My husband is in Ostende and has four free days before he files out of Brussels on an early flight. I?m helping him plan a travel agenda (long-distance) and would LOVE any suggestions on where to go and what to see in that part of the world. He has a car and thought that he would like to stay in Belgium and only venture into the northern part of France for a day trip. Any thoughts?

Ditch the car and go to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels, or any combination thereof. The countryside is not that fascinating that you would want to drive around and then struggle with city parking. The area is small enough that the train time between cities is the equivalent of a long subway ride in New York, and there is enough to see in these cities that the four days will go by very quickly. Do a search on Belgium and/or the name of each city for more information from this board.

Sharon Ben,

If he has any interest in WWll sites, Belguim is full of them:
Battle of the Bulge, Massacre at Malmadey, etc.

Curious

Try a drive down the Meuse valley into France - one of the prettiest parts of Belgium IMO.

Spend a day in Brussels exploring the Grand Place, the Cathedral and eating moules and frites! HAve a drink at Mort Subite- near the Grand Place-a great, old (400+ years) Belgian pub.

If your husband is already in Ostende, he probably has been to Brugges since it is very close. You will want him to take you there for sights & shopping (lace & linen).

Gent, Antwerp, and Brussels would be nice places to see, but if you are really adventurous, visit Dinant, just south of Namur. Dinant is a very nice town on the Meuse River. It's about 40 miles south of Brussels. Do a google search on it.

Besides, the WWWII sites, I believe there is a very interesting WWI site near Ghent.

Hey! I'd do Brugge, Antwerpen, 1 historical day, and avoid Brussels at all costs - boring !