Belgium: 2 weeks out!

[cervezarara]

Two weeks from today, SWMBO and I take off for 9 days in Belgium! We're staying two nights in Brussels, then getting a car and driving to Bruges for two more nights. Everything is possible! Westvletern, Brasserie DuPont, DeDolle- wherever we decide! Then we'll be in Beersel May 1 for the Toer de Geueze. Off to the Ardennes and the Senne valley. I'm thinking, I don't know- Chimay, Orval, all of the above! Antwerp on the return to tie it all up.

Beer, castles, Lambic, medieval cities, geueze, belfries, tulips, and, oh, did I mention beer?

Travel advice, must see, must avoid, all tips are welcome!

 

[Houblon]

Travel advice, must see, must avoid, all tips are welcome!

Achouffe, Les 3 Fourquets, Orval, Dubuisson Frères, Drie Fonteinen and the list just gets bigger...

Bouillon Castle is cool and Hôtel Panorama in Bouillon is a great place to stay!

Tell me you did get the "Good beer guide to Belgium" by Tim Webb?
if not you better order it asap!


FYI, Do Not Even think about Drinking & Driving!

Check out my pics from all over Belgium
http://s821.photobucket.com/albums/zz138/UknowWho2u/

 

[bgruis]

It sounds like you've done your research! You can't go wrong in Bruges, and I've also heard that the neighboring city of Ghent has some really cool spots. You may want to check this forum I know somebody had a good write up about Ghent, Bruges as well as Belgium.

When I went I was limited to public transport so that limited me to the bigger cities and some of the more notable Abbey's were only accessible via car...so hopefully that works out well for you!

Take lots of pictures and notes and report back here when your done .

Prost....Have a great trip!

 

[vinoterp]

I'm jealous.. I get to venture out to Belgium frequently for work.. one of my favorite countries.. Brussels is great, but Bruges is awesome. In Bruges I highly recommend renting bikes and exploring the city... a great bar to samples a few rolled oat sodas is Erasmus. I'm taking the SWMBO this summer for her first trip to the promise land.

 

[cervezarara]

Tell me you did get the "Good beer guide to Belgium" by Tim Webb?

Yes! And I have the second edition of Lambicland as well. Is Bouillon the castle of Godfrey? I remember reading about it, but everything swims together after a while.

Thanks for the replies! We have a few hotels booked but the days are wide open.

 

[Prime]

That's awesome! I am so jealous! One of our friends is from Belgium. We are tentatively planning a trip for a couple years from now and she is going to be our tour guide.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[dannypo]

You need to spend an evening at t'Bruges Beertje. Easily the coolest bar I have ever been to. Drink some De Struise and enjoy. Staminee de Garre was pretty cool too. It's also in Bruges.

Other than Cantillion Brussels wasn't that great as far as beer goes. There is some cool sight seeing though. I don't remember the name but there is a Cathedral there that was amazing.

Have fun.

 

[bbrim]

Fries. Buy some fries, preferably on the street somewhere.

 

[zima_182]

Congrats, Belgium is a pretty great place.

Definitely agree with the other advise so far in this thread, especially about the french fries!! Make sure you have them with mayo.

In Brussels there is the Delirium Tremens Taphouse which has something like 2000 different beers and their stuff on tap changes daily I think. The Cathedral is St. Michaels and I agree it is amazing. Also the Grand Place is one of the most beautiful squares I've been to.

Brugge has Da Halve Maan Brewery, which has a nice tour that leads to its rooftop for a great view of the city. You get a free glass of their unfiltered beer after the tour. You can only get the unfiltered at the brewery. If you are into seafood, make sure you get some mussels in Brugge as well.

Have a great trip and remember to report back with pictures and tales of all the amazing beers you got to try!

 

[vinoterp]

Also.. You cannot go wrong with the trucks selling Waffles on the side of the road

 

[Gunslinger711]

My SWMBO and I are planning this trip for our 5 year wedding anniversary. To those that have been to Belgium, and specifically beer country, is it handy to know French or do most of them speak Flemish in that part of the country?

(Disclaimer if it wasn't obvious: Don't know that much about Belgium.)

 

[zima_182]

From my experiences in Belgium most people will speak French, German, and English very well.

 

[Sheldon]

My son and I are thinking of doing the Beer Advocate Amsterdam-Bruges beer tour this Fall. Anyone have any info on this organized trip. We plan on getting into Amsterdam on Friday (tour starts saturday late morning) and staying over in Bruges/Brussels for 2 days after tour ends to get more experience

 

[pjj2ba]

If you will be down towards the Ardennes, see if you can find Caracole brewery. I'm not sure if they have tours, but it looks like a neat small operation. I'd be suspicious that they might not speak a lot of English. I definitely would like to stop here next time......

brasserie-caracole.be/

Our trip through Belgium was not well planned out, it was a side trip from our main stay in Germany. If you like smaller towns, we did stop in Namur which was very pretty and scenic. Unfortunately it was later that we learned that we missed the good beer bar in town. I just looked for it. It is Le Bouffon De Roi

 

[Gunslinger711]

@Zima

Thanks for the response, I know a little bit of French, my SWMBO is much better with French and German, we were just worried we'd need to brush up on our Flemish before making the trip.

 

[Sheldon]

My son and I are doing this Fall's beercation on a canal barge thru Netherlands and Belgium. We end up in Bruges and plan to spend two days and two nights on our own there. Can we get a recommendation of a good hotel in Bruges.

thanks

Sheldon

 

[beersteiner2345]

Wife and I had a blast in Brussels and Bruges last summer. Just have fun. There are no wrong answers there.



In Brussels, Go to Cafe Delirium. And check out Maniken Pis's sister statue at the end of the alley (across from Cafe Dilirium by the Absinthe bar. (Nothing special about this statue really, but hard to find complement to the peeing boy statue... )

BTW- If looking for a nice place to stay, we were super happy with Hotel Metropole. And you can get baguettes and brie for like 3 euro total at the supermarket down the down. makes for a nice breakfast since everything else in Brussels costs $11234098234

Bruges is nice as well. Probably my favorite place we went in Europe. Just take your time and enjoy the chocolate as much as the beer.

 

[Houblon]

If you will be down towards the Ardennes, see if you can find Caracole brewery. I'm not sure if they have tours, but it looks like a neat small operation. I'd be suspicious that they might not speak a lot of English. I definitely would like to stop here next time......

brasserie-caracole.be/

i

You mean this place?






Yes they have tours and the young girl speaks very good english.

Can we get a recommendation of a good hotel in Bruges.

We stayed at Hotel Erasmus and while nice I'll never stay there again as theres far cheaper places to stay.

 

[pjj2ba]

Yes, Yes, Yes!!!!

My wife's relative, who lives outside of Charleroi, which isn't to far away, had not heard of the brewery. Unfortunately, as our trip to Belgium was a last minute side trip from our trip to Germany we didn't have time to check it out.

 

[SkinnyShamrock]

Drie Fonteinen

This. Do it. They make the best kriek on the face of the planet.