7 Things To Know Before Visiting Belgium
These 7 things to know before visiting Belgium are what I wish I knew before visiting Bruges and Brussels, Belgium.
Hopefully these travel tips will help you from making some of my mistakes when traveling through Belgium! These travel tips are for Bruges and Brussels but should be helpful for any trip to Belgium :)
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Hi can we talk more please likely going to leave my country to Belgium and stay
Correction. Every national train that passes through central also goes through midi and north. Only international trains don't stop in central and you can easily take a 6 minutes train from central to midi.
Ah good to know. Thanks for the clarification!
@@camdendavid Also note that the 3 stations are one "zone" . Your ticket will mostly be valid for the 3 stations.
@@flitsertheo All train stations in brussels are "brussels zone" except for the zaventem airport, so yes its valid all throughout
Many years ago I was travelling from Dublin to Geneva via Amsterdam. Due to some snow in Dublin I missed my connection in Amsterdam. I was rerouted via Brussels with a 90 minute stopover. I thought I'd use the time to sample some Belgian beer. But it was 9 pm and everything in Brussels Airport was closed!
About the zone's. This is true for most cities. Zone gent, zone brussel, zone antwerpen, ...
About the nightlife: it's a common mistake to stay in the center of Brussels and do day trips from there. I always recommend to stay in Ghent and do the day trips from there because Ghent has a great and diverse night life which is more accessible than Brussels because everything is more central. And you still have the advantage of the great connections to Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels.
You are right about Gent, but you should have kept it secret.
Ahhhhh, thanks for sharing this!!!
can u suggest some sites to book hostels at ghent? and what are the feasible ways to reach ghant from Brussels airport?
@@shibamdas915 There's a train connection that will take you from Brussels Airport to "Gent-Sint-Pieters" (the train station of Ghent) in a little under an hour if all goes well.
I'm going tomorrow. For one day. Booked it yesterday. This is by far the most spontaneous thing I have ever done!!
Love that! Hope you have a great time!!
How was it? I love Belgium. I am from Canada
Oh! I live in Belgium!!
The nightlife in Belgium is actually enormous and active if you know where to look, as for most things in Belgium.. While Brugge indeed closes at around 6 pm is because that is more like a Belgium experience 'amusement park' mostly to attract tourism, not so much a true fully functional city like, Antwerpen, Ghent or Brussel for example..
Ahhhh I see. Thanks for this!
Brugge does not close at 6pm. There's hundreds of restaurants, bars, cafés,... Smaller than the big cities, yes, but fully functional as much as any other.
Bruges is definitely a fully functional city lmao, bad opinion. Its just not as big as those other cities thats all
What are some bars/ clubs that you’d recommend? I’m going in January :)
@@ariesgirl4ever which city will you be in and what's your age ?
+1 to add Leuven to the list. Some nice historical buildings and a great bar and Restaurant scene. Also the Ardennes as a region is very worthwhile of a visit for the nature lover.
Added!
Great Grote Markt! The shopping street from the train station to the grote markt is great, too. Also has a lot of students-so watch out for the bikes 🚴 Have a drink by the guid halls and people watch!
One should visit Bruges and Ghent as much as possible. They love that.
Beautiful places
You are so much fun to watch and I will definitely take your advice on board when I visit next month.
Much appreciated -- Hope you have a great time!
Hey Camden, I don't comment often, but I wanted to let you know that you earned a new subscriber, I love your style, informative and nice to listen to! Continue your good work!
Aw, thanks so much for the support! Happy to have you in our little community :) Let me know if you ever have any suggestions or want to see something different!
Subscribed. Thanks for getting right down to the point and sharing what you skip. We want to take our kids, and this will be the fussy time in Europe for us. We are excited!
Welcome to the channel! Hope you all have a great trip!
This was really helpful. I'm planning a trip to Europe and had only scheduled 2 days in Brussels. Now I know I should plan for a couple more.
Glad it was helpful! Hope you have a great trip :)
Planning on visiting Belgium, specifically Brussels and Brugges, later this year. This video is awesome. Thanks!
Hope you have a great trip! And thanks for the support!
Do not skip Ghent, one of the most beautiful and interesting cities of the continent.
I hope you enjoy! I live in there
Planning to visit belgium soon. Thanks for the tips.
Glad they were helpful! Hope you have a great trip :)
I'm an international student here in Belgium. I watched half of your video and had to subscribe right away. Very straight to the point and informative.
Appreciate that Azmi! Lots of new content coming soon Where are you from and how are you enjoying Belgium?
Hey, i'm an ESN volunteer, what town do you study in?
Thanks buddy nice recommendation
Glad it was helpful
Skipping around Europe for 10 days soon. Spending 3 days in Belgium will definitely be day tripping to some of the outside towns. Thank you.
Thanks for watching! Hope you have a great time on your trip!
Great idea to base in Brussels and do day trips, thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
@@camdendavid She won't find her way arround in 5 day's, i'll take her every day to see 4 things (also you have to eat drink etc) and you seen half of it. Recommend a daytrip for a breef impression. @ Kristy choose wisely.
Perhaps consider adding Leuven to your list for this summer. You could spend half a day in the city itself (some beautiful buildings) and you could perhaps spend the rest of the day in the beautiful forest near Leuven. It's not very touristy at all and a great place to cool down on a hot summer afternoon (it is called Heverleebos by the way). If you are interested, feel free to ask for more information.
Thanks for the tip! I'll be sure to check it out and may have some questions for you as we get closer to summer :)
Wait I’m going to Belgium in October! I must know more about Leuven 😅
@@cbcarter0 What would you like to know about Leuven? Are you going there as a student or as a tourist?
I’m from Tienen, just on the linguistic boarder between flinders and Wallonia. As you mention, you could spend weeks here visiting great things. Just try asking locals so you don’t find yourself stuck in Tourist-trap hotspots that will charge you way over what locals will pay. You forgot the great foods, beers, seaside, Ardennens, countryside, history, our crazy politics and governments situation, art history, music scene and I do probably forget lots still ;) And a small tip when travelling to Belgium, try finding a hotel outside of a touristy city like Brussels. Look for one in Leuven, Mechelen maybe even Oostend as you will probably be paying half of what you are paying in Brussels. Might save you a lot of money you could spend on a hires car to get you even to less touristy places.
I have wanted to go to Leuven for years, but somehow the people I travel with always pick other places. But next year I'm insisting 😉 Could I just ask you: would Leuven work as a stop in a longer cycling tour? I was thinking of maybe starting around Roermond and then going South to Maastricht and across to Leuven, but I'm not sure what around Leuven would be nice to go by (scenery and/or other stops to make). If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear from you :) I have been to Brussels, Gent and Antwerpen before so those aren't "must visit" to me (although I'm certainly not opposed to seeing them again :))
Wow, I really liked this video. The tips are actually useful and I like your enthusiasm. You've got yourself a new subscriber!
Glad you found it useful and really appreciate the kind words and support!
As a belgian you made a great video! Btw I don't even know why tourist would assume piere marcolini is popular under locals😂. We are the most proud of our beers and fries with side dishes
Any local beers you’d recommend?Thanks for watching!!
Filou, gulden draak (classic and brewmaster), westmalle tripel, tripel d'anvers, ter dolen tripel, tripel de garre, troubadour magma, affligem (tripel and blond)... just to name a few. If you coun't all different beers seperately belgium has above 10k different beers so just to much choice😅
@@matthiasbeyen7209 Thanks for these! Sounds like it'd take a lifetime to get through all the choices haha
Well Matthias mentioned, there are over 10K beers probably. And each month new come to the market and several disappear. Just walk into any bar/cafe outside local hotspots and you can find a great selection. And every Belgium mostly has their favourites, mine are Geusse beers. Very sour but you got to like them. We do have great trappist beers also. But be careful are most beers are WAY more alcohol than most tourists suspect and a heavy head the next day may always be on the menu :D
@@camdendavid Duvel, Hoegaarden and frites with "stoofvleessaus" beefstewsauce!
Nice review, Will try the belgium chocolate, hope can relax there all day.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy
I spent a month in Brussels in the summer of 2022 working remote, and you are dead on with your comments. This country is freakin' awesome, and you can get to every major city in no time for a day trip. I mean, the battle of Waterloo (where Napoleon met his demise) is less then 20 minutes from Brussels. And you were right about Ghent. Hands down my favorite town in Belgium. Also, you can get to Paris in less than 2 hours, London is less than 3 hours, Amsterdam in 3 hours. Heck, If I move to Europe I'm going to live in Brussels. It is the perfect location.
Glad to hear that!! Which neighborhood of Brussels did you base yourself in?
@@camdendavid Watermael-Boitsfort. I found a monthly AirBnB for about $1200. It was a great value.
Great video! Small remark though: all domestic trains travel through Brussels Central station too 😉
Good to know! Thanks for watching Vincent!!!
You should visit Leuven! It contains nice old buildings/architecture, like Gent, as well as the biggest and oldest university in Belgium (one of the oldest in whole Europe), namely KU Leuven. The city is not that big, but because it is a real student town (half of the inhabitants are actually students), it has a very active night life ;-)
I'll add it to my list! Thanks for the suggestion :)
A few more places : Bouillon castle : large medieval castle in the very south of the country. Beers to try : Rochefort and Orval brands. Gaasbeek castle : about 15 km southwest of Brussels, can be reached by bus. Refurbished in the 19th -20th century by the last private owner. Rich collection inside. Beers to try : Geuze and Kriek type beers for which this region (Pajottenland) is renowned. Beersel castle : about 15 km southeast of Brussels, still in its medieval configuration. Can be reached by train. Beers to try : Geuze and Kriek type beers. There is a brewery nearby. Bokrijk : theme park in the province of Limburg with vintage buildings taken down elsewhere in the country and reconstructed here.
Thanks for these! Adding them to my list :)
You're right to undescore that most tourists plan waaay too little time in Belgium - simply because they often hardly know anything about the country. Belgium is an underrated gem and tourists should certainly plan much more time to visit it. N.B.: make sure to travel to less popular places such as Mons, Dinant, Mechlin (Mechelen), Louvain (Leuven) and, in terms of greenery, the vast open sceneries of the Namur, Liège and Luxemburg provinces, in the East and South of the country.
Agreed! And thanks for the list. Can't wait to get back and explore some of those places!
People always forget that Limburg exists and that it has the only natural reservate and a big history of the coal mines that played a huge part in making the country rich (asides from the Congo which was a less nice way to get rich).
GREAT WORK!..is there other youtubers similar towards your videos you like or youtubers who do itenary/guides for different cities
Appreciate the support! Lots of great folks out there but Wolters World is one of my favorites. Great source of knowledge, awesome guy, always giving honest/authentic tips, and he has videos on soooo many destinations. Hope that helps :)
Informative 👍🏼
Appreciate the support!
I did my erasmus exchange in Belgium and I'm so happy I did. The country is wonderful and as you said, it's so easy to get around the country by train. I personally love Brussels but if I came as a tourist I would focus on Ghent and Brugge (Bruges) as those are the most beautiful cities in the country. For a day trip and a nice beer out in the sun, try visiting my home away from home, Leuven ❤
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll make sure to hit Leuven on my next trip :)
Hi Camden, there are really things to do after 6PM in Bruges. Being locals, we're happy to share our know-how with you if you consider a new trip to Brugge. Cheers!
I'd love to learn more and am open to any suggestions for my next trip! Thanks for the support :)
not much in the historical center though right? because i've been many times it is a daytime town, something no doubt stays open here and there or special occasions like the christmas markets but it could use a night life, which is hard to do because the residents have gotten used to the system in place, and there isn't really any room outside of it
@@istoppedcaring6209 The best cities in Belgium for nightlife are hands down Leuven and Ghent. They both have the biggest universities in Belgium and have a big and diverse nightlife throughout the entire year (it dies down a bit during exams and vacations).
In the summer you can also visit De Haan, Oostende, Knokke, ...we have a 60 kilometer coast. A little bit inland you can visit Damme, Lisseweghe, so much to see... don't forget Ieper, every evening since a hundred years the city commemorates the great war with the last post.
I'll add all those to my list. Thanks for the tip!
Another thing you may have missed: Pairi Daiza (speak the words, you’ll understand): it’s a top notch animal theme park / Zoo. It takes more than one day to see and experience it all.
Thanks!
@@camdendavidIt is very expensive, but well done. Be prepared for lots of stairs and hills. At least 25,000 steps. And bring your lunch if you want to avoid long lines at the buffet restaurants. There are plenty of places to sit down and eat. You can pay extra to ride the train around the park as well.
I didn't know about the Comic strip trails till I watched your video. My wife and I are off to Brussels for a week next week; I'm gonna try and fit at least one one of them in :)
Hope you have a great time!
@camdendavid We certainly will enjoy it 😁 Brussels is quite a lovely place I think
You forget mentioning the huge variety of beers in Belgium.
I can fix this…. Did I mention the BEER??? Huge variety, they get served in glasses specific to the beer, and they taste great! One of my personal favorites - Kwak (yes I sounded like a duck when ordering with my American accent). How’s that?!
please go to the iron tower in Diksmuide, its really wonderful you got a whole museum about the first war and a lot more.
Thanks for this! I'll add it to my list :)
@@camdendavid thank you
I visited Brussels a few years ago and loved it. So much that on my next European trip, I returned and added Bruges for several days. Next trip I'll add Ghent. This video is short, to the point, and informative. Next time maybe add foods of Belgium: moules, waffles, frites, etc.
I appreciate the support. I'll try to add those next time :) Happy travels!
Great video. Very interesting because I was looking at spending just like 3 days there. Guess I should look into some of the other places you named. Doing the day trips there do the trains run late?
There should be options running until about 11:30 PM each night. Hope you have a great time :)
@@camdendavid Thank you
Thanks for letting us know! I'm surprised that we need to skip chocolates haha! Also needed this for my school project so thanks again!
You got it! Hope the project goes well :)
what was the project about?
@@istoppedcaring6209 Each student was selected either a french region, or a mostly french speaking country. And my teacher selected Belgium for me, therefore I was reasearching to learn about belgiums architecture and its main cities. Thank you for this info!
@@camdendavid Thank you very much!! It went amazing, and I was surprised how exciting it was to present it to my class, I was super nervous! Thanks again!
@@BabyRubyIsReal So glad to hear that!!!
You can buy a decent Cote d'Or chocolate bar (many varieties) in about any shop or supermarket. Unlike those fancy shops they won't cost you a fortune.
Pro tip right there! Thanks for this :)
i like this video. i like your style. more power to your youtube channel.
Much appreciated. Let me know if there's ever anything different you'd like to see
So much to see and taste or drink in Belgium,the coastal areas, the center or the Arden's, the Flanders region we lost to the french, with small villages,and so much is easily looked or past over,in this great little country,there are many more medieval towns in west flanders besides, Brugge that tourist " rarely" visit,with their traditional square markets , places like Veurne or Ieper, or places like " Sy" in the Arden's if you like climbing? It all depends what your looking for, it has the most diverse and best collection of farm and factory cheeses in the world! And the same can be said about Beers, from little breweries to factory's,to ancient "pater" Beers ! Pale ale, double trippel, you will never find better beers than here! If beer is your fancy do visit " west Vleteren" and its trappist beer!!! simply unique in the world.i grew up in a fairground family, and there is little that I haven't seen, drunk and tasted, between ' Amsterdam ' ( Holland) and 'saint Quintin' ( North France) and the regions here and it's dialects are so divers an different that you can call them a region in itself! A hidden gem !
Thanks for sharing this! Looking forward to checking out some of those spots :)
Actually Pierre Marcolini is considered as one of the finest chocolatier. It is indeed pricy, but the quality of the cacao is very high, giving it its bitter-sweet taste (as belgians love their food and beers)
So I've heard! As a chocolate novice (at best), I'm certain I wasn't able to identify and appreciate the complexity of Marcoloni cacao. I'll give them another try in my next visit :)
I am from Belgium, and can confirm Marys chocolate is very nice! 👍
Glad to hear I'm not the only one!
Thanks!
Thank YOU! Really appreciate the support!!!
Why not visit the Wallonie region of Belgium, you have Dinant, Namur, Bastogne, and many more beautiful places to visit, it’s not just about the Flemish part of Belgium, as beautiful as it may be!
Thanks for the tips Garry! I'll add them to my list and will try to visit this year
hm. Dinant is basically a street, Namur is 4 streets and a citadelle, Bastogne is.. what is there to visit there ? They're porbably worth visiting if you've really done all the other cities, but really, appart from some forests I guess, wallonia doesn't have much to offer. Also, most walloon cities have not been pedestrionised, which makes them much less attractive than they already are. I guess Tournai is nice to visit though. That's one city lol
@@liszters8935 Bastogne is for those interested in the Battle of the Bulge.
@@liszters8935There's so much beautiful castle in wallonia bruh. Walzin, La hulpe, Bouillon, etc... As much monument as in Flanders in Mons, Namur, Tournai, Liège. The nature is preserved, there's a reason why Flemish and Dutch people come in Wallonia every year. Even in Bastogne, one beautiful street + the museum, but nature over there is absolutly beautiful in summer if you like hiking. There's Durbuy, La Roche en Ardenne too.
@@liszters8935 Have you ever actually been there ?
Ghent is wonderful. I like it best.
Great spot to be :)
The 3 Railways stations are link in Bruxelles Bruxelles Midi/Zuid, Bruxelles Centrale/Centraale, Bruxelles Nord/Noord!
Thanks!
You are one of many, you also overlooked Antwerp, Belgium is no. 1 Antwerp, no. 2 Bruges, and then the other cities (Mechelen, Hasselt, Brussels, Gent…).
Thanks! I'll add those to my list :)
A must see city everyone (except the british) ignores is Ypres.
Like one already said, Brussels Central offers trains to pretty much all of Belgium and even to the Netherlands. Only the high speed trains don't stop there. What one may want to know is that while trains between cities are pretty fast, they are very slow to cross Brussels because they usually stop 3 times (Midi, Central, North). So, if you're targeting West and South Belgium (Ghent, Brugge, coast / Tournai, Mons, Charleroi) you better take the train in Midi. If you're targeting North and East Belgium (Antwerpen, Mechelen, Leuven, Liège) better take the train at North station. And if you're targeting South-East Belgium (Namur, Dinant, Arlon) take the train at Luxemburg station. While you can catch every train at Midi or Central, it'll save you some time :)
Awesome tips here! Thanks Ralph!!!
Thanks for the helpful tips! I'm thinking of visiting Belgium in August. Does it get busy in August?
I've only been in August once and it wasn't overwhelming by any means. A town like Bruges will likely have a crowd in the late morning/early afternoon but it's nothing like what you'd see in some of the big European cities. It's possible this August will be busier with the Olympics happening in Paris for the first 11 days of the month -- Probably worth booking things in advance. Hope you have a great trip :)
July will probably be the busiest month while August may be a bit less crowded. Nonetheless, I would rather recommend September as July and August are the school holiday months and always are inherantly more busy. Also, it depends a bit what you want to visit (Bruges, Brussels Grand Place, ... things like that are always pretty busy, especially on weekends). Edit: typooooos.
🫶🏾Great video!
I appreciate the support!
thanks for the video * time stamps will make it much easyer to watch
Thanks for this!
Actually for dat trips it does not make a blind bit of difference which station in Brussels you go to. The trains to Antwerp and Ghent and Bruges etc.go through all three. Just in a different order. For international trains it does make a difference. They leave from the Gare du Midi.
Ahhh, thanks for the clarification!
Wallonie and Mechelen (Malines) are great too.
Thanks for the tip!
Hey! Great places! You forgot to mention the beers! :D Belgium is the best place for beers lovers...lolll :)
Hahah do you have any favorites you'd recommend?
@@camdendavid Belgium is well known for their trappist beers. They are brewed in monasteries by monks. My favorite one is the Orval. There are other ones like Rochefort, Westmalle, Chimay. They also have ones that are created in the Trappist style but not made by monks. They are called "abbey beer". Averbode is a very good one and it's available here in Canada where I live. If you ever go back to Belgium, I highly suggest you go visit the Bier Central pub which has a fantastic catalog of 300 beers. There are locations in Ghent, Antwerpen and Brussels. Everything you said in the video is on point. I really miss Belgium. :)
@@samt.1369 Awesome tips! I'll definitely check those out during my next visit. Much appreciated! Hope you get back to Belgium soon :)
Our stores close very early but the bars & restaurants are open late.
Seems like a fair tradeoff
Cool video! But I hope next time you don't skip Antwerp, it's the second largest city of Belgium and it's absolutely beautiful and fun.
Antwerp is definitely on my list for our next visit! Planning on making it there in July :)
@@camdendavid Can I recommend Maastricht (Netherlands), which is just over the border in the very east of the country? Search it on youtube, you won't regret it.
@@camdendavid And that's the best time to go. Antwerp is the 2nd port of Europe, it's a pocket size metropole and very intenational. It doesn't just live of tourism, it's an economical hub, it's alive and relevant in the present, yet it's also an old city with a river a lot of history and many beautiful buildings. All in all a charming an cosy vibe. Another overlooked gem. Make sure to arrive by train in the central station, you will not believe what you see. Take care!
hello :-) it's the winter good autumn for trips in the city ?lot's cold or rain ..!!
I've spent a limited amount of time in Belgium but I'd say it's well worth a visit in the autumn and winter. The Christmas markets are wonderful and the cities have a different energy that time of year. I think it's really about asking yourself about how long you'd like to visit if the weather is chilly :)
Lovely video David. Could you please let me know how to buy all day travel tickets (tram, buses & metro) from Midi and how much the actual price. Kind Regards
Best place for train tickets is the SNCB official website: www.belgiantrain.be/en And STIB official website should have you covered for the rest: www.stib-mivb.be/abon_tickets.html?l=en Hope this helps :)
@@camdendavid Thanks David
I live in Belgium and I love it lol
Love to hear it!
I’m going to Brussels this summer and I’m totally hung up on the day trips vs spending the nights there. For instance I want to visit Ghent and Bruges - would I be better off taking day trips to each or just minimize the back and forth and just spend the night in Bruges and visit Ghent on our way back? Totally don’t know what to do. Thanks! 0:29
Hey i'm from Belgium and i recommend staying in Bruges for just a day but would stay a night in Ghent tough, its super gorgeous and has alot to offer! :)
I second what @Belgy said! While you could easily take day trips, I found the late evenings to be a unique experience in Ghent and Bruges. Far less touristy as the night goes on and something to be experienced if you have the time :) Hope you have a great trip!
When you visit Ghent in summer ... Gentse Feesten (festival all over town) takes place from 14th to 23rd July. Very crowded, but worthtwhile. Be sure to book your :hotel or hostel in time or travel from one place to anpther by train/bus. If you are interested in the architecture and culture and not fond of festivals, better choose a different period.
@@lindakerremans2729 that’s the exact time I’ll be there. Haha.
absolutely, Gent is by far the best city and you probably did not see half of it. Did you know it was the largest city except for Paris north of the Alps in medieval times. Also in Gent, things are really open late, both in the unversity's quarters (Overpoort) as in the city's center. By the way, also in Brussels if you know where to go. Bruges, on the other hand, is dead at night. So you kinda got the wrong image based on Bruges. Btw Gent also has a mean hot chocolate bar in the University's quarters.
Thanks for the tips! What's the hot chocolate bar called? Might have to go try some in July
If I hear you talk, I actually would recommend making Ghent the homebase. It is in the middle of train networks easily connecting to Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp, Courtrai, etc. Also you should've tried the Chocolate Line in Bruges!
Nope. Brussels is very much the central hub of the railway network, even the most cursory look at a network map makes this abundantly clear. Basing in Ghent is only good advice if you intend on visiting just the North-Western part of the country, maybe up to Antwerp and Brussels, but not really beyond. If you want to go to Hasselt, Arlon, Liege, Namur that will be much more efficient from Brussels than from Ghent. Also if you want to maybe go further afield and take a high speed train for a daytrip to Lille (40 minutes), Rotterdam (1h10), Paris (1h20), or Cologne (1h50), this is possible from Bruxelles-Midi, but not so much from Ghent, unless you add about an hour each way to go to/from Brussels and make the transfer.
@@mariusdufour9186 My answer was also based on the assumption that primarily Flanders is visited. Otherwise you are right.
I'll add Chocolate Line to my trip this summer. Thanks for the tip!
@@mariusdufour9186 Why te hell would you send a tourist to other country's, oh its not far ok. the time they have is gold worth, you can not visit a land in a week, unless its only for beer, chocolat and fries, our culture heritage is enooormus, a daytrip to paris? what they gonne do there ? visit the louvre? this place by itself takes more than a day.
Hi one important question....how is Brussels when it is a public holiday? From info i get ya the shops is close but what about restaurants nd tourist spots?
I haven't spent any time there during a public holiday but I imagine the restaurants and most tourist spots would still be open (maybe with limited hours). Hoping a local will chime in here to help :)
We ae visiting Belgium in April; it is the last country we haven't visited in Western Europe. Before watching this video, I had planned to break up our time in Bruges and Brussels, tour those cities and take day trips to Ghent, Antwerp and Flanders Field. Does that not work?
I think that would work well! I'm sure a few locals will chime in here as well. Hope you have a wonderful trip!
Same trip planned here, same month, last country of W. Europe too! I’m thinking of basing in Ghent, and visiting Bruges and Brussels. Not sure what else! I love medieval architecture. Any underground adventures? And what to do on Easter Sunday!
I mean, ofc it is easy to get around. Flanders, the Dutch parts of Belgium, is smaller than New Jersey
Small but filled with great places and wonderful people :)
Oh dear....EVERY national train that stops in Central station in Brussels also stops in Midi (South Station). There are one or two international trains that only stop in South Station. The Eurostar train to London is a good example.
Thanks for the clarification :)
If your homebase is Brussels. And you want to visit Belgium by train get get the NMBS standard multi ticket. It has 10 journeys for 9,60 each journey. If you're older than 65 get a senoir ticket. Only €7,80 go and back. Younger than 26 than you get the Youth multi (10 journeys). Only 5,90 euro each journey. And remember you can change trains in 1 journey. Why walk from central to midi?
Ahhhhh this makes sense. I enjoyed the walk but great to know for the future. Thanks!
When you Visiting Belgium you can visit Netherlands and even German Cities like aachen
Agreed!
I’m going next two weeks for 5 days, hoping to meet some travel buddies there we tour the cities together
Hope you have a great time!
Hi, could you please help me find some sites to book affordable hostels, ghent is preferred. I checked into some famous sites but didn't find them.
Might I recommended Limburg? Absolutely beautiful nature! You have the barefeet path in Zutendaal, life over 100 years ago in Bokrijk, kayaking on the Meuse, gallo-romain Museum in the oldest city of the lowlands, connectera which is the biggest entrance to the first natural Parc Hoge Kempen, you can cycle over a big pond (literally a stroke to cycle on going through water), you have Terhills Resort which is literally recharging in the natural Parc but in a very luxurious setting with the most amazing beautiful wellness 'Elaisa' where you can get full zen, Japanese garden in Hasselt, blueberries field where you can walk through blueberry fields and during season pick them along with a shop with all blueberry foods and a place to eat everything with blueberries (tea, cake, even an amazing nacho sauce and many more), summer bars, beautiful blossoms and fruit trees in the south, just overall walking and cycling through beautiful and tranquil landscapes, rich mining history, marl caves and many more! Oh and just over the border in the Netherlands (also called province of Limburg) there's Maastricht which is such a beautiful city with many many shops close to eachother, great food, a treasury at St. Sevatius basilica with Christian treasures from all over the world, the basilica is also beautiful as is the tiny basilica sterre der zee with beautiful dome ceiling paintings. During the winter I recommend going to Valkenburg close by Maastricht with the biggest underground Christmas market of Europe in the caves and just a magical city overall with the beautiful yellow buildings.
Thank you so much for these recommendations! I really appreciate you taking the time to share this and I'll add all these to my list. Hoping to visit at some point this summer :)
Why always Bruges and Ghent. The most beautiful places are in the south of my country. You didn't mentioned cities like Liège, Dinant, Namur or even Eupen.
I'll add them to my list!
It's almost all true what you are telling - except for the nightlife, cafés and bars stay open usually till very late (especially in Brussels, Antwerp, Gent, Leuven) and in Brussels, Gent and Antwerp there's a vivid nightclub scene, but as usual you have to know where you have to be and do your research...
Thanks for this!
Basicly every city with a decent (large) university will have a vivid nightlife.
one thing youre gona like to go to ostend if you go again
I'll add it to my list - thanks!
When you talk about chocolate, remember to thank the countries that supplies them, Ghana, Nigeria, Ecuador etc
THANK YOU :)
kinda weird that they went with pierre marcolini which does not sound Belgian at all but italian /french names for fancy luxury commodities are all the rage in the US so maybe that was the thinking or it was an italian (or swiss) setting up shop believing the chocolate was mostly hype,
I'm sure there's a story behind it haha
If you visit belgium, please don't get the touristic and expensive waffles and chocolate in the main street in big cities like Brussels 😅. They are usually not even that tasty, just there to bring money in from tourists. Find a nice brasserie or restaurant in a less touristic place and take your time to enjoy some food. Also be aware of your belongings in big cities like brussels, antwerp etc. best to keep your phone, passport and bank passes in your hand. There are a lot of beatiful places worth a visit. I like Leuven and Hasselt to. But there are also nice places in walonie and de vlaamse ardennen for people who like nature.
Great tips in here - thanks!
You said you move to different country in the space of a month ... Can you help me to relocate to Canada/Belgium/ Australia or any European country... Need your reply ple
Hey hey! I'm doing all of this on tourist visas but am happy to share anything I've learned :) Where are you from?
What do you mean Gent is 20 min away from Brugge? By Concorde? :D
You're right (I was rounding down from the 26 minutes on the fastest train). But now all I can think about is traveling that route by Concorde and I've gone down quite the rabbit hole here... If my math is right (not likely), I think that trip would be under a minute and a half if we were maintaining the 1300 MPH cruising speed. But there's only one way to test that... Any interest in taking a VERY expensive 2-minute flight haha? I'll bring my camera gear!
Pro Tip from Belgian here : try to avoid Bruxelles Midi station if you can, literally a warzone
Good to know haha
Please do not exaggerate. It isn't the most attractive train hub but I've seen much worse in Europe than Bxl Midi, believe me.
Can you give me examples? So I can avoid them 😂
@@MrPygargueBxXL Paris Nord, Roma Termini, ...
I'm actually in Brussels now and craving some authentic mussels. Can you recommend a great local spot, away from the tourist traps?"
I don’t but maybe a local will see this and help out 😃
I was wondering is there any public toilet when you make a day trip in Belgium?
There weren't many and you almost always had to pay. Maybe some locals will point us in the right direction
Thank you very much.@@camdendavid
Usually you can expect to find public toilets at the train stations maybe, but those are rarely free. However, every place where you can eat or drink something should have a toilet. You could always ask if you can use the toilet without buying something, the worst they can say is "no". And obviously if you buy something, the toilet is free.
@@LG-te4vh Thank you very much！
What is the weather in Bruges and Ghent in September
I'd expect mid to upper 60's with some days dropping into the 50's during the evening. Ideal sweater weather!
Hey what's the name of the chocolate place you went to in Ghent?
Don’t think I went to one in Ghent but I definitely went to Mary’s in Bruges :)
wowww Belgium is beutiful
Not a lot of late night entertainment ? Belgium has the most pubs and concertvenues per capita in the whole of Europe. There are even pubs which never close ! And in Brussels you can go and see a great rock concert every day if you wish !
Thanks for this! Any venues you'd recommend for the concerts?
AB, Botanique, Madeleine, Bozar, Cirque Royal, Passage 44 ... @@camdendavid
Thanks! @@wanneske1969
why only the flemish part of Belgium. The french speaking part is also full of nicethings to do. The nighlife in Liège is something to experience. Dubuy the smallest city in the world, Pairi Daisa the n°1 zoo in Europe, lots of nature to spend quality time.....
I haven't spent enough time in Belgium to see all regions. The other areas are high on my list and I appreciate the tips!
I LOVE GENT!!!!!!!
❤
I been Born and raised in belgium and i still haven seen everything to see here ive been here 31 years
Love to hear that!
Tip, go out more
why base yourself in brussels, take a town two or three train stops out and it should be way cheaper and not much more difficult, also likely more relaxed
Fair point. Brussel was just the most convienet option for us at the time :)
Goodness, you seriously claimed all the tourist chocolates as good. Yikes. Liked the rest of the video though 👌
Actually there's quite a big nightlife in Brussels, Ghent or Leuven (the university cities) but the the day activities close early and the night activities starts late so you'll have an annoying period between 19 and 22 where there's really nothing to do besides chilling at your base or go to a cinema or something to bridge the gap. Also the nightlife is often in other parts of town than the typical tourist spots so look it up before hand. Edit: Also while Belgian public transport is excellent, the exception is late at night, there's barely any public transport past midnight so maybe just go out in your home city. Or consider maybe do rent a place in different cities if diversity in nightlife is your priority.
Great insight! Much appreciated 🙏
Why would you stay only one day in Brussels or Antwerp ? You could spend an entire week there
Agreed! I had a boat to catch in Amsterdam so I just didn't have the time. Can't wait to get back and spend more time in Belgium
In Brussels and Antwerp you could go to fancy restaurants, clubs, pubs, musea, beautiful parks, concerts, festivals etc, never boring there @@camdendavid
antwerp is the best citty maybe not for tourists but overall its by far the most funn
I can’t wait to spend some quality time there. Planning on it this summer. Thanks for watching!
My home town, we have lots of musea, nice bars and restaurants, shops...
We're going to Antwerp this August for short visit. I'm beyond excited ❤
I prefered Ghent in Belgium, it has that specific bohemian flair. For shopping Antwerp was cool.
👍👍👍👍👍
😄😄😄😄😄
@@camdendavid nice
I would personally avoid Bruges (overcrowded with tourists, obviously) and spend a day in Namur, Dinant, Bouillon, all beautiful cities with citadels or castles, and a real Belgian feel. Bruges if for the tourists :)
I'll add some of those to my list! Thanks :)
@@camdendavid It's very laidback and cute out there, the nightlife is even worse than in the rest of the country !
The single huge mistake that nearly all overseas tourists make, is that because they think European countries are small, they can see everything in a couple of days. Well, I have a shock for them - I HAVE seen pretty well everything in my country. It took me FOUR YEARS (off and on, during the seven months of summer time hours).
Completely agree. Us Americans have an especially skewed perspective and Belgium often gets overlooked (definitely shouldn't though). Looking forward to spending more time exploring the country :) Got any recommendations?
I am a Belgian and I can confirm that this guy is legit, everything he said is spot on :)
Glad to hear that! Thanks so much for the support 😄
I will stay for 3 nights how much money shall I take with me?
How many different cities are you hoping to jump around to? I'd say you could expect to spend $85 -$150 a night on accommodations. I'd probably want to bring another $100 - $150 per day to cover transportation, meals, etc. Hope this helps!
@@camdendavid Yes this is really helpful.thank you very much
Don't bring too much cash. Every shop has to offer an electronic payment method (a law since last year). The usual payment method is by debit card, the system is known as "Bancontact". Credit cards (with a chip) are not so commonly accepted though this will change in the future with hybrid debit/credit cards being introduced at the moment (2023).
@@flitsertheo Thank you
Limburg is the green province of Belgium.Tourists from the Netherlands and Germany stay either in campsites, B&B or hotels.Even wolves have returned to Limburg
Thanks for this!
Luxembourg is the green province of Belgium, way more than Limburg.