Belgium, which looks like a very small country when you look at it on the map, carries, besides its unique chocolate, beer selection and fries craze that first come to mind, the unofficial title of capital of the European Union. And it's just as cosmopolitan! The capital Brussels partly separates Flanders above it (the Dutch-speaking region with famous cities like Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent) from the region below it (where, because of regional proximity, French is spoken in the southwest and German in the southeast), Wallonia.
Although I spent 3 days in Belgium during my 2012 Interrail trip, this trip made me realise that even at 3 days it had been a somewhat superficial visit. For our holiday plan, made as early as June 2017 and based on the concept of spending New Year's in Bruges, we set aside most of it for touring and exploring Belgium. We spent 4 days of our 6-day trip in Belgium.
Its streets, bearing traces of medieval Europe, offer us travellers the chance to photograph many wonderful buildings, with the Gothic and Baroque influences of the period alongside today's modern architecture. You must see the cities we'll share! This time, for a change, we've listed the cities we visited from last to first, according to our likes and recommendations! 🤩
We visited these 5 cities by train. If you have questions like how we travelled within Belgium by train and how much we paid, our detailed post is here!
5. LEUVEN
Leuven, home to the Catholic University of Leuven, the oldest university in the world, is home to about 35,000 students and about 100 thousand citizens who keep the city lively. That's why the nightlife is lively too!Places like the Belfry at St. Peter's Church in the more historic part of the city and the Town Hall with its wonderful architecture are accompanied by interesting shops and art galleries.
The Stella Artois brewery, founded in this small city in 1366, is not only old but also the largest brewery in the world.
For travel lovers, you'll find lots to do and buy at Leuven's Grote Markt, with extraordinary food options and the pubs and cafés lining the street. This city's location is just 20 minutes by train from Brussels, holidaymakers' main base for exploring the rest of the country.
Our post where we describe it in detail, Places to Visit in Leuven, is here.
4. ANTWERP
Antwerp is a bit more cosmopolitan than the other cities, and Belgium's second-largest city. It also has Europe's second-largest seaport after Rotterdam.Although it doesn't have a past as historically preserved as Bruges or Ghent, it's a very dynamic city, offering a perfect mix of history and today's modern life. You can see the grandeur of Baroque and Gothic architecture in the Cathedral of Our Lady, with its structure built in 1351, and St. James' Church.
The famous painter Rubens spent his youth here and produced his most important works here. The studio house where he lived at that time and trained apprentices is today the Rubenshuis Museum. You can also see his famous painting, Cathedral of Our Lady, here.
A typical European city where you can do great shopping, won't have any trouble with food, can sweeten things up by trying different beers and, most importantly, can have a lovely time. The most prominent city in Belgium for fashion! You can see Antwerp Central, Meir Street, the address for shopping, the Grote Markt and Het Steen castle, dating from the 800s.
Those going as a couple will surely have heard of Antwerp's fame for diamonds. Antwerp is such a city that more than 70% of the diamond trade is done from this area.
Our post where we describe it in detail, Places to Visit in Antwerp, is here.
3. BRUSSELS
Brussels, the capital of Belgium and known as a real transit hub, is, because of its geopolitical location, very close to Amsterdam, to Paris and to Belgium's wonderful towns. It's the starting point for trips! In a city like this, the variety of interesting places isn't to be underestimated.Home to the headquarters of many European institutions, Brussels is also seen as a capital for the European Union, as the EU is based here.
The city centre known as the Grand Place, founded in the first century and still intact today, is truly one of the top places worth seeing. Around this central square, with toy shops, lace makers, chocolatiers, terrace cafés and bars, and many interesting places like the striking Gothic-style Town Hall, there are plenty of places to visit.
There's also a cute, cute shopping arcade. An arcade with shops, cafés and theatres inside. You'll happily browse the shops inside the glass-roofed Galeries St. Hubert, 3-4 minutes' walk from the Grand Place.
Another popular destination, the Atomium, the European Quarter, Manneken Pis and more are in our post where we describe them in detail, Places to Visit in Brussels.
2. BRUGES
The historic centre of Bruges, on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is made up of pedestrian-only streets, so you can easily explore the city on foot. This tiny, lovely city is also very impressive culturally.
If you go in winter or spring like us, you can enjoy wandering along the canals together with the city's quiet. If you like, you can also tour the city by horse-drawn carriage, as on our islands.
Although Bruges is small, thanks to not being badly damaged in the Second World War, it offers tourists lots of places to visit and see, with architectural and artistic treasures, folklore, chocolate shops and lace boutiques. On top of that, there are good restaurants for food too. Our choice, as across most of Europe, was pizza here too! 🍕
Places to Visit in Bruges: one of the most popular places on the list is the Beguinage, on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The home of nuns of the order of St. Benedict. Another is De Halve Maan Brewery, a family business and the creator of the famous "Brugse Zot" beer.
If you'll spend quite some time in Bruges, get a Bruges City Card to benefit from entry discounts to these places, or you can tour the countryside outside the city by bike.
1. GHENT
Ghent is a city always loved and often visited by the country's locals. If you ask travel-loving Belgians about Ghent, almost without exception they'll all give you lots of information about the city. This small-looking city is actually Belgium's third-largest city. Also, most of the city's streets and roads are closed to cars. As across most of Europe, I say enjoy exploring here on foot! Of course, if the weather is nice, you can pedal by bike along the canals that run all the way.
Thanks to the university, there are lots of students in the city of Ghent. Along with that, cafés, well-priced restaurants and energetic places keep you company. Here you can taste the famous Belgian beers in all kinds of places. If you coincide with the festival held in July, you may get the chance to join theatre shows, concerts and all kinds of activities.
Places to Visit in Ghent: the city is very rich in these too. The city has an opera house, 18 museums, 100 churches and more than 400 historic buildings. Ghent's most visited place is the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, painted in 1432 by the brothers Jan and Hubert van Eyck.
With our Belgium trip combined with the Christmas holiday, it was colourful and really lovely. Hoping to meet in other travel posts..
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