteen Castle with a moat right in the middle of the city, lovely canalside areas in Ghent where you can dine or have a drink and people-watch-the priceless Jan Van Eyk "adoration of the Lamb" polytych (several panels) in St. Bavo's cathedral,-great food, great beer-both these cities most enjoyable.

hernanc2002

Thanks Girlspytravel.

I will be two days in Antwerp. The 3rd day I will make a day trip to Brugge in the morning and Ghent in the afternoon.

Then, the day after I will go to Paris and I will have a stop at Lille for 5 hours.

Thanks for the advice...

hernanc2002

ttt

dsm22

I just came back this month from Belgium, and I cannot imagine only being in Brugge for only a morning. I was there for two days and could have stayed longer. I thought that it ws very charming.

But if you only have that short time, there are some nice canals to walk around in, lace shops, churches, and good chocolate shops that I ate in.

Horse and carriage rides are available. Some people on our concert tour did this and liked it. I think that it was 35 Euro. I went to see a choir sing in a church up from Katelijnestraat. The church was interesting indside. The Market Square was something to see.

I stayed in a Novotel in Brugge, and I used the map that they gave me to walk around the city. I also ended up purchasing Brugge on Foot. It had nice pictures of the town, and a map.

There were some little museums I would have checked out if I had more time. Like a diamond one, and a chocolate one. There are bike and scooter rentals. There is some kind of city tour that lasts 50 minutes, and it runs every hour. Looks like it costs 11.50 euro.

Ghent was okay, not as nice as Brugge. The day that we were there, they had a market with many stalls in the square. Also have canals, but not as charming as Brugge was.

I did not spend much time in Brussels. Just the night before my flight. I pretty much only went to the Grand Place and to see the Manneken Pis. I walked through the Gallery of many shops there too.

I fell in love with Belgium, especially Brugge. Have a lovely time.

Girlspytravel

Now Hernanc-here's where you get a divergence of opinion-I couldn't get out of Brugge fast enough-because it's a town that lives on its tourism-stuck in its medieval theme, which is boring to me. Gbent and Antwerpen, on the other hand, are very different-they have medieval structures, but they are very lively cities in their own right.

I have a Belgian friend who was born and raised in Dinant, and I asked her about Brugge-her response-one day tops! That's my sentiment as well.

RufusTFirefly

Different strokes for different folks. We loved Brugge--were there for 2-1/2 days and had plenty to see and do.

Because of our location near Baltimore, we don't have to travel all the way to Europe to find lively cities, nightlife, skyscrapers, etc. Besides Baltimore, we can easily and inexpensively get to D.C., Philly, NYC.

We like to experience something different on our trips abroad--so we generally have a mixture of destinations from big cities to rural villages, and important historical/cultural destinations like Brugge.

Myer

Yes, Brugge is touristy. What do you expect?

Having said that, it's one of the most beautiful small cities in Europe. Just my opinion. I believe they have a rule that tourist shops can't hang all of their wares outside the store. Makes for great views.

We were in Prague, Budapest, Brugge and Amsterdam for the first half of June of this year.

We were in Brugge most of 2 days. The first day we walked from the Mrkt to Burg. Then through Blind Donkey Alley to a spot on that street that we named The View. Down to the Church and a block or two down the commercial street (don't remember the name but have it at home). Cut through a little lane on the right (for a little lane enough people knew to come and go through it) and it opens to more outdoor restaurants, lakes, bridges and swans.

We ended at the train station where we bought our next train tickets. Then we doubled back for more of the same (not a bad thing).

The second day we rented bikes and drove to the North-East part of town and spent two hours biking on the cart path that circles the city. The reason I chose that direction was to pass/stop at the windmills.

Halfway around the city we doubled back through the middle and more of the sights.

You can see my trip photos at:

www.travelwalks.com

Unfortunately there are about 125 and you'll have to go through Prague and Budapest before you get to brugge and Amsterdam (with a bit of Brussels at the end).

I emailed the tourist office of Brugge and they sent me a great map and some walking iteineraries. Many people seemed to have them and they were good.

hernanc2002

Thank you very much to all for the replies!!!! Very usefull information about Brugge!!!

Something to say about Dresden or Lille???

nessundorma

Brugge was not my favorite Belgian destination, and the minute I got there I sort of slapped my head and thought: "Why didn't I realize I'd react this way?" You can't blame perfectly preserved Brugge for being an authentic tourist destination, but many of the things people adore about it -- the carriage rides, the street performers, the fairytale presentation -- are just the kind of things I tend to avoid as a traveler. The museum is quite small and I think somewhat overrated. What I did enjoy in Brugge was abandoning the main square and the canals and heading to the area by the river and around St. Ann's church, which is a lovely Belgian neighborhood from the 19th century.

I don't say this to dish other people's fond memories of Brugge and it is a unique sight. Just trying to help hemanc2002 calibrate how long to spend there. For me, a morning would have sufficed to get the picture postcard views -- plus taking a moment to see Michaelangelo's madonna.

RufusTFirefly

Actually, once you get a bit away from the Markt and Burg squares, the number of tourists and "touristyness" in Brugge drop off significantly. We've found this true in many popular tourist destinations--see the central sights before and after the bus tour folks are in town; see the less central sights (and there are a lot of nice ones in and around Brugge) while they are in town.

Not sure what "the museum" refers to as there are several museums in Brugge, some small some not; some very interesting, others less so.

nessundorma

The Groeninge Museum

nessundorma

By the way, I spent two nights in Brugge in off-season. So my personal reactions didn't have anything to do with crowds or not having time to get beyond what are considered the main tourist attractions. I think this thread simply reflects people's differing interests and tastes in destinations.

stardust

Hi Hernan,

I personally prefer Ghent and Antwerp over Brugge as well, for the reasons Girlspytravel mentioned. But on the other hand, Brugge shouldn't be missed if you visit Belgium. So if you want to see Brugge while the tourists are away, perhaps you should spend the night there and see Ghent in the morning. In summer there are some straight train connections from Brugge to Lille, otherwise you have to switch trains in Kortrijk.

Vieux Lille is nice, and walking distance from the Gare de Flandres station, but you could easily do without.

Enjoy your trip!

Ingo

I posted a lot here about Dresden. Click on my name and the threads will come up (beside those on Switzerland). When are you travelling and how many days are reserved for Dresden? I am a bit surprised that you chose Dresden too since it is quite a distance from the others. Any special reason?

Ingo

hernanc2002

Hello Ingo. I will go from Prague to Berlin in late august and in the way, I will stop for a few hours in Dresden. I didn't planified to visit this city, but as it is in the middle of the train travel, with my friend we decided to get down and do some sightseeing for a couple of hours, may be four or five. Then we take again the train to Berlin.

hernanc2002

The cities that I'm asking are not the main cities we'll visit. This cities are in the way to others, e.g.: Lille in the way Antwerp-Paris, Dresden in the way Prague-Berlin or Brussels in the way Berlin-Amsterdam (at nighttrain)