Belgium: Brussels | Bruge | Ghent
When Valerie and I travel to a new international city, we always look for the on/off bus tours to do on the first day. They are an easy and inexpensive way to get around the city to its “biggest” sights. We take mental notes of the places that we thought were interesting and deserved more time and effort in the coming days we have. These are not always the ones you might think. They are often the more interesting looking places along the way - people, architecture, street art, etc.—and not just the touristy sights most people visit. Some of these tours are better than others, but you get a proper overview of the city.
This is how we approached our first day in Brussels. The “Toot” bus as it was chucklingly called was a very extensive tour (2+ hours, without getting off anywhere).If we are honest it was a bit chaotic due to the route/driving. Also, the narration in the on-board audio system sharing the history of the city and its sights were brief, a bit too “inside baseball” (i.e., they made very specific references that we had no clue what they meant), and rarely matched up to what we were actually seeing at the moment. Not the best.
The Atomium - Worlds Fair installation from the 1950’s that was so popular with the city’s citizens, they made it permanent!
That said, we found that as you came across these areas where you could see over the rooftops, the city’s skyline looked quite lovely, with many cathedral spires poking up here and there.
One of the city’s unique skyline views we came across on our tour.
This inspired us to find a good rooftop spot where we could take in the sun above the city on day two. It rained most of the morning, so we were relegated to working in cafes and the hotel lobby for most of the morning, but by mid-afternoon this is what we were lucky to get! All we’re saying is to keep an open mind and use the easy ways to see your whole city. It will save you time and help you focus on the things you like!
The next morning, we woke up feeling pretty good about what we had seen and experienced so far in Brussels, so we hopped on a train to see Bruges and Ghent, two towns north west of brussels, just about an hour (Bruges) and 35 minutes (Ghent) train ride.
Bruges was very interesting! It was all very well preserved old, OLD buildings in the city center, a number of canals that made for a good little boat tour, an absolutely massive central square - and surprisingly modern shopping (e.g., Nike store, H&M, etc.). I actually felt like Bruges was more full of tourists than even Brussels, but you can see why with it’s beautiful parks/gardens and the fun European streets.
Ghent was meh. Getting from the train station to the interesting part of town, the old medieval town center, isn’t as easy as we had hoped. And while it is considered a must see city in Belgium, we would rather have spent more time in Bruges.
Tips for Belgium:
If you want to cross the street, do it. In most cases, there is no signal to tell you when to cross. You just walk out into traffic and cars/buses will stop for you. Theoretically.
As with most European countries, it’s super easy to travel around. The train system was easy to navigate. Walking around is safe and beautiful!
Official languages in Belgium are Dutch/French/German so do your best, but everyone will typically give you a break and just speak English.
Don’t ask us about chocolate in Belgium. We didn’t try it and we feel good about that.
Also, don’t ask us about waffles in Belgium. Valerie hates waffles and not even a waffle from Belgium could get her to eat one.
Do ask us about the beer. It was delicious.
