mahjarunner

Hi all. We are flying into Amsterdam Dec 19 and out of Brussels on Dec 27. Tentatively, I am thinking 4 days in Amsterdam and 4 days in Belgium. My question is how to allocate our time in Belgium roughly Dec 23-27. Or should we consider staying in Amsterdam for 6 nights and then spend 1-2 days in Belgium.

We don't mind moving hotels once so I am thinking one or two cities or to base ourselves in Brussles and take day trips.

I'm curious, what is the best city for us to be in on Christmas Day in terms of being able to get something to eat and possibly have something to do? Are trains running? I know Amsterdam has tons of museums etc open on Dec 25, but not sure about Belgium.

A bit about us: me adult female early 40s, traveling with my mom early 70s, but has mobility and spunk of someone my age. We both like art, museums, walking / hiking (I know, not ideal conditions in December), beer/wine, markets, politics, books, vegetarian food, music/concerts, and opportunities to meet and chat with locals. We are not particularly interested in touring churches or being super close to the water given the weather.

Taking any and all suggestions.

Thanks!

pariswat

Hello

I'll reply for Belgium - I've never been a lot ot NL (took my 40 years to go back to Amsterdam, which is quite far away ... about 1 h 45 maybe ? ).

I live very close to Brussels. On Xmas, I'm usually away, since I'm fed up of the miserable weather we usually have.
I like Bruxelles quite a lot, but I'd recommend visiting it on the way and staying in Gent. From there you can go to Bruges too. You have no difficulty spending 4-5 or more days in Belgium only in 2-3 cities in a one hour radius (Gent as base : Antwerpen, Leuve, Brugge, Bruxelles are easily reached.

Musueums : not a fan of musuems in my own country... I did musée de l'armée (with a very nice air musuem) in Bxl, musée de la BD (cartoon museum, wuite nice), autoworld (if you like cars). Lot of others I gather, neever been to...

If interested in wars : WW1, the flanders are full of sites, WW2 : go to Bastogne, Napoleonic wars : go to Waterloo (they redid it completely and it is nice, now.

Beers... ehehe... mussels, food : you find this everywhere in Belgium. Chats : we are not difficult to talk to, and a lot of us are capable of speaking english on a reasonable level (less than in NL btw, but we speak French too).

Big cities will have a lot of places open. On 24th usually people are with family and restaurants tend to impose a sepcial menu. 25 is like a sunday, so trains do run, but most shops will be closed, banks of course are closed, as well as public offices and schools too - but you would be slightly overage in schools

Churches : we have a few worth a visit.

(I seem to remember in NL they celebrate 25 and 26 - you should check.)

Sorry to have been so long... I'm in a confcall that is not particularly interesting

mvg

sandralist

If at all possible, consider flipping your trip -- starting in Belgium and going to Amsterdam -- because I think you will find more to do in Amsterdam right at the Christmas holidays than you will in the more charming Belgian towns. For me, I would probably stay in Antwerp the whole time and do a few day trips, but Gent or Bruges might also work for you.

mahjarunner

Thanks - the tickets are already purchased so we will have to make due with that. So it sounds like Ghent or Antwerp make a good base for the Belgian part of our trip. Can anyone recommend how to find what might be open on Christmas? Thanks.

PalenQ

Bruges to most folks is the highlight of Belgium - citywide old-world looks - Gent has some small areas like that but is a more vibrant larger city - Antwerp even more.

Gent would make a good base from which to day trip to both Bruges and Gent but not on the same day!

Trains from Amsterdam to Antwerp and Gent are of two types - IC trains running on older tracks and taking about an hour longer than the high-speed Thalys trains which however have a tiered fare structure - the earlier you buy Thalys tickets the cheaper it becomes - www.thalys.com if the official site and book also the ABS fare for I think 5 euros extra - allows you to go to any Belgian Station within 24 hours of your Thalys arrival - like at Antwerp - take any train from there to Bruges if you have the Thalys ABS fare.

For lots on trains check out www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

IC trains have a flat fare structure so just buy those when in Amsterdam - no reservations even possible I think - they go hourly to Antwerp and Brussels. Thalys if bought early enough could be way cheaper, especially with the ABS fare angle.