Hello Fodorites, Thanks in advance for having a look at our rough plans and providing any advice or answers. Please also chime in on anything you think could use some tweaking!

Our family, 2 adults and a 13 and 16 year old, will be in Paris for Christmas this year. We'll arrive on the 20th and leave on the 26th for Belgium.

The Details:

• We've rented an apartment in the Marais - I remember hearing great things about this neighbourhood when I booked my last trip to France almost 19 years ago. Is it still a great neighbourhood to stay in? Last time we stayed near Luxembourg Gardens, but thought the Marais might be better this time around?
• We plan on enjoying the many culinary delights of Paris including bread, pastries, hot chocolate, wine, and bistro meals as well as homecooked meals with lovely french delicacies. We would likely want 2 or 3 splurge meals with the rest being modest or even on the cheap side. Suggestions appreciated. So far on my list are: Le Baron Rouge, Chocolat Chapon, Le Bonaparte, Laduree, Bouillon Julien, Angelina Paris, Breizh Cafe, L'Ange 20, Piere Herme, Robert et Louise, La Belle Hortense, Chez l'Ami Louis, Le Grand Colbert, Le comptoir du relais. Can you help me narrow this down? Also, should we take the kids to Le Train Bleu for the opulent dining room? Is it worth the surroundings?
• For activities, we're planning to walk around Paris a lot (we're an active bunch), visit a few museums on colder days or rainy afternoons (we're not big museum people, but there are so many beautiful ones in Paris - should we do the Louvre, or some other smaller ones?), see the Christmas lights at night, visit the Catacombes, get some great pictures from the Montparnasse Tower, perhaps some classical music at Sainte-Chapele, and the rest of our plans are completely open.

After Paris, we'll be heading to Belgium and staying in Ghent. I think it's centrally located for the plethora of cyclo-cross bike races that happen at that time of year. We plan on taking the train to the races (likely 3, which ones TBD), visiting Bruges, and other than that, no particular plans. We'll fly home on the 3rd or 4th of January.

Thank you so much!

Hi jennycptbo, it would help to know which of the races you will be attending. Not all of them at that time are that close to Ghent, some are closer to (east of) Antwerp, some to the east of Brussels, which makes Ghent not very helpful as a base. So planning this is essential before booking accommodation.

At this time of year you still have the Winter Wonders market going on in Brussels - there will be ice skating, vin chaud, good food. It usually runs to about 6 January.

Lavandula

Thanks Lavandula for the insight! So far, the only World Cup that will work for us is the one in Gavere. We’re waiting on the rest of the schedules to come out for the other series. The winter market sounds great. Is there a place you’d recommend for basing ourselves (we know we will need to travel to every race). Thanks!

If the only race you are going to is Gavere then Ghent makes sense, but there are a whole lot of races at that time and so without knowing which others you choose, I can't really suggest something. I was looking at the 2023 schedule but I guess it is better to wait for 2024, no?

In Brussels the Winter Wonders is partly around the Grand' Place and partly around the Ste.-Catherine district. If you end up in Brussels accommodation-wise then I'd recommend basing in one of those areas, but since most of your time is taken up with cyclo cross I would wait until you know more about that.

Good luck, it sounds like a lot of fun!

Lavandula

Lavandula

jennycptbo, we did London and Rome at Christmas and New Years.
Many restaurants will be closed at that time. Book way ahead! We booked in October but earlier would be even better. Many chefs leave the cities for their country homes.
Like you, we were in an apartment with a full kitchen. We ordered a special Christmas Dinner that we picked up Christmas Eve morning with reheating directions for the next day.
If you know anyone who lives there who can give you the local scoop on food shopping that would be great. Or your rental agent or AirBnB host. It is a special time but also a difficult time to be in these cities at holiday time. A friend of a family member of ours gave us much needed local information and resources.

happyTrvlr, this is really good information to have. We will make reservations in advance. There are many markets and food places and we’re good cooks so I think we’ll find some great stufff for actual Christmas (as well as a bouche Noel) but the days in and around I hadn’t really considered so thank you!

Hi Lavandula,
yes unfortunately the schedule changes a lot from year to year. In addition to Gavere, we do plan on the Sven Nice New Year’s Day race and then we’re waiting on the other series to announce their dates. I’ll pop back on (if you don’t mind) when we’ve got those set.

Do you have any other recommendations of what to do while we’re in Belgium? We will only be at races 3-4 of the 7-8 days. Thanks again!

Apart from the winter market I would absolutely plan some indoor activities as Belgium isn't just cold, it's also prone to rain if it's not quite cold enough for snow. So perhaps the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which is a complex of art galleries. Magritte is quite good for kids, his art is a bit 'out there' and captures the imagination. I would also look at the museums of illusions - there are two and I have only been to one of them, the one near Rue Neuve, but everyone can appreciate museums like this. I would look too at Coudenberg, which is an underground museum of a former royal palace. If the weather is OK then perhaps the Atomium (a partly indoor attraction) and Mini-Europe (outdoors), which are on the outskirts of the city (Heysel, you can get there by metro). And then of course the chocolate / beer / waffles / mussels / frites. Very easy to find these, but if you want specific recommendations let me know. And then outside of Brussels (which you might see anyway depending on the competitions) the typical destinations are Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, but we will perhaps wait for these. If you are doing Ghent, you need to see Gravesteen (castle) and the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, which is an altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral. I will let some other people contribute here about what you might see indoors in Bruges, but the Historium and the Basilica of the Holy Blood are also good indoor activities. Other people will have better tips for Bruges, it's a Fodor's favourite.

Lavandula

Our trip details have been narrowed down quite a bit, and I'd love some more specific recommendations for food. See below:

CX Races
26th - Gavere
30th - Deigem
1 - Baal

While we're in these places for the races of course, are there must sees/dos there?

Then we have 4 other open days.

Staying in Gent. Want to visit Bruges, maybe Antwerp. Will be spending our last night before flight home in Brussels. I was thinking of renting bikes in Bruges (just touristy ones to get around town). We will have all our cold/wet weather gear for watching races so we should be well equipped.

We all love chocolate, chocolat chaud, etc. They want to search in Paris and Belgium for the best one. And of course we will have fries at the races, but any other specific food/restaurant/market recommendations would be so fantastic!

I don't think Gavere and Diegem are significant in any way apart from the cycling. Diegem is part of the outskirts of Brussels, tucked in near the airport. Baal is off near Aarschot. Ghent is not really helpful for either of these - for Diegem, Brussels would be more useful, and for Baal perhaps Leuven. I hope you have a car, these are smaller, more remote communities. If you drive south of Baal there is Kasteel van Horst (a castle): https://www.herita.be/en/horst-castle . It is being renovated but might be something you can just see from the outside.

Bikes in Bruges sounds awesome but probably less fun if it is raining, so play it by ear. I will let other people weigh in on chocolate in Bruges, but for sure there will be good chocolate and warme chocolademelk (= chocolat chaud, after all, this is Flanders ). Good luck, it sounds wonderful but cold!

Lavandula

Thanks again lavandula!

I very much appreciate your insights. Above you said "And then of course the chocolate / beer / waffles / mussels / frites. Very easy to find these, but if you want specific recommendations let me know", and and I'd love any specific restaurant recommendations you might have in any of the places we'll be. If necessary, I want to make a few reservations.

Thanks again!

Hello everyone,
My family, 2 adults and 2 teenagers (who like good food), will be in Paris on Christmas day and I'm looking for recommendations for a great restaurant that is open Christmas Day for a lunch/late lunch or for a few great stops to make where we can "graze" at a few locations. We'll spend Christmas morning at our apartment but then would like to explore a bit before we leave the next day.

I've considered:
- Madame Brasserie in the Eiffel Tower - good view, I heard the food isn't great (can anyone comment) (seems expensive for what it is)
- Strolling by some spots like Deux Magots, Cafe de Flore (open Christmas day) (menus don't look great, but locations are iconic and hopefully less busy this day)
- Just going walking and finding open neighbourhood places to nip into

We're interested in delicious food or great experiences, or both.

Thank you for your ideas.
Jen

Your two threads have been merged

For Brussels, if it's Christmas I think you'll probably fill up at the Winter Wonders market - there is mostly food there. But of course there will be opportunities for frites almost everywhere in the centre e.g. Fritland, Friterie Tabora; if you want a vegan sit down experience then Frites Atelier in Rue Ste.-Catherine (traditionally frites are fried in beef fat but not here). Waffles: Galet in Rue Neuve has Liège waffles with chocolate spears pushed into the centre. Maison Dandoy (a premium experience) in Rue Charles Buls or in the Galeries Royales de St.-Hubert are both sit-down experiences (the better way for a Brussels waffle as you eat these with a knife and fork). TBH I am not sure what restaurants will be like over this period, but I would advise booking ahead. I'd prefer to give a recommendation based on the area you are staying in rather than just give names which may or may not be open. For chocolate, there are two areas that are great: the lower end of the Place du Grand Sablon and the Galeries Royales de St.-Hubert - lots of chocolate shops there to choose from. Mary in the Galeries is very posh.

Where are you staying? Or do you have yet to determine that?

Lavandula

Thanks! We are staying in Ghent near Gravensteen and just one night in Brussels after the Sven Nice race by the Palace.

Ah, I just meant if you could say where in Brussels you were staying I would recommend a restaurant. If you are really staying near the (Royal) Palace, there is an NH hotel in Place du Grand Sablon which is popular on here with Fodorites. But I suspect you mean "Grand' Place" (which actually means 'big market square', not palace) ...? If you are staying near the Grand' Place you could visit the restaurants and cafés in the Galeries Royales de St.-Hubert, like Le Marmiton (which is a little more upscale). If you want mussels and somewhere that caters to kids, maybe Chez Léon, which is a genuine restaurant in a sea of clip joints (Rue des Bouchers is a restaurant street known for touts and dishonest restaurants). And if you haven't yet found a hotel near GP, the Novotel Off Grand' Place has a smurf outside it. A good price for a downtown hotel, very reliable quality, and if you join the Accor loyalty scheme (there is a free one and a paid one, join the free one), they give you a discount on the room rate.

Lavandula

... or thinking about kids again maybe Wolf, which is an upscale food court, which you can't book but has lots of different selections for picky eaters. But I would think mostly you could be accommodated by the Winter Wonders market, there will be lots of fun food opportunities there without the stress of a restaurant with kids.

Lavandula

Hello, great suggestions especially what to be wary of. I appreciate that. We are staying at the hotel with the smurf and I also appreciate the distinction between the two! Also, kids are adventurous eaters!