Brussels, Bruges and Ghent by first-class train, with beer, chocolate and a designer who lived in Belgium for seven years. Usually combined with France and Switzerland, from 2,999 € per person.
Day by day, with prices. Each one is reshaped around you.
Nine nights in three bases, Brussels, Strasbourg and Basel, with guided day trips to Ghent, Bruges, Colmar, Zermatt, Mount Pilatus and Bern. First-class trains and 3-star hotels by the station; a lot of ground covered in one trip.
From €2,999 per person
Our travel designers suggest the right pace for each trip length.
Trips by style
Belgium is a year-round destination because its attractions are indoors as much as out: breweries, chocolate shops, museums, cathedrals and covered markets. The most pleasant months are May, June and September, when Bruges' canals and Ghent's quays are warm enough for a terrace. July and August are busiest in Bruges, which absorbs day-trippers from the whole continent. Late November to December 31 brings the Christmas markets and ice rinks in Brussels' Grand Place, Bruges' Markt and Ghent, and the beer tastes better in the cold. Expect rain in any month, and pack accordingly; it rarely lasts all day.
Brussels is the practical base: its airport has direct flights from the US and Canada, and Ghent and Bruges are each under an hour away by train, so you can see both as day trips without changing hotels. In Brussels, the Grand Place, the Sablon chocolate shops and the Art Nouveau houses fill a day, and our beer and chocolate tour takes in Trappist, Lambic and Abbey beers in three bars plus ten chocolates in three shops. Ghent is the one locals prefer: Gravensteen Castle, the Belfry and a younger, less polished feel. Bruges is the medieval set piece, UNESCO listed, best in the early morning and the evening after the day visitors leave. Antwerp (diamonds, Rubens, fashion), the Ardennes forests and the WWI sites around Ypres are the usual additions. Our Belgium, Alsace and Switzerland itinerary gives Belgium three nights before taking the train on to Strasbourg, Colmar, Basel and Zermatt.
Three nights in Brussels with day trips to Ghent and Bruges covers the essentials, which is why we usually treat Belgium as the opening act of a longer trip. Five days adds Antwerp and a night in Bruges to see it after dark. A full week is for beer pilgrims, art lovers and WWI history. Because Brussels is 1 h 25 from Paris by Thalys-Eurostar, under 2 hours from Amsterdam, and about 4 hours from Strasbourg by train, it links naturally to France, the Netherlands and Germany.
Belgian trains are frequent and the country is small: Brussels to Ghent 35 minutes, Brussels to Bruges about an hour, Brussels to Antwerp 45 minutes. We book first class so you have a seat on the busy Bruges line, and arrange a private transfer from Brussels Airport. You do not need a car. Belgium is moderately priced, between France and Germany: a 4* hotel near the Grand Place costs less than its Paris equivalent, and beer, frites and waffles are cheap pleasures. As part of our 10-day three-country itinerary, Belgium works out at roughly 300 € per person per day including 3* hotels, first-class trains, private transfers and guided days, from 2,999 € per person for the whole trip. Aurélie, who lived in Belgium for seven years, designs these trips from our office near Lyon and sends a complete proposal within 48 hours.
Based in France, they build and operate every trip on the ground.
Travel Designer · Based in Villefranche-sur-Saône
From Troyes in Champagne, formerly a travel agent in Seville and a teacher in Glasgow; designs Paris, Champagne and honeymoon trips.
More about MathildeTravel Designer · Based in Villefranche-sur-Saône
Born in Alsace, lived seven years in Belgium; designs our Christmas market, Alsace and Belgium itineraries.
More about Aurélie
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No more than France, and cheaper than Switzerland or Paris. Central 4* hotels in Brussels are reasonable outside EU summit weeks; Bruges is pricier on weekends. Beer, frites, waffles and chocolate are inexpensive. Our 10-day Belgium, Alsace and Switzerland trip starts at 2,999 € per person with trains, transfers and guided days.
No. Brussels, Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp are all within an hour of each other by train, and the historic centers are pedestrian. A car only helps for the Ardennes or the Ypres battlefields, and for those we suggest a private driver for the day rather than a rental.
May, June and September for terraces and canal boats; December for Christmas markets in the Grand Place and Bruges' Markt. Bruges is crowded in July and August, so we schedule it midweek or overnight so you have the early morning and evening to yourselves.
Three to four months is enough for most of the year. Book earlier, five to six months, for December and for any trip that continues to Switzerland in summer, since the Swiss hotels and panoramic trains are the constraint. Your proposal arrives within 48 hours of your request.
Dutch (Flemish) in Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp, French in Wallonia, and both in Brussels, with English spoken fluently almost everywhere tourists go. Service is included in restaurant bills; rounding up is a kind gesture, not an obligation. Guides appreciate 5 to 10 € per person for a day tour.
Yes, and we think that is the best way to see it. Our 10-day itinerary goes Brussels, Strasbourg, Colmar, Basel, Zermatt, Pilatus and Bern by first-class train. Paris is 1 h 25 from Brussels, so a Paris-and-Belgium week is also easy. Amsterdam is under two hours away for a Benelux route.
Two minutes, three steps. Free and without obligation.
