Good spots to visist on bike between Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp
 

Hi guys,

Around twenty us are going on a three day trip biking between Brussels-Ghent-Antwerp-Brussels.

It would be great if anyone had some local suggestions for good places between those cities where we can stop for lunch and/or do a brewery tour or just see something cool. We can change our routes to go a little out of the way if a place is worth it.

It would be perfect to find a place where there is a nice beer garden or tables outside where we can enjoy some great Belgian food! Also, we'd like to visit atleast a couple of Belgian breweries to learn a little and taste a lot ;)

Any other tips would be great!

Cheers

Tom

Must seat outside with that group but good food patronized by nearby university students and faculty in Antwerp

https://www.facebook.com/tLastigPortret/page_map

Westmalle Brewery

It is a huge and can easily suck up twenty bikers. High on many best beer in Belgium lists

Thanks IMDonehere!

Have fun.

I cycled the area in 2013.Do not miss the fries in Antwerp. Yummy!http://www.yelp.ca/biz/frituur-number-one-antwerpen-2

Not going to Bruges, the most gorgeous city in Belgium - I biked around Belgium many many times between Gent and Antwerp and except for some monasteries brewing beer there is little of special interest - St Nicklass, between Gent and Antwerp is a nice town for a lunch stop - it has the largest town square in Belgium they said:

https://www.google.com/search?q=st+n...w=1455&bih=978

In Gent, the Plum bike shop/museum is very famous - many bike racers train in Belgium and this store has top-notch stuff - well worth a look at the basement museum too.

http://tenspeedhero.com/features/her...op-and-museum/

Thanks PalenQ!

We chose to leave out Bruges because we only have three days and because we wanted to make sure there was fun nightlife each night. I heard Ghent and Antwerp is the best night out. Let me know if I'm wrong, haha!

I think you are right about that - some Belgians on this forum say that is true - especially Antwerp IME has an active nightlife and Gent is a university town so if students are around things can hop there too.

Bruges is in many ways an ordinary town too with an active nightlife centered around a square near the train station - the center of Bruges is a museum kind of but it is a real town around it in many ways - Bruges too, like all Belgian towns of any size, has an active nightlife.

But with only three days - I'd suggest leaving out maybe Brussels - a city that nonplusses many and take the train to Bruges and go Gent to Antwerp.

Bruges is so so exceptional.

Do you have your route mapped out already?
There is a cycling path from Gent to Antwerpen along the rail tracks. It is marked "fiets-o-strade" (no cars allowed). It passes through Lokeren (where you can drink Cesar, the local beer), St. Niklaas (pretty market square, good for a lunch stop), Beveren (have a drink or a meal on the terrace of Motel Beveren), Melsele and Zwijndrecht. Then through the pedestrian Sint-Annatunnel under the river Schelde (it is allowed to ride your bike in the tunnel) you'll reach the historical centre of Antwerpen. Plenty of cafés and restaurants there!
We haven't cycled it ourselves yet, so I don't know whether the whole path is well marked but from what I read you can always ask in the train stations.

Another possibility is to follow the "knooppunten"-route (Cycle Node Network - http://www.fietsroute.org/indexuk.php). These "nodes" are the points where these cycling paths intersect. Each node in the network is numbered as you can see on the map (unfortunately the site is only in Dutch). You can easily map out your route. http://www.fietsnet.be/routeplanner/default.aspx
I hope you understand, it's a bit difficult to explain in English.

A very scenic route (Cycle Node Network) is via Temse, along the rivers Schelde and Rupel. Instead of cycling Gent-Lokeren-St. Niklaas, you cycle Gent-Lokeren-Temse-Steendorp-Rupelmonde-Bazel (Hofke van Bazel is an excellent restaurant!), Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht-Antwerpen.
http://www.fietsroute.org/indexuk.php

And yes! Both Antwerpen and Gent have a very fun nightlife. Especially in Antwerpen in the summer, with all the summer bars, such as Strantwerpen (http://www.strantwerpen.be/index2.php?lan=2&cat=1), Bocadero (http://www.bocadero.be/en/), Cargo (http://www.cargozomerbar.be/), Skybar (http://skybarantwerp.be/), ...

Gent may be less lively during summer because the students leave the city around mid June and only come back mid September.

Another tip: if you happen to be in Gent in July ... it's Gentse Feesten from 18th till 27th July. This is a festival with various stages (music, dance, theatre, ...) throughout the city. And it's free! Huge crowds but a great experience.
http://www.gentsefeesten.be/

I had the good fortune to take in the Gent Festival several times and what Myriam says is so so true - a great experience - outdoor stages with lots of free music - mimes and street entertainers everywhere - tremendous!

. Then through the pedestrian Sint-Annatunnel under the river Schelde (it is allowed to ride your bike in the tunnel) you'll reach the historical centre of Antwerpen>

Rode thru this unique bike freeway (and pedestrians too) many times - really neat - you emerge at the southern end of Antwerp's old ports - follow the string of wrought-iron warehouses right into the town center.

The bike/foot tunnel is a thrill!

Wow, that's all amazing advice, thank you so much PalenQ and MyriamC. Now I'm super excited. Can't wait for August!

Well, since you will be here (= Antwerp) in August, here's the event calendar for this summer. http://www.zomervanantwerpen.be/brochure/brochure-en
On the 15th we have our yearly Rubens Market in the historical centre. It's a market in a medieval atmosphere, with people dressed up like in Rubens' years. Not to miss!

Myriam (proud to be Antwerpian ;-))