missypie

I'm thinking of a Belgium/Netherlands trip for next summer. It was first going to be a London/Amsterdam trip, then I started remembering all the cool places in Belgium and thought maybe we should leave London for another trip.

Our kids will be 16, 14 and 11. I'm thinking about Brugge, maybe a little time in Brussels - perhaps Gent. Don't know about Antwerp. I was there pre-kids and thought it was very cool, but don't know what the kids would be interested in. In the Netherlands we'd like to see Amsterdam, Delft, and a few odd places like the Royal Tichelaar Tile Factory (distant relatives) and other destinations relevant to my husband's ancestors.

We always prefer to rent an apartment and spend the whole time sleeping in one place. However, on our trip to Italy, we spent 6 nights in Rome, 3 in Florence and 3 in Venice and that wasn't a terrible packing/unpacking hardship.

Do you think that apartments in Brussels and Amsterdam would work out the best, or are there other cities that would be better bases for our explorations? The trip would be two weeks MAX; 10 days would be better. Thanks in advance for any ideas you can give me.

Felly

Brugge would be a more charming place to base than Brussels (even though you should definitely plan for a full day-trip there). Otherwise, even though you don't like moving around too much, it might be nice to first spend a couple of nights in Brussels and then a few nights in Brugge and do lots of day trips from there. Brugge is the kind of place that's inundated with tourists during the day, but is amazing at night when everyone leaves (which is when you'd be there, if you spend your days on day trips). It also has pretty good train connections (50 minutes to Brussels, hourly).

Here are some idea for day-trips from Brugge. Gent is about half and hour by train from Brugge (maybe even less). Also, the kids might find the WWI battle sites in Flanders interesting. Their ages sound about right to be into that kind of thing. There are lots of organized day tours of the area, as well as self-guided driving and bike routes.

I don't know if they're too young for this, but you could also do a microbrewery tour, and they could learn about how beer is made. There are lots of little places in Flanders and near Leuven you could try to organize something with.

In Brussels, try to take the kids to the musical instruments museum, which is really cool, because everyone gets a headset that somehow knows to start playing something that was performed on the instrument you happen to be standing in front of at the moment. They have every instrument you could possibly imagine, and more. Plus, it's in a really beautiful building.

Will you be renting a car in Belgium, or were you planning to take the train?

Antwerp is really cool, but I'm not sure what kids would get into. I feel like it's more of a grown-up place, but I might be wrong.

Hope that helps!

missypie

Thank you. Staying in Brugge sounds more appealing that Brussels; should work as long as train connections are good.

PWAbbott

I would definitely stay several days in Brugge. We were there in June with teenagers and college students. They loved the freedom of the town. Check out Hotel Erasmus which is one block of the main square. Great accommodations and good prices. Be sure and rent bikes and let them explore the canals, windmills, outskirts of the city. That was one of their favorite things. Climb the bell tower on the square, eat frites, waffles, etc. Lots of great kid-friendly food. We enjoyed a pizza place right across the street from the Hotel Erasmus.

We also did Amstrdam and stayed at the Owl Hotel. Again, very nice, centrally located, and good prices. I know they have rooms for four, but not sure about five. The students enjoyed the canal trip, Anne Frank house, Rikjsmusem, Van Gogh museum, etc. There's a great park behind the Rikjsmuseum and you can explore and take great pictures on the huge IAMSTERDAM letters. The IAMSTERDAM pass saved us lots of money on museums and public transportation.

missypie

Brugge and Amsterdam are looking good.

gabrieltraian

Been to both Belgium and the Netherlands a few years ago. We liked Bruges, Ghent and Antwerpen in Belgium, and Amsterdam, Haarlem, The Hague and more, in the Netherlands.

You might want to read my reports about the two countries, maybe you get some ideas of what to do and how long you would need.

My trip report for Belgium (Manneken Pis, French Fries and Mayonnaise) is here

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34825183

My trip report for Netherlands (Clogs, Windmills and Canals) is here

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34825601

missypie

Gabriel, why did you choose to stay in Haarlem, rather than Amsterdam?

gabrieltraian

We chose Haarlem because we were on a tight budget and I thought that in a small town the accommodation costs would be lower.

The hotel rate was 70 euros, whereas in Amsterdam I couldn't find anything lower than 90 euros.

Then, from Haarlem to Amsterdam is a mere 15 minutes by very frequent trains, with a very cheap ticket, and we got to visit one more place.

The hotel in Haarlem was Amadeus, right in the Great Square. However, there were many activities during the time we stayed there: festivals, market days, etc. Noise until late in the night.

BUT, Haarlem was beautiful, with the river Spaarne passing through it and its own canals (swans included).

I liked Frans Hals museum, very good.
Then it is the Teylers Museum, one of the oldest, if not THE, in Netherlands.

Teylers Museum is about everything, technology, science, discoveries, fossils, etc.
There's also a beautiful cathedral right in the Great Square.

If you walk by the river in town, you get to the Adriaan's Windmill (to the left as you come from the station), which had been renovated not long before our visit.

Haarlem was surprinsingly beautiful.

BetsyG

MIssypie- Are you still planning on Barcelona for spring break? We were planning Hawaii for spring break but that was cancelled & my husband wants to go to Barcelona (some time).
Anyway, we went to Amsterdam, Brugge & Delft last summer, Mom, Dad, Kids (16,10,10) from Denver. Had 10 days, 3 nights in each city. In retrospect, we would have added days to Amsterdam, deleted Delft. Delft was cool but would've liked more time in Amsterdam, day trips to the north coast & Haarlem.
We did take a day trip to the coast from Delft to the coast at Scheningven(sure this is mispelled) which was very fun! We loved Brugge, stayed at Hotel Prinsenhof which was lovely. We managed to stay busy there for 2 full days, climbed the tower, walked the "egg", our hotel sponsored a walking tour which was very interesting, and of course, a canal boat tour. We went in late July(after baseball) and the flowers were beautiful, inspired me to do more pots,etc. Words of advice, watch your pocketbook in the Amsterdam train station if you travel that way(easy connections, by the way). Let me know if you have any questions. Betsy

teacher33

missypie, I would like to second the opinion of the previous posers who suggested Haarlem as a base in Netherlands. It was a short train ride into Amsterdam. I stayed there a couple years ago for a week also at Hotel Amadeus--reasonable price, clean, right on main square (noisy on market days twice a week when they arrive at 4:30 am to set up stalls, otherwise very quiet pedestrian area). Franz Hals museum is a diverse collection of his art as well as doll house, domestic implements, historic artifacts. It was fun to see scenes that Hals painted and realize that I had been in some of those places and seen some of the same things. Haarlem is a 20 minute train ride from the shore, as well as short ride to Zaanse Schans (sp?) collection of windmills, some still working, to the folk museum in Einkhuisen. Haarlem is a quieter place than Amsterdam and I would feel comfortable letting children out for short walks on their own there.

In Belgium I enjoyed Antwerp. Rubens' house is there. He was one of the few artists who was famous in his own time and made a good living from his work. It was interesting to see how a reasonably wealthy man lived in his day. There is also a good zoo there.

Ghent has a good castle which is fun to explore with kids.

teacher33

There are also several neat castles within driving distance of Brugges. Beersal, Gasbeek, Spontin, Annevoie, Veves. They are from different eras and are interesting to explore.
Spontin had a secret tunnel for emergency escape in time of attack. I don't know if they are doable with public transportation as I was visiting a friend who drove me to these castles.

Have fun!

teacher33

It's I again.

Just googled one of the castles mentioned above. the website
http://www.eupedia/belgium/gasbeek
has info on Gasbeek and links to the ther castles I mentioned as well as many others. It includes a few small pictures, short history, entrance hours and fees, transportation connections ( public and driving directions.) so if castles are of interest to your family, this is a great place to explore. These five are ones I have personally visited, but you may find others nearer Brugge and just as interesting.

teacher

missypie

Betsy, yes. we are still planning for Barcelona on spring break. I'm trying to get a jump on the summer trip. Last year I spent about 8 months planning the Costa Rica trip, then had only 2 1/2 months to plan the Italy trip. We'll see if I can multi-task. The hard park is waiting to see when the summer trip can be; we try to work around the kids choir tour, drill team camp, etc.

BetsyG

missypie - if you see this, you seem to have done a lot of traveling with your "gang". Just wondering which of these destinations would you suggest for spring break, Riviera Maya, Costa Rica, Hawaii, British Virgin Islands, Italy, Spain or Greece? I realize there is a great price differential & that may come into play, but which would be your pick with the kids. We have not been to any of these for many years except Mexico (Hawaii in high school). We do love the beach (and snorkeling)if that makes a difference. Or anywhere else? Thanks! Betsy

lesm

I don't have an itinerary per say, just one recommendation. Spend a day in Maastricht (Netherlands). It is the perfect European town. So much to see and do. Great food, nightlife, museums, shopping. It is so picturesque. I was there for a few weeks, and could have easily spent a few years there...it was so wonderful.

hopscotch

I also recommend Haarlem. I used to live there.

Besides Amadeus, other budget hotels in the city center are the Carillon, Raekse, and Joops. More up the ladder are the Lion d'Or at the station and the Carlton Square on the southern edge of the center and very close to the Frans Hals Museum. A new Best Western named the Frans Hals is opening next month. It is nearly in the shadow of the Grote Kerk, Big Church, at the Grote Markt, Town Square. There are also a few small B&Bs in the city, at least one of which should hold your family if you book early enough. For an apartment try Joop. He had apartments in his hotel and he also had apartments around the city center which he rented out to tourists. BTW, Joop is the first name of the owner. I've seen some references on the internet to "Mr. Joops." I've had my beers with him but I never learned his last name!

For the kids, and you too, don't miss Madurodam in the Hague. You can reach it by tram after taking a train to Den Haag, as the Hague is called there. North of The Hague in Wassenaar is a fantastic water park, Duinrell. My daughter and I love that place. We took a bus there from Haarlem but it would be easier from Leyden or the Hague. We also went to Linnaeushof in Bennebroek near Haarlem, but that amusement park is not nearly as good as Duinrell.

As already mentioned above, make the trip to the Zaanse Schans. This is a rebuilt village and outdoor museum. It has three working windmills and one, "De Kat," is almost always open for climbing around inside with the gears and millstones. I bought my wooden shoes at the Zaanse Schans.

Take your kids to the art museums. I got my 10 year old daughter and her friend very interested in the Frans Hals Museum when I challenged them each to find their favorite painting, and then took their picture in front of it. No flash. I don't know what the rules are now but cameras in museums have always been problematic. Amsterdam has wonderful art museums.

If your kids like the ocean, Zandvoort is a great place on a hot Sunday afternoon. Be forewarned though, if you are not already aware, that many women are topless on the beach.

One last thought, the Cruquius Expo on the southern edge of Haarlem is a fascinating place. It is a HUGE 150 year old steam engine which was used to pump out Lake Haarlem. Schiphol Airport is now sitting in what was the middle of this lake, 15 feet below sea level. The Cruquius is also a museum of steam engines and the hydrology of the Netherlands. For me, an engineer, this place is one of the highlights of Europe.

Google each of the above named places for much more information.