We have a lot of towns with Christmas markets now. All of our larger towns. They have also a lot of museums and some great historic buildings. Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels can be very bussy now, I recommend taking the public transport. Our countryside is also worth exploring, some smaller towns like Ypres or Mechelen are great, and they also have nice things to do around it. Some nature and war history.
Oh, the Christmas markets won't be there anymore, but still: a lot to do in all of our cities and towns. If the wetter is good, terraces will be full. 😊 Have a great journey!
You can do that, indeed. Otherwise you lose time. We have a very decent train network. Ghent lies pretty central. It has every 15 min an intercity train connection with Antwerp and Bruges. It takes around 20 mins. To Ypres it takes a little mit more time, but still okay. Also Brussels and Mechelen are well connected. You can rent bikes in Belgium too, but don't have experience with that unfortunatly.
Not very! Though Leuven has the classic Flemish architecture it's more notable as a university town (one of the oldest universities in the region) and doesn't have the more canal-focused cityscape of Ghent and Bruges. Edited to add: I enjoy the architecture in Leuven because of its diversity and history in relation to the university, though the Grote Markt is stunning as well.
Namur being in Wallonia is quite different as well, the old city center has more French influence. Its citadel dates back to medieval ages and is strategically at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers. There's a cable car to the citadel if you don't want to walk up. Another option in Wallonia is Dînant which is further south but more famous and more touristic in comparison to Namur.
Would you recommend staying in Leuven on our last night and taking the train from there to the airport instead of staying in Brussels on the last night?
Are you flying out of Brussels-Zaventem? At what time? Edited to change my recommendation because I just remembered the Leuven-Antwerpen train route passes the Zaventem station. Leuven on the last night is indeed an option, you can take the train from Leuven directly to the airport. Trains are more frequent on weekdays than on weekends.Â
One day and night in Namur - nice little town that is very different from northern Belgium. And then next days sleeping in Ghent. You can then do Ghent but also easy day trips to Brugge Antwerp Mechelen or Brussels. You can do everything by train, this will be very convenient and probably faster than car (given eternal traffic jams)
You can take a direct train from Paris to Antwerp that takes only a little over 2 hours. Very beautiful station to arrive at.
But if you book a hotel in Antwerp look for something in the city centre (near the river Schelde) and not in the shadier area close to the train station.
We have a lot of towns with Christmas markets now. All of our larger towns. They have also a lot of museums and some great historic buildings. Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels can be very bussy now, I recommend taking the public transport. Our countryside is also worth exploring, some smaller towns like Ypres or Mechelen are great, and they also have nice things to do around it. Some nature and war history.
Thank you, I will be there in April around Easter.
Oh, the Christmas markets won't be there anymore, but still: a lot to do in all of our cities and towns. If the wetter is good, terraces will be full. 😊 Have a great journey!
Would you stay all 5 days in a specific town like Ghent and do day trips?
You can do that, indeed. Otherwise you lose time. We have a very decent train network. Ghent lies pretty central. It has every 15 min an intercity train connection with Antwerp and Bruges. It takes around 20 mins. To Ypres it takes a little mit more time, but still okay. Also Brussels and Mechelen are well connected. You can rent bikes in Belgium too, but don't have experience with that unfortunatly.
Leuven and Namur are not very popular with tourists but are two of my favorite small cities in Belgium!
Are they similar to Ghent and Bruges? I would like diversity if possible
Not very! Though Leuven has the classic Flemish architecture it's more notable as a university town (one of the oldest universities in the region) and doesn't have the more canal-focused cityscape of Ghent and Bruges. Edited to add: I enjoy the architecture in Leuven because of its diversity and history in relation to the university, though the Grote Markt is stunning as well.
Namur being in Wallonia is quite different as well, the old city center has more French influence. Its citadel dates back to medieval ages and is strategically at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers. There's a cable car to the citadel if you don't want to walk up. Another option in Wallonia is Dînant which is further south but more famous and more touristic in comparison to Namur.
Would you recommend staying in Leuven on our last night and taking the train from there to the airport instead of staying in Brussels on the last night?
Are you flying out of Brussels-Zaventem? At what time? Edited to change my recommendation because I just remembered the Leuven-Antwerpen train route passes the Zaventem station. Leuven on the last night is indeed an option, you can take the train from Leuven directly to the airport. Trains are more frequent on weekdays than on weekends.Â
We fly out at 10:30 am
One day and night in Namur - nice little town that is very different from northern Belgium. And then next days sleeping in Ghent. You can then do Ghent but also easy day trips to Brugge Antwerp Mechelen or Brussels. You can do everything by train, this will be very convenient and probably faster than car (given eternal traffic jams)
Namur looks nice! Ok thank you
You can take a direct train from Paris to Antwerp that takes only a little over 2 hours. Very beautiful station to arrive at. But if you book a hotel in Antwerp look for something in the city centre (near the river Schelde) and not in the shadier area close to the train station.