A3M

I've been to Netherlands in November and spent three days in Amsterdam and did the museums and churches. I'm travelling on work to Breda end of June and would like to take three days off to do some sight seeing. Should I explore more of Netherlands or should I go to Belgium.
I love the countryside and old monuments, chuurches, museums, castles, art and villages. My dilemna is whether I should stay and explore more of Netherlands or do Belgium.

ribeirasacra

method of transport?

menachem

From Breda ( a lovely town in its own right), Antwerp is around the corner, and so is Rotterdam. Den Bosch is a short train ride away, and it's an easy connection to Utrecht (partly medieval town centre, very historical, old architecture, and wonderfully lively city) and Nijmegen (one of the oldest cities of the Netherlands, Charlemagne stayed there)

PalenQ

Delft- one of the dreamiest regional towns in Belgium is also very close to Breda- you could even go to Bruges,lovely Bruges in a few hours from Breda or Gent, another gem.

menachem

Delft is in the Netherlands of course. Brugge involves a change at Antwerp and some nifty train traveling via Roosendaal. From Breda you can take the bus to Sluis, which takes you via the northern docks in Antwerp. About 40 minutes by bus.

Tulips

From Breda you could visit Heusden; a small medieval fortified town.
And if you're interested in churches, look up the Basiliek in Oudenbosch. It's a mini St Peter.

Whathello

I live in Belgium and hardly ever go to NL.
Why should I ? We have all that is beautiful and the good food.

MyriamC

We do have the better food in Belgium. No doubt about that!

Tulips

It's an old rivalry between the Dutch and Belgians. Belgian people still believe that you cannot eat anything decent in the Netherlands. We had dinner recently with Belgian friends in Amsterdam, and they were genuinely amazed at the quality of the food.

And Dutch people believe that it's lovely in Belgium, but a bit chaotic and nothing works.

wait... that bit is actually true ;-)

I'd recommend a night in Antwerp, after your days in Breda (which is a lovely town too).

MyriamC

I agree that you can eat well in the Netherlands, but only in the higher end restaurants (Mijn Keuken in Wouw and the recently opened Vista in Willemstad, being my favourites).
Also, I hate having to pay for bread & butter, which is the case in a lot of brasserie style places in NL. Most unwelcoming!

I also agree that Belgium is chaotic and nothing works as it should. So be it ... I'm not ready to move.

And last but not least, I'd also recommend a night in Antwerp.

PalenQ

For train schedules and online booking his www.ns.nl/en for The Netherlands and http://www.belgianrail.be/en for Belgium- I think Belgium has some really cheap day passes - especially if a senior. For general info on Benelux trains check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Andrew

I stayed in Delft last night for the first time. It truly is a wonderful town! Easy, direct train from Schiphol (Amsterdam) airport. Much quieter than Amsterdam. I think I may stay there from now on when staging in Amsterdam before/after a flight to/from Europe.

A3M

Hey Thanks all for the replies!!!
Love the banter between NL vs Belgium
I have the afternoon of the day I arrive in Breda and another day, till the evening to explore Breda, will this be enogh. Evening I plan to stay in Eeklo and the next two days explore Brugge and Ghent. Day after that I will go back to Amsterdam to take a flight back home.
Should I take trains/ buses or rent a car.
I have heard that parking is a problem in cities and expensive too!

menachem

Trains/buses work well. No need for a car

Tulips

For these places train is easier - no need for a car. That is, when they're not on strike in Belgium...
;-)

A3M

Thanks both and lol Tulips!

Whathello

You chose wisely.
Gent is probably the most beautiful city of Belgium.
Brugge is nice, quite nice but too touristy for my taste of local ;-)

Do eat a 'waterzooi' somewhere, it originated in Gent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterzooi

Tulips

In Breda check out the 'Ginneken' area for nice bars.
Restaurant Bali for Indonesian food.

And have a look at the European Football Cup matches - if Belgium is playing while you are in Gent or Brugge, there will probably be big screens to watch the match. The Netherlands is not taking part this time

PalenQ

does the smell of beer still waft thru Breda or is that large beer factory gone - we used to bike thru there on our bike trips and the smell odor of brewing beer was neat.

Tulips

Don't know PalenQ, have never noticed it.
Perhaps you were there at Carnaval, when the whole place smells of beer..