seetheworld

Regarding your shoes -- either way you'll need to be careful walking on the cobblestones. I wore flat sandals with rubber soles and I was okay (but careful).

As for the wheelie bag (you have no choice?) there are sidewalks in Gent and Brugge, but you will need to lift when crossing streets.

seetheworld

lol regarding the rain -- it does do that. Bring a travel umbrella.

julia_t

There's a lot more to Belgium than just the cities.

Will you have a car? If so then drive out into the Ardennes, see Liege, Bouillon, Spa Francorchamps, Dinant, and the lovely forest, hills and scenery. Yhere are castles and pretty villages. It was one of the nicest 4 days of my life that I spent driving through the Ardennes.

dfr4848

Just because I'm getting close to senior status (and getting crotchety as well) I would comment that we didn't think our 3 days in Brugge were too long. I agree with Tina that I think it depends on what else you're doing. We spent 3 days there in the middle of one of our trips visiting my SIL in London. We thought it was a wonderful respite from the urban environment. It's magic to us was in the evenings and very early mornings when the town was ours and those walks along the mist-shrouded canals and parks was wonderfully tranquil. If you're spending your time in other small towns, I can see why it's appeal would be different.

I too would probably pick Gent over Antwerpen for the architecture etc.

Yes, take your rolling bag. As others have said, it's still better than carrying it.

yk

tld, rolling bag is fine, as long as it's sturdy. I dragged my 19" rollaboard everywhere, and it has survied miles of cobblestones in Belgium (both bruges and brussels). Mine is a TravelPro which has those big inline skates wheels. If yours have skimpy wheels that look unstable, then it's not a good idea.

cmeyer54

Roll aboard will be just fine; I focus more on what shoes are comfortable than the style but would probably opt for closed toe. I think you can do rijks or van gogh museums in 4 hours with some planning. Buy a travel guide that has a list of what are considered the most important works with a plan to see them and follow it. Not sure if rijks is still under renovation but if so, all the key pieces are in one wing and easier to see. Even the most jaded individual will find Anne Frank House to be extraordinary.

tinabina

Tld,
*Rollong bag a must...but you will not be able to "sneak" your way around those cobbled streets, the clickaty clack of suitcase wheels is the "music" tourists bring.
*Bring both kinds of shoes...it was very warm 2 of the 3 days we were there, and I wore both. Just pick shoes with stable support and "gummy" type soles for cobbles stones. It's wobbly but it's not like "rock climbing" or anything.
I bought flats from Nordstroms by "Mee Too" and sandals by "Born". I wore them for 13 days and never had a problem or a blister.
*Bring socks for the train and slip off shoes while you ae seated...it's a nice break for your toes.

Have fun.
Tina

tinabina

Thats "rolling bag", not some secret bag for cobbled streets.

tld

Okay, maybe my little wheelie will make it after all. It has fairly sturdy wheels, and I travel light so it won't weigh much.

julia_t, we're not renting a car, so what countryside we see will probably be limited to what we can get to by bicycle. But it's good to have details on places like the Ardennes, because one never knows...plans can change!

seetheworld - can you recommend some places to stay in Ghent?

Thanks again, everyone... cobblestones, rain, umbrellas all noted...

seetheworld

Absolutely, tld...

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...arriott-hotel/

Without a doubt we would return to the Ghent Marriott. I don't know what your budget is, but it is right on the canal, convenient to all central activities, easy with both taxi, bus, and walking. The people are absolutely delightful. The hotel is only two years old. I wish I were there now!

adelaidian

Interesting for me as well as I am planning trip with my daughter in October. We are trying to decide between Brugges and Ghent and Mechelen and Leuven. Mechelen and Leuven didn't get a mention and I wonder why. In the web guides all these places look similar. We just want to walk by the canals, sit in the squares and perhaps do a short boat trip and much prefer the smaller places as I don't want to drag my luggage too far or get buses and can't walk long distances.
Can anyone help with a comparison of Leuven and Mechelen. To be fair, would all four of these cities have a sameness about them.
Looking for one different experience and all I can come up with is Dinant, as we are totally reliant on trains. Have read opposing reviews on Dinant. What do people think. We hoped that if we went south after spending time in Bruggges/Ghent and leuven/Mechelen we may see different scenery from the train and experience a different sort of town. I'd appreciate your thoughts.

lavandula

Love Dinant and Leuven, unfortunately haven't been to Mechelen. Brugge is a small dreamy fairytale whereas Leuven is a little bigger (university town) and just not as picturesque as Brugge. I absolutely would recommend Dinant though - just very picturesque. Wonderful cliffs and architecture contrasted. If you stay there, nearby is canoeing from Houyet to Anseremme which is very popular and you can see some pretty scenery, including a castle. Definitely for the warmer weather, though, as you can get wet. You can rent a bucket with a lid to stow your belongings in to protect them from the water - I didn't bother and came to regret it. This is accessible by train. If you don't want to drag around luggage why not take day trips from Brussels for some of your holiday - just about anywhere in Belgium is doable as a day trip as the rail network is so extensive and there are plenty of trains.

Lavandula

adelaidian

Thanks for your help. Maybe Dinant deserves a visit. We are travelling mid October which could be a worry, but at least the crowds may have gone. We'll give the canoeing a miss tho and I have got info about a short boat trip from Dinant to Anseremme. I think it may stop in Anseremme. Do you know if it would be worth a short stop and get the boat back to Dinant later. Really just looking for variety in the landscape and architecture after spending most of our week in the flat north with Flemish-style buildings. Sounds like Dinant may fit the bill.

lavandula

I don't remember anything striking about Anseremme itself, which is quite small, but I think the boat ride sounds like fun and would allow you to get the full view of the buildings set against the cliff face (in Dinant, that is). I am sure the boat ride will be fine in October, although as a general principle with Belgium I would recommend taking your brolly as it does rain rather a lot! Do write a trip report, it's nice to hear about the road less travelled!

Lavandula

flygirl

tld, how was your trip?

NeeNee321

I love, LOVE, Antwerpen. We stayed at a lovely little hotel, Hotel Matelote and very much preferred Antwerpen over Brussels...though, we have not been to Bruges, so I cannot compare. My favorite restaurant happens to be located in Antwerpen, Rooden Hoed, you must take your daughter for some fabulous mussels and fries in Belgium!

You should not miss Amsterdam if you can swing it.

NeeNee321

ooops! I should learn to check dates of messages, I'm curious to hear how you enjoyed Belgium!

adelaidian

We did the trip in October, also as mother and daughter. It turned out really well. Easy walking in Brugge - a delightful place - and enjoyed walking around Leuven as well. 2 days in each. Also went to Namur by train with a day trip to Dinant and a boat cruise on the river. In retrospect it would have been better to stay in Dinant rather than Namur. The only negative was that we found it hard to eat out where there were no English menus. We had French phrasebooks but still found it hard to understand the menus.

LSky

Here’s my 2 cents on art and architectural interests.

Three days in Bruges was a day too long for me. The only reason we stayed so long is we had a desire to see the Knokke-Hiest Casino with it's Magritte mural. One of the artist’s first commissions.

(Side note: A French group bought the casino and has a new huge building in mind, Steven Hols is the architect, they can’t touch the Magritte mural because it’s a national treasure, but they don’t mind tearing down the Keith Haring wall. )
Sorry, I digress, the destruction of art ticks me off. I would have spent the extra day in Brussels.

Hope you can renegotiate your museum time, if you like art. Between the Magritte Museum in Brussels and the Van Gogh in Amsterdam, you may already be over the time limit. The Rijksmuseum will still be in the process of their renovation but some parts are open.

While we were in Amsterdam we went to the Kroller Mueller Museum in Ede. They have the second largest Van Gogh collection and a nicely diverse Modern collection. The sculpture garden was well worth the trip. The museum sits in a huge park. At the gate you can grab a “White Bicycle”, they’re free and ride into the museum or explore the park. If you like “quirky” this may qualify. Although there is nothing quirky about the quality of the art.

What type of architecture are you interested in? Rotterdam has some of the best modern stuff in the area. Between the Calatrava Bridge and the Cube Houses. I loved Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has a fine collection and diverse enough to be of interest to anyone. Not to mention a beautiful café that may suit your daughter’s people watching yen.

kfusto

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