Hello all,

This is my first time posting here, although from time to time I check the forums to get ideas about traveling. My husband and I are going to be in Paris and Belgium this summer (May 28-June 12) to celebrate our anniversary. I am spending some time doing research in England right before, and I will be spending 5 weeks in Brussels afterward, so we're hoping to spend some exploring together in between. We're planning to spend 6 nights in Paris (May 28-June 3) and then head to Bruges for 2 nights (afternoon of 6/3- after dinner 6/4), one night (6/5) and morning until after dinner in Ghent (6/5), and then EITHER one night in Antwerp (6/6) and day until dinner and the rest of the time in Brussels (6/7-6/12, five nights) OR we can head directly to Brussels on the 6th and stay there through the 12, possibly taking a day trip to Antwerp. Any suggestions for how to make the best use of our time in Belgium while still seeing things as much as we can in 8.5 days/9 nights?

In general, we like to see things at a manageable pace (i.e. we decided on 6 nights in Paris instead of 5, assuming that we will probably be back to visit again, although we haven't seen it before) and want to spend at least 4 full days in Brussels exploring. We haven't been to Belgium before and kind of want to get a feel for as much of it as we reasonably have time for without driving ourselves too crazy with traveling. We like seeing new things. I realize there's no way to see any city in just a few days or even a week and we aren't trying to see everything, but this is the time that we have and we want to make the most of it without driving ourselves crazy. Also, I really want to see Paris, and it'd be fun to see Belgium together before I work there for 5 weeks (he'll be back in the USA while I'm working in England and Belgium).

Thanks in advance for any comments/suggestions.

There is no way I would spend all of that time in Brussels (primarily a political city with all of the EU offices) when there are so many wonderful places to visit/stay all over Belgium.

We have loved Brugges (saw Gent from there since only abut 30 minutes away) Liege and Spa and a bunch of smaller towns/castles that we saw while driving around the eastern part.

Brussels has a few fans, but I am not one of them, either. It's not a bad city just not one most visitors are going to fall in love with.

I did fall in love with Bruges - which is also very touristy, but that didn't interfere with my opinion of it, and I tend to dislike big tourist crowds.

I also enjoyed the town of Leuven near Brussels. I spent a few nights in Antwerp which I didn't really care for at all - it has a few nice museums and a gorgeous train station, but I wish in retrospect I could have stayed in Leuven and done a day trip to Antwerp. FYI, Brussels Airport is well connected by direct train to many towns including Antwerp and Leuven; if your husband is flying out of Brussels Airport, there is no need to stay in the city of Brussels itself the night before.

Honestly, you might consider taking three nights for, say, a side trip to Normandy, which is beautiful and of course has lots of World War II history (which may or may not interest you - not exactly a romantic anniversary trip touring battlefields I guess!). Or - and I know you don't want to move around that much - a side trip up to Alsace by train might be nice. I loved Colmar and (to a slightly lesser extend) Strasbourg. Colmar is a beautiful, romantic town.

Having lived in Leuven I concur with Andrew - at least worth visiting . Waterloo is another area worth going to. I particularly liked your of WW 1 areas with Qasimodo tours . The Horta house in Brussels is beautiful - example of art nouveau architecture .

I agree I would spend less timein Brussels an add some time to Antwerp. I alsofound 2 days was enough Bruges for me he
WWI sites especially Ieper was ahighlight of our time in Belgium

I agree I would spend less timein Brussels an add some time to Antwerp. I alsofound 2 days was enough Bruges for me he
WWI sites especially Ieper was ahighlight of our time in Belgium

I do like Brussels, but no way would I spend that kind of time there. I would branch out and visit Antwerp, Den Bosch, Utrecht, Leuven, Delft, and Bruges (but for me a day in Bruges is ample).

Thanks all! This is really helpful feedback. I hadn't even thought of the possibility that there might not be that much in Brussels.

So then I guess I have another question then, since it might be worth our time to visit some other places instead:

What about having Brussels as a home base, so to speak, after we visit Bruges? I'm not against staying in other cities in Belgium (sounds like Leuven and a few others are worth checking out), but one bonus for us is that we have a Starwood Preferred credit card and could get five nights free in Brussels (they don't have any other places with hotels in Belgium). It's not the end of the world for us to use those points elsewhere, but we'd lose the 5th night (the way it works is if you redeem 4 nights somewhere, they give you the 5th). What about taking a trip to Normandy, Alsace, or somewhere else in Belgium, staying a night, and then using one of the 4 full days in Brussels to take day trips to Leuven/Antwerp? Is that easy/doable by train? Would anyone recommend it?

That said, if everyone thinks it's a bad idea, we'd reconsider.

We could visit Normandy or one of the other places mentioned above before we get to Belgium, although my husband points out that we're probably likely to visit France again in the next 5 or 10 years, so we could visit places like that then - I'm not sure we'll be back to Belgium in the near future.

Day trips to most of those places in Belgium are easily doable by train from Brussels. The trains are easy and reliable. That said, I would want a night (at least a night) in Bruges because it is one of those places that is mobbed with tourists during the day but quieter at night. I wouldn't want to miss Bruges at night/in the morning and you might if you have to train back to Brussels.

You can check train schedules on the Belgian train website or on the German train site, bahn.com :

http://www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml

Leuven is barely a 20 minute train ride from Brussels, though it's about a 10-15 minute walk to the center of town from the train station.

Brussels has three main train stations, FYI. Most trains - except the high speed trains - pass through all three stations.

I wouldn't do side trips to Normandy or Alsace from Paris unless you are spending at least two nights - otherwise, it's not worth it. Each place might be a stretch anyway given how much train time you'd have to invest to get there from Paris - just a thought, in case you don't want to spend all your extra time in Belgium.

You could even do day trip to Amsterdam from Brussels if you want to, as it seems that Brussels be ideal for you as a base. You could do that near the last minute while staying in Brussels if say you feel you've seen enough of Belgium or something.

No - you don;t buy any sort of pass. You buy individual tickets from each city to the next. If you are taking the high speed trains (can't imagine why not unless there is only a local) you need to buy in advance for the best discounts. Not sure if it's 90 days out of 120 days out for Italy. When you buy this it's for a specific train and you are then locked in.

You ned to go to the Trenitalia web site to buy ticket - but it might be easier to see all of the options by looking at bahn.de (the german rail site that lists trains all over europe).

(Wrong thread? ;-) ) Trenitalia is for Italy...

Waterloo
Antwerp--I'd do both as day trips from Brussels.

One nite in Bruges. Maybe a nite in Ghent, which we like better.

You might also consider at least a day trip to Mechelen, which we used for a base for exploring central Belgium. Mechelen was an administrative center for Charles V and his Aunt Margaret of Austria back in the day, and has a number of impressive buildings, canals, etc.

We have only been there once. But we enjoyed Brugge, Gent, and Antwerp and Delft as did many above. We too preferred Gent over Brugge. We also spent a few days in Ypres, because my wife is interested in WWI. That is a more specialized stay.

Not Belgium but what about Amsterdam? or Maastricht, or Aachen?
From Maastricht you could visit the Margraten US WW2 cemetery.

Gent is superb.
Bxl is great but it is not for fast tourist who wAnts to see it all in half a day.

There are other cities and great sights- mostly in wallonia.
Vallee de la molignee de la lesse. Grottes de Han sur lesse etc

Waterloo for me is worth 2 hours.
(And i live there)

If you have a hotel in Brussels, it makes sense to stay there and do trips by train. No need to buy tickets in advance unless it's the high speed Thalys or Eurostar.
You can book a ticket online, or just get one at the station. belgianrail.be is the Belgian rail site.

It's nice to spend a night in Brugge - but there are direct trains to Brussels until late at night, so you could do that as a daytrip as well.

Not knowing what your interests are - Antwerp, Gent, Leuven are all easy daytrips that you can do on your own during your time in Brussels. Visit the places that your husband wants to see while he's there.

Agree re staying overnight in Brugge and avoid weekends - gives you a different perspective at night and early mornings.

Also Qasimodo tours pick up in Brugges and you can do a day tour of WW1 sites in Belgium and could leave the tour at Menin Gate and stay for the Last Post ceremony . Train back to Brussels that night.

Just for a different perspective: We very much enjoyed Brussels, spent most of a week there. We were not charmed by Bruges, very sterile/artificial tourist site. I would return to Brussels, would not return to Bruges. I know I'm in a minority here, but I wanted to let you know that some people feel differently about Brussels and Bruges.

Also Qasimodo tours

The name doesn't ring a bell. (I could not resist.)