Castellanese

Hi,

I'm travelling to Europe next June with the following itinerary: Bruges (3 nights), Paris (5 nights) and Turin (5 nights). Since I'll arrive at Brussels airport, I was wondering if it's worth spending a couple of nights in that city or if I should go straight to Bruges on the same day of my arrival.

Thanks!

basingstoke2

Are you considering an "instead of" or an "addition to?" If it is a choice between Brussels and Bruges, my own preference would be Bruges. If you are driving and want to shorten your trip and add another city, consider Ghent - it is about halfway to Bruges and the old part of the city around the castle is lovely. Just take the Brussels ring road (R22) west to E40 which is the highway to both Ghent and Bruges.

nbujic

Yes,
Brussels is a nice place to visit.
It has a lovely main square, an excellent Museum of Modern Art, good restaurant and so on..

Bruges is very charming and small - we found one day was enough.

nbujic

P.S.
on weekend Bruges can be jammed with day-trippers.
Ghent is good for 2 hours ( lunch)

mjs

Why 3 days in Bruges and 5 days in Turin? I can think of alot of different places along your itinerary that I would rather spend time visiting. Brussels would not be one of those places.

jrecm

absolutely, It has a beautiful town square with the buildings illuminated at night to classical music, many wonderful outdoor seafood restaurants, where you can dine and meet others, the comic strip centre, mini Europe and of course fantastic Belgian waffles.

If you want something different go to the oceade water park at the Bruparck. It was a lot of fun as it was hot and something different to do besides going to museums and churches (which we love, but it was hot.) Then treat yourself to a movie Kinepolis a huge movie complex. Plus we sill had time to site see.

Belgium is a great place. People only seem to visit Brugge, Ghent or Brussels. We spent a month in Belgium and loved it. This after living in Germany for a year (teaching) and travelling everywhere, I found I liked it as much as all of the other places each place for different reasons.

Tulips

3 nights in Brugge is a lot; it's not very big. And it's very very busy with tourists in June. You could visit either Brussel or Gent by train as a daytrip from Brugge.

STUMBLEBUM

Bruges is definately small enough for a one night stop. I've visited Ghent over lunch time and found a few hours enough to see the town centre. This was between nights at Brussels and Bruges. The motorway connection is so good, you won't notice the drive.

Castellanese

Thanks everybody!

I meant "in addition to" Bruges. apparently, Brussels is a "controversial" city. Some like it and some don't. I posted a message earlier this year and some people seemed to think that Bruges was worth more than a daytrip or even a night, that's why I decided to stay 3 nights. I'm not interested in visiting museums, so how long would you consider is enough in Bruges? I want to stroll around the city and enjoy it. I really don't want to visit it as if I was in a race. If you think that 3 nights in Bruges is too long, that means I can daytrip to Brussels from there. How small is Bruges? Is it like Venice?

I know that 5 nights (4 days) in Turin seem like a lot, but I'm planning to do daytrips (Basilica di Superga and Sacra di San Michele) and do some shopping (I don't know about Belgium, but Italy is certainly cheaper than France). I've already been to Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan, so I decided to visit Turin to go a little bit off the beaten path. I wanted to spend some time in Liguria (Portofino and Cinque Terre), but it seems a bit complicated.

The thing is that I'd like to spend 2 full weeks in Europe, so I'm looking for a place (not any place but a really special one) among Bruges, Paris and Turin to complete those two weeks.

I've been to Paris before, but I don't consider I enjoyed it the way it should be (it was a bit rushed), that's why I want to go back.

My itinerary is still a work in progress.

Thanks for your suggestions!

eliza3

I have only ever been to Brussels in Belgium - as a weekend trip from London - and loved it. It felt a very real and accessible city with very friendly people, lovely square, shops, coffee shops, chocolate museum(!) and great restaurants. Was Mar or April so not many tourists. Would love to go back and could easily spend a few days there.

Tulips

Brugge is much smaller than Venice. If you're just going to stroll around town, you will see it in half a day! Trains are good (www.nmbs.be), so you can easily do daytrips from there. Or even visit the very nearby Belgian coast when the weather's good. Or cycle to Damme, have lunch there.

Tulips

Wanted to add; or visit Ieper and the Flanders Field museum and WWI battle grounds.

Castellanese

Since you've mentioned the belgian coast, would you tell me what's it like?

Tulips

The architecture is mostly very ugly, unfortunately; lots of high rise flats. The beach is huge though, and there are lots of great restaurants. We often go to Knokke, which is 15 mins by train from Brugge. There's a nature reserve, called Zwin, where you can cycle to, then have lunch somewhere on the seaside. Lots of great shops too, that are open on Sunday. And lots of places with fresh waffles, pancakes.
Another place nearby is Damme, where you can also cycle to from Brugge. It's well-known for its restaurants.