Total of 12 days. Recommendations for nice hotels, tours and day (or overnight) trips from these cities please.

Hi Farfeldog, could we have some details about you and your needs? How many of you, ages, mobility, what are your interests (museums, restaurants, other sights)? Do you want to be in a lively district, a quiet place, how much do you want to spend, did you need to be near a station ... and anything else I haven't thought of...

Lavandula

Summer, winte?

How many people?

We’re going mid-September til the end of the month. We’re a couple of very fit seniors. We love learning local history and culture. We enjoy charming and interesting places, beautiful scenery, museums that relate to the city and its history. We try for nice conveniently located hotels that are no more than $300 a night, a lively or quiet district is fine as long as the hotel room is quiet and the area is not too far from public transportation. We will be traveling by train. Would like to go on some good walking and canal tours, we love local good food. We like to be immersed in local culture and history.
My husband would be interested in visiting things related to World War II history.

From Bruges you husband might be interested in the Atlantikwall open air museum near Ostend. You catch a train to Ostend and then the coastal tram to Raversyde/ Middelkerke. It takes about 3/4 of an hour. It's part of the battlements that the Nazi built during WWII. WWI is a bit more present in Belgium than WWII (the whole history in and around Ieper (Ypres) for instance), but there are also WWII sites around Bastogne and Luxembourg, which would be a long day trip from Brussels or part of an exploration of the Ardennes. Car would be good for that, but I see you are travelling by train so this is something you can contemplate.

A hotel not too far from public transportation - there are quite a few people on the boards who have been to your tour areas recently and stayed somewhere central (I usually stay in the Louise district in Brussels) so I will see if any of them chip in here with suggestions, otherwise I have some ideas of my own for Brussels.

Museums relating to the city - you must have heard of the Manneken Pis, who is the underwhelming little boy peeing into a fountain? Well, there is a museum of his costumes just down the street from him (Garde Robe Manneken Pis). He is the symbol of Brussels. Have a beer in Poechenellekelder after seeing him and before the museum!

Lavandula

A couple months ago I did a cycling trip that covered those towns and was book-ended by time on my own in Amsterdam (I flew in here) and Brussels (I flew out of there). I think you'll find lots of suggestions that will answer many of your questions. I too am a fit senior.

I was a solo on a bike/barge trip Amsterdam to Bruges & seeing AMS & Brussels alone

And, a tip for anyone else who may find themselves in the same dilemma I did when taking the train from Brussels to the Brussels airport. Apparently when walking to the train station from my hotel I came in the "back door" or wrong side of the station. I couldn't find a window or vending machine anywhere to buy a train ticket, and finally I just got on, hoping the conductor would sell me a ticket, because I was afraid if I waited until I had a ticket I might miss my flight. Turns out that upon arrival at the airport you have to put your ticket in the machine in order to exit. But, there is a ticket machine for those who don't already have a ticket.

Appreciate your recommendations so far. Thanks. Please keep your suggestions coming.... re hotels, walking tours, restaurants, other interesting places to see/go to, etc. Would like to go to Rotterdam as well.

Re your trip to Ghent - please be aware that there are long-term works happening to the tram lines there. Some roads are inaccessible at certain times. It's important because the station is a tram ride or a longish walk away from the town, and so tourists are affected. You can still visit Ghent but you need to inform yourself and plan ahead. There is additionally the choice of a hotel near the station or a hotel in town, but even if you get a hotel near the station you will still want to eat at restaurants, see the castle, the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, etc, which all happens in town. De Lijn is the public transport company that is relevant here (a ticket from here can be used throughout Flanders, including Bruges, and there is a De Lijn shop at the station).

Re Brussels - there are self-guided walking tours available from the tourist information in the Grand' Place, including a comic strip mural walk. Also there are the art nouveau tours by ARAU, but they often don't run at times that are convenient because they are not really for tourists, more for interested locals. There are of course any number of beer / chocolate / food tours but I think you can pretty much do your tastings on your own if you are prepared to do a bit of walking. If you do go to Poechenellekelder and then Garde Robe Manneken Pis then nearby on the same street is Big Mama which has Belgian specialities. It's getting a bit out of the tourist zone there though.

Hotels: there are many that are good. There was recently an extended thread regarding accommodation which I posted on several times (click on my name, I mostly post on threads to do with Belgium). Areas that you might be interested in staying in, in Brussels: anywhere near Brussels Central station, near the Grand' Place, at Place du Grand Sablon (there is actually only one hotel here), the Ste.-Catherine district. All these areas are central and cater to tourists. Brussels has a few neighbourhoods that are undesirable but these are all OK.

Lavandula

Earlier this year I stayed at the Novotel Brussels off Grand Place. It's about a 3 minute walk from the central station and a line of taxis were usually outside. They had a small restaurant but you'd get better food elsewhere. My room overlooked the area towards the station and was quiet. Staff at the front desk were helpful.

Hi, Anyone have opinions about
-Franq Hotel in Antwerp? Looks nice.
-And considering the Van Cleef Hotel in Bruges. (Once again, we are traveling by train to these various cities.) Thanks again!

For Rotterdam we have a Fodorite, Menachem, who actually lives there. If he doesn't come along, you could try searching under his name to see if you can find anything pertinent to your trip. Sorry I can't help you with your other queries

Lavandula

The train station in Antwerp is amazing. Ornate and beautiful.

Franq Hotel in Antwerp is lovely. Haven't stayed there, only went for dinner. Nearby is De Witte Lelie, also very nice.

Tulips, hello from Australia 😎

I stayed in the Rosenberg hotel in Bruges last September - it was a really nice hotel, we slept well as it was quiet and it overlooked the canal. Easy beautiful walk along the canal into the centre, about 10 minutes. I would definetly stay there again, there was a good restaurant opposite - bistro Schar I think it was called. In Ghent we stayed at the monasterian which was lovely. An old monastery near the centre, close enough but far enough away to sleep ok ! If you go to Antwerp avoid the urban dreams hotel as it’s not up to much !

Wondering if we should just skip Ghent because of roadwork in September (We’re traveling by train, so no car, and-because of roadwork -no tram, and possibly no taxis either.)
It would be our first time there, so we want to do some sightseeing and enjoy the town if we go.

No, you don't need to skip Ghent. It's not the whole of Ghent, it's mainly the area around the train station (Ghent St.-Pieters) where they have built a new tram station - there are shuttle buses and if roads are blocked there will be a detour. Have a look at this map: https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/en/2023/11...work-in-ghent/

Most tourists would be a little inconvenienced by the stops at Korenmarkt and Gravensteen as this is close to attractions.

Here is a route planner for everywhere in Flanders, including Ghent: https://www.delijn.be/en/routeplanner/

And some practical information about how to get around in Ghent: https://visit.gent.be/en/good-know/p...ransport-ghent

https://www.projectgentsintpieters.be (this last one can be translated into English by your browser; I am using Safari but Chrome can do it too).

You don't have to cancel Ghent altogether, it's still open for business! You just need to plan ahead and know that there will be some inconvenience. If you are having trouble doing that planning, ask here on this forum and someone will help you. But your hotel will be able to tell you if they are affected and what the best way is to get to them. No stress!

Lavandula

Want to make a decision on where we’ll stay in Ghent. The place needs to be convenient since we’re traveling by train, and will not have a car to get around. (Haven’t yet called any to see how they’re impacted by roadwork.) Here are the hotels I was reading reviews of that seemed nice. (Open to other suggestions as well!)
1898 Post
One Two Four Hotel
Pillows
Yalo Urban Boutique Hotel

As I said the monasterian was very good….

Looks like the only room available for my dates is called “monastery cell”!!! Photo doesn’t look too nice.