dandygirl

Going to tradeshow in Cologne, which we've been to several times, in a few weeks. Would like to hear any suggestions for possible side trips to Brussels and/or Luxembourg. We have one week, of which 2 nights will be in Cologne for the show. The rest of the time is ours and we want to make the most of our time while abroad. My husband is an HUGE beer brewer/lover, etc and I know Brussels is a beer drinkers nirvana. We will have a car and gps and love exploring. Never afraid to live out of a suitcase. Are there any towns, sites, beer-related or not, that are a must see and do? We may land in Brussels or Amsterdam and plan on adjusting our itinerary based on recommendations. Thank you so much for any
advice you may give!!

Andrew

Luxembourg City (the capitol city in the tiny country of Luxembourg) is kind of a snore, but there are some adorable little towns in the country like Vianden. Diekirch, Luxembourg is world renowned for it beer, FYI. The town itself isn't as cute as Vianden but was very pleasant, and I enjoyed the not-modern military museum there that depicted scenes from the Battle of the Bulge. I visited both in May (mostly rain) and thought I'd love to go back someday and spend more time in the little towns in better weather.

If you must do a big city I'd choose Brussels over Luxembourg City even though I'm not crazy about Brussels, either. It's OK, but other than the Grand Place (which is beautiful especially at night) it doesn't do much for me, either.

If you want a nice town in Belgium - a pretty large town/small city - consider Leuven instead. It's much more laid-back and less touristy than the bigger, more well-known cities like Brussels and Antwerp. Of course, you could drive a little further and see Ghent or Bruges, both of which I preferred to Brussels. (Leuven is closer to Brussels.)

You can see my trip report from May by clicking on my name.

dandygirl

Thank you for your comments. We've been to Bruges and adored it. We don't really have to do big cities. We would drive to wherever sounds the best. I'm going to check out Leuven online. Amsterdam is a possibility too if the recommendations are worthwhile. Keep your ideas coming!! Thanks again!

texasbookworm

And there's an American WWII cemetery not far from Luxembourg City, too. Gen. Patton is buried there. After our early morning visit to the cemetery, we drove about 25 miles north to Diekirch and its museum. Pretty drive. (Then we drove back to near Frankfurt.) We are glad we spent a day (and the night before) in Luxembourg.

Tulips

Quite a bit further, but for a beer fanatic, the Sint Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren would be a great place to visit.
I understand it is quite difficult to get hold of a reservation to visit and buy the beer, though.

Andrew

Yes, the American cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg (a suburb of Luxembourg City) is worth a visit for sure - super easy by car and not hard by bus (and a bit of walking). Luxembourg is a beautiful little country that I'd like to visit again. But as I said, Luxembourg City isn't really that amazing. It makes a convenient base for exploring the area but the little towns I saw were more charming.

dandygirl, if you loved Bruges (which I loved as well), consider Ghent, which is more of a real city vs. Bruges but is also beautiful with plenty of canals. Leuven is very nice too, but I think most would prefer Ghent. Neither would feel very touristy vs. Brussels. If you have a car, there are plenty of little towns you could browse and explore in Belgium.

brendonb28

Last year I spent a week in Belgium and Luxembourg. If you loved Brugges consider visitng Ghent. Waterloo is worth a quick visit to see Lion's Hill wear Napoleon fought. Luxembourg is a gorgwous country, you can see it all in 3 days. Ettlebruck has a nice little WW2 museum. Ecthernach should not be misssed. Bourshceid castle is nice aswell as Vianden and Clervaux. Esch-Sur-Sure is gorgeous. If you want to go to Holland, Kinderdijk has 19 windmills and Delft is a smaller version of Amsterdam which I loved.

lavandula

In Brussels: the Delirium Café has an extraordinary long list of beers (like over 2000, I forget how many): http://deliriumcafe.be . That's just if you are going for the beer. If you are going for the traditional Brussels estaminet (a traditional beer café), try À la Mort Subite, which has its own beer; Le Cirio, Falstaff also have pretty settings (all Art Nouveau, which is the special artistic style in much of Brussels). If you are going on a fun night out, the area around Place-St-Géry has a lot of cafés (again, think beer, not coffee) with a good atmosphere, especially Mappamundo or Zebra.

Lavandula

dandygirl

Again, thank you for all of your fabulous replies. My husband will be in beer heaven, and my family is from Belgium so I am just thrilled to be going. We have booked hotels in Cologne for 2 nights, and 3 nights in Ghent. The other night's itineraries have yet to be decided.