Need advice on my itinerary. I will be going there for 11 days with my parents & sister during first week of July. I am interested in culture, art & architecture.

Day1 - Arriving at 9am. Brussels
Day2 - Day trip to Antwerp (Sleep in Brussels)
Day3 - Brussels & Ghent (Sleep in Bruges)
Day4 (Monday) - Bruges
Day5 - Travel Bruges to Cologne, spend the afternoon in Cologne (Sleep in Cologne or Koblenz??)
Day6 - Rhine valley or Mosel Valley?? (Sleep ??)
Day7 - Drive from Frankfurt to Munich through Romantic Road?? (Sleep in Munich)
Day8 - Day trip to Neuchwanshein & Fussen
Day9 - Munich
Day10 - Day trip to Salzburg (Sleep in Munich)
Day11 - Munich
Day12 - Fly back to Brussels

Here are my questions:
1. As you can see I have a lot of question marks during day 5-7. I want to stop in Cologne for the Cologne Cathedral but not sure if I should spend more time there or head to Rhine/Mosel Valley.
2. Should I visit Rhine or Mosel Valley?
3. I am planning to rent a car because I think that should be more convenient for my parents to travel and may be cheaper than train since there are 4 of us. I am thinking of picking up the car in Cologne (Day 5) and returning in Munich (Day 9). Any comments?
4. Is Romantic road worth a visit or it is a touristy place? Should I do a day trip somewhere else or spend more time in some city along the way e.g. one more day in Bruges since I will there on Monday when all museums are closed.

My goodness. You've got lots of daytrips planned, like every single day is a day trip.

Any kind of art you're interested in? If you like Flemish/Netherlandish art, then you're really short-changing Bruges. Or if you like Art Nouveau architecture, you really need a full day for that in Brussels, plus another day for the Royal Museum of Art in Brussels.

yk - after you mentioned it, I now realize I have day trip every other day

I like Art Nouveau and Art Deco (as I really enjoyed those in Vienna). So, Horta Musee is a must for me. I found Art Nouveau guided tour offer by ARAU (http://www.arau.org/ct_artno.php) but not sure if it's good or not. Have you heard of it?

I am also interested to see the masterpieces of Jan Van Eyck and Rubens.

I plan to spend 2 nights in Brussels and 2/3 nights in Bruges (Friday - Tuesday). Is Rubenshuis in Antwerp worth a visit to Antwerp?

On Day 5 I would stop in Cologne for the afternoon, and then continue on to either the Mosel or Rhine, and spend two nights there. That way, you will have ALL of Day 6 to spend exploring (and one less hotel to check in/out of).

I can't comment, yet, about Antwerp and the Rubenshuis, but I'm planning a trip for this October with a day and night in Antwerp just to pay homage to Rubens (and good beer). So I hope you post a trip report when you return from your travels.

Robyn

tasteoftravel - No, I've never heard of that guided tour by ARAU. However, if you do decide to take their tour, PLEASE report back here as I'm very interested in it!!! The last 2 times I was in Brussels, I just did an Art Nouveau walk... but since most of the buildings are private, all I could do was walk by them and look at the facade. The Brussels tourism website has an Art Nouveau walk section which you can download the map; or you can purchase the map when you are at the TI office.

I see that you found one of my TR from Jan 2006. I did go to Museum der Schone Kunsten (Royal Museum of Fine Arts) AND Rubenshuis on that trip. That segment is here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-3719461

Here's the Bruges/Ghent/Brussels section of my more recent trip from September 2008.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...omment-2585608

Going through your list:

Day 2: I probably wouldskip Antwerp. Concentrate on Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. I would make Brussels my place to stay. Less unpcking and packing, more felxibility to allow for weather conditions. It rains a lot Belgium. Take train day trips to Bruges and Ghent. Brussels has lots to offer, and you can get some good discount train fares for day trips. Check the Belgian RR site for schedules and details.

Day5: Take the train from Brussels to Cologne. Check out the cathedral and the nearby museum of all the Roman artifacts that were dug up when they built the Cologne subway. These are right across from the RR station .For a good photo op of the cathedral, walk halfway across the RR bridge crossingthe Rhein. In the PM take the train to Koblenz. Stay there for 2 night3 nights

Days 6 and 7: From Koblenz, take the train along the Rhein about 40km upriver to about St. Goar, and take the boat downriver back to Koblenz. It's fgaster.

On Day 7, in th evening, pick up a rental car.The next day drive along the Mosel, almost to Trier. Pick up the Autobahn A-1 south to Noonweiler, where you pick up the Autobahn A-6. Get off at Exit 17 (Enkenbach-Alsenborn). Follow the B-37 (German Weinroad) south to Neustadt an der Weinstrasse and Speyer. Stay there overnight. Nice old city, with famous cathedral and lots of history, along the Rhein.

From Speyer, follow the signs/road to Heidelberg, and the B-37 along the Neckar River to Moosbach. This is part of the German Castle Route (Burgenstrasse). At Moosbach take the B-17 to Tauberbischofsheim. From there you are on the Romnatic Road (Romantische Strasse). There is really not much romance about the road itself, but some of the towns along the way gave the marketeers the idea for the name of the road. Places to see : Bad Mergentheim, Weikersheim (small palace), Creglingen (famous altar in the Herrgottskirche.) and Rothenburg o.T. (above the Tauber river; there are other Rothenburgs in Germany). Stay overnight on Rothenburg.

The next day drive on the Autonahn A-7 to Fuessen. Takes about 2 1/2 hours. After visiting the castle (I actually prefer to look at them from outside only) take the B-17 north to Landsberg, and from there the A-96 to Munich. From Munich,take a day trip to Salzburg, either by car going the Deutcshe Alpenstrasse (German Alpine Highway) via Berchtesgaden , or by train (using the Bayernkarte discounted day ticket). The train will give you more time in Salzburg; the scvneic road will be just that - -pretty apline scenery. Generally, in Munich a car is just a nuisance.

For train schedules and prices in Germany check www.bahn.de

If you want more detailed info. let me know. I have driven all the suggested routes, some several times.

I have heard of the ARAU tours but have never been - are they in English? I thought they might only be conducted in French (OK if you know French). Please let us know if you find out that they have English-speaking options such as English via headphones, I would be interested to find out. Musée Horta is a must-see, with a really spectacular staircase.

You can do a lot of the visits on your own, as YK mentioned. There are also an enormous number of Art Nouveau influenced properties all through greater Brussels that would not be part of any tour - in Saint-Gilles, around the Vanderkindere area, for instance (visible from tramroute 04 from Bruxelles Midi, but better to do a tour, esp. if you don't have much time - these are not the most spectacular examples), and some beautiful but run-down facades in Etterbeek (also too far off the beaten track for most, and too quiet to hang around, truly).

Maison Saint-Cyr, with the big circular window, at Square Ambiorix (up Rue Archimède, from the Schuman metro station, just near the European district) is quite spectacular but is included in most tours. You probably won't be able to go inside. (The European district is not worth a visit in itself unless you are particularly interested in the workings of the EU and modern architecture - the Berlaymont building is one such (ugly) example of this which is much talked about. Neighbourhoods of small aesthetic houses have been razed to build the buildings housing the EU and the neighbourhoods in Etterbeek will probably eventually have the same fate. If you did go to Maison Saint-Cyr, there is a big park near Schuman (Cinquantenaire), with a triumphal arch at one end which has museums in it. My husband is a fan of the car museum.)

Also Old England (the Museum of Musical Instruments) is an example greatly worth seeing but still part of central Brussels; interestingly the nearby buildings (2 or 3 to the left when facing it) look like a completely different conservative style, but were in fact designed by the same architect for a Protestant owner, whereas Old England was designed for a Catholic owner (there used to be a sort of divide in Belgian society along Catholic and Protestant lines and this even informed preferences in architecture).

Lavandula

I feel if you are interested in Art Nouveau and Rubens, the place to skip is Brugge and the place to keep is Antwerpen. I found Brugge far too touristy for my taste, and Antwerpen a revelation. And I'd much preferred the grand art museum in Antwerpen to that in Brussels.

The Horta museum is a true treasure, and my favorite spot in mostly very ugly Brussels, whose spots areas of interest are very much flung apart.

Given your entry point and if you don't like changing hotels, it makes sense for you to keep Brussels as your sleep spot. Were it me, I have to admit, I'd bed down in Antwerp and only daytrip to Brussels, just to see the Grand Place and the Horta Museum, and a wander by the Museum of Musical Instruments -- then I'd go elsewhere. It's hard to tell someone to skip Brugge, but given your interests and the fact that you are going on to other storybook locations, you might give it some serious thought.

Do no miss the Van Eyck in Ghent.

Since the OP mentioned wanting to see the masterpieces by Jan van Eyck, I think it would be a shame to skip the Groeninge museum in Bruges. It has several fantastic paintings by van Eyck, including his <i>Madonna with Canon van der Paele</i>, and a portrait of van Eyck's wife, Margaret.

However, I just checked the website for Groeninge Museum. There is currently a huge exhibit there on Charles the Bold - Splendour of Burgundy. I'm not sure which van Eyck's paintings will be on view due to the exhibit (you can always email the museum and ask), but the exhibit itself surely sounds interesting enough for a visit.

http://www.brugge.be/internet/en/mus...seum/index.htm

http://www.kareldestoute.info/en/homepage.html

Also, for Brussels, the new Magritte Museum opens next month. I wouldn't miss that. The Ancient Art wing has lots of Flemish Primitive paintings, plus several paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. And of course, the famous <i>Death of Marat</i> by David.

http://www.visitbelgium.com/mediaroo...umBrussels.htm

I have been to Bruge and Antwerp on different trips. If I were to visit them together, I'd probably take the train straight to Antwerp from Brussels airport. From memory, it's a matter of sitting on the train for an extra 45 min vs the 30 min that it already takes going into Brussels. This saves you lots of time from having to take train back to Brussels after every day trip.

Consider:

Day 1 Train from BRU to Antwerp
Day 2 Antwerp
Day 3 Ghent (Pack up your stuff and keep at Ghent train station locker. When you leave, train to Bruges). Arrive in Bruges early evening.
Day 4 Bruges

Your itinerary sounds a lot like the one in that old movie "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium." (Yes, there really was such a movie.) Just getting from Brussels to Frankfurt to Munich to Salzburg to Munich to Brussels will eat up several days that you could spend exploring the historic sites, culture centers, castles and beautiful country of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Rhine and Mosel valleys of Germany, as well as northern France and Holland, all of which are within a short drive or train ride from Brussels. I would suggest that you take out a map, draw a circle around Brussels to encompass no more than 200 miles and pick three or four places you would love to explore, then spend your time there. Otherwise, everything will be a blur.

PS: This is my second attempt to post a response. The first message disappeared into the void.

Thank you so much for everyone's feedback. I have to say that I am pleasantly surprise with the amount of feedback I've received.

lavandula - According to their website, ARAU tours offer English tours as well and they cliam that we will have a chance to visit some houses that normally do not open for public. Thanks for walking tour idea.

yk - Thanks for information about Groerninge & Magritte Museum. I am a little bit disappointed that the permanent collections will not be on diaplay at that time . I will definitely write a trip report afterward.

treplow - I really like your driving route & rental car suggestion. Since I want to spare some time for Munich, I may do Speyer to Munich in one day. Is it posible to do with the route that you suggested? Is the part of German Castle Route a highway?

I still can't finialize my itinerary yet. I will need to do more reserach, taking all your inputs into consideration, and will report back my final itinerary soon!!!

Yes,you can do Speyer - Munich in a day, although you might have to skip Rothenburg (Romantic Highway).

Check this route on your road map: Speyer - Heidelberg - Castle Route (B-37; the designation B=Bundestrasse which is similar to the "US -#) designation here in the US. In other words, these are good highways). Take the B-37 to Moosbach, where it joins the B-27. Take it south to Neckarsulm, where it intersects with the Autobahn A-6 to Nuernberg. Take the A-6 east. If you have made good time (say, around 12 noon) when you get where the A-6 intersects with the A-7, then take the A-7 for the 21 km to Rothenbuirg. For planning purposse, figure that it will take you about 2 1/2 hrs from R. to Munich.

In any event, eventually you want to go on the A-6 as far east as exit #53 (Lichtenau). From here I'm routing you around Nuernberg and its urban autobahn spaghetty junctions on a time-saving nice back road.

From the Lichtenau exit head south-east to Windsbach (9km), Abensberg (5km) Roth (15km). Pass throug Roth toward Allersberg (8km), where you catch the Auobahn A-9 south, the Nuernberg - Munich autobahn. Along the way, you will notice large fields with rows upon rows of telephone poles. That's where they grow the hop for the Bavarian beer.