General: Belgium

Advantages: Beautiful, Cheap
Disadvantages: Some places very touristy

I travel from Liverpool, via Birmingham, before continuing my coach journey down to Dover, where I catch the early morning ferry to Calais. From Calais I continue on my journey down through France, before reaching my destination, Belgium. I use the quaint town of Bruges as a base, whilst I take in the sights, tastes, sounds and culture of Bruges, Brussels and Antwerp. ***Getting To Belgium*** Belgium is a very popular place to visit but there are ...
...travelled with Banks Sadler European Study Tours, as part of a group and £185 got me free coach travel; free ferry tickets, three nights in a nice hotel, free breakfasts and free day excursions. SN Brussels Airlines, Ryanair, and British Airways also offer daily services from most major UK airports to Brussels Charleroi Airport, costing from £20 to over £150 return. I would recommend coach travel, not only because it is cheaper, but you get to see ... Read review

Advantages: Small, english speaking, easy going, flat
Disadvantages: Not sure i can think of one

Spent several weeks in Belgium and found myself having a whale of a good time. Got to know local folks when in Bruges and saw many sights and drank much beer.. My first taste of was here, at a time when you wouldn't have found it in London. Bruges is a fab town; lots of lace, chocolate, a couple windmills and winding cobbled roads. For such a small town it has a lot of nightlife and kicking too! Apparently another town with good nightlife is the ...
...to see and good food and beer also. Most people speak English (low country residents have that knack) and usually another few languages too. We also spent some time at a seaside town, Knokke(?). With a flat, long white sand beach (slightly little reminiscent of the Costa Del Sol)! Beaches aren't the first thing that spring to mind when one thinks of Belgium, though certainly worth a look. Belgium is also in another sense. The southern contingent ... Read review

Advantages: Easy to get to, easy to travel around, fantastic food and beers!
Disadvantages: The Francophone Belgians can be difficult to get on with...

Well, I'll admit that my view of Belgium might well be a bit biased, coloured by the fact that I still have relations living in Antwerp and as such I do feel quite an affinity for the country. I first visited at the age of 11, when I spent a week at the seaside with my family in Wenduine, a summer holiday town just down the coast from Oostende, and I have nothing but great memories of that time, sitting in the sun, swimming the in the North Sea and ...
...You can still have a fantastic time at the beach, enjoying the surprisingly warm sea and sunning yourself, and the beauty of Belgium is its size, for no one town is particularly far from anywhere else! Nieuwpoort, a fishing port that you would otherwise probably overlook, boasts a great selection of good value restaurants on its main road (just off the coast road from Oostende as you cross the harbour bridge) which are well worth a visit, while Brugge ... Read review

Advantages: English speaking,friendly people,beautiful!
Disadvantages: Pickpockets

Having lived for 2 years in Belgium I thought I must write a review on this place. I adore Brussels and Belgium in general, and now regard it as my home away from home. I first went to Belgium on a school holiday with the History and Geography sector, but I didn't think too much of it back then in 1994. But how things change! I was offered a job in Belgium, just outside Brussels in August 2000 to work as a nanny in a French family, and have loved ...
...as I can as I still have very close friends living there, it's great to have somewhere to stay when visiting. Very practical indeed! I have just spent the past 4 months living back in Belgium, and I still love it there as much as I ever did. Belgium is a very multi-cultured place to visit, with people visiting constantly from all over the World. All kinds of people from businessmen, musicians, childcarers, just like me, you find them all, It is ... Read review

Advantages: Good base, nice marina, near to the UK!
Disadvantages: Not exactly picturesque, lot of scaffolding.

...Having just returned from a 7 day holiday to Ostend on the Northern coast of Belgium, I thought I'd share some of my experiences. I'm generally the one who makes the decision as to where we go on holiday (with some discussion between hubby and kids of course.....I'm not THAT bossy!!) My main reason for choosing Ostend was it's location (lots of other places of interest nearby and close proximity to the UK). As we are a fan of coaching holidays, Ostend was the shortest trip we have done so far. We were picked up by coach in Manchester at 8.30am and after travelling to Dover, a short ferry ride and another quick bout on the coach and we arrived at our hotel (Hotel Ostend- see my other reviews) at 9pm the same day (yes, I can hear some of your horrified exclamations, but it can be quite fun to travel overland as opposed to flying... Read review

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Advantages: Variety of pubs, variety of beers
Disadvantages: Some pubs are overcrowded

...----------IN GENERAL---------- Leuven is Belgium’s most famous student city. Almost 40 000 students live in this little town. So when it comes down to pubs in Belgium, Leuven is legendary. Basically, the town is one big pub. In this relatively small town you will find almost 200 pubs, each with their own specialty. And the great thing about it is that the town is so small you can reach most of them on foot. Other reasons why Leuven is the ultimate pub town: * Closing hour? Never heard of it. After a long night you can even see kids going to school in the morning when you’re leaving the pub. A friend of mine never goes to bed before 5am, and never gets up before 1 pm. (and for the more curious among you, yes, she is only a couple of months from graduating) * Beers! One advice: try as many beers as you can. You... Read review

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Advantages: shopping, night clubs, people
Disadvantages: it's cold and wet in winter

...I have now lived in Antwerpen for the past 2 years and in that time I have discovered basically everything there is to know about this great city! I will try and explain to you why you should include Antwerp in your tour of Belgium. I now live in a Hall of Residence in England and I'm very nostalgic! Living here has shown me how ignorant people are of little Belgium. When I first came and everyone was asking the same questions (where do you come from? What do you study? etc.) I told them I lived in Belgium and memorably one boy asked "Is that in Ireland" (he was quite embarassed affterwards). Anyway enough little anecdotes, let me enlighten you about Belgium in general and Antwerp in particular. Antwerp is in the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, and the city is called "Antwerpen" by the locals, in the French part of Belgium... Read review

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