Belgium Travel Thread

[SeaWatchman]

Sweet, thanks everyone. Very helpful.

How about travel advice from US. When to book, what cities to fly out of, airlines, etc. thinking about maybe including Ireland too, but still beginning stages of planning.

Sometimes some of the cheapest flights (sub $1,000) are on Aer Lingus and if you plan it right they can often include 24 hour+ layovers in Dublin. I almost booked with them this time, but opted for direct flights to Paris instead.

 

[codasnap52]

Hello Belgium travel friends. I will be leaving for Belgium in a few weeks for TdG and would like to get down to Fantome at some point during the week. I realize I will need to rent a car to get there as it's quite far, but would anyone have any suggestions on places to stop along the way? Preferably other farmhouse/saison breweries?

Also an American. I want to spend a day out in the Ardennes region and was looking to visit Fantome on the trek out there. Let me know when you are going as I'll be driving over with a couple of friends too.

 

[miamichael21]

I'll be in Belgium for 5 nights starting this Saturday along with a friend, so if anyone is around and would like to meet up at bars and have bottles and conversation, let me know...will be in the following places:

4/25 - Brussels
4/26 - Chimay Inn
4/27 - Day time Westvleteren, Bruges at night
4/28 - Antwerp
4/29 - Brussels
4/30 - flying to Copenhagen

Cheers

 

[codasnap52]

I'll be in Belgium for 5 nights starting this Saturday along with a friend, so if anyone is around and would like to meet up at bars and have bottles and conversation, let me know...will be in the following places:

4/25 - Brussels
4/26 - Chimay Inn
4/27 - Day time Westvleteren, Bruges at night
4/28 - Antwerp
4/29 - Brussels
4/30 - flying to Copenhagen

Cheers

I plan to be at Moeder on 4/29 around 10 PM if you want to meet up. I'll probably be there until pretty late with my brother so shoot me a message if you find yourself in the area!

 

[miamichael21]

I plan to be at Moeder on 4/29 around 10 PM if you want to meet up. I'll probably be there until pretty late with my brother so shoot me a message if you find yourself in the area!

Awesome - will message you on the 29th.

 

[Quatz]

I'll be in Belgium for 5 nights starting this Saturday along with a friend, so if anyone is around and would like to meet up at bars and have bottles and conversation, let me know...will be in the following places:

4/25 - Brussels
4/26 - Chimay Inn
4/27 - Day time Westvleteren, Bruges at night
4/28 - Antwerp
4/29 - Brussels
4/30 - flying to Copenhagen

Cheers

Are you planning on visiting Cantillon on the 25th? I might be going and looking for someone to share some bottles with.

 

[miamichael21]

Are you planning on visiting Cantillon on the 25th? I might be going and looking for someone to share some bottles with.

Yes, will be at Cantillon on the 25th. Do they have bottles for sale there to drink on premise?

 

[Quatz]

Yes, will be at Cantillon on the 25th. Do they have bottles for sale there to drink on premise?

Some bottles are for on-site consumption only, others are takeaway. Some of the more limited ones (50N, Zwanze,...) are on-site only.

 

[Os]

I'm sure it's been addressed but could someone tell me how hard it is to get around w/o a car? Obviously want to do things around Brussels and also head out to places like 3F.

 

[HenrikO]

There's trains, buses, subway and trams going almost anywhere, it's even relatively easy (as in one bus leaving about every 90 mins) to get to In De Verzekering in Lennik on a Sunday.

It's a major city in Europe, don't sweat it with a car.

As a side note, my hometown (population about 90,000) has a better (as in cheaper, more frequent buses with better route coverage) public transport than Seattle and Seattle's the best public transport system I've seen in the U.S. outside NY. What is it with you guys and public transport?

 

[Os]

There's trains, buses, subway and trams going almost anywhere, it's even relatively easy (as in one bus leaving about every 90 mins) to get to In De Vezekering in Lennik on a Sunday.

It's a major city in Europe, don't sweat it with a car.

As a side note, my hometown (population about 90,000) has a better public transport

ah, thanks for the info... if I don't make it for open beer day this year, I will next... that's my plan

so I can easily get public transportation from Brussels to Drie Fonteinen?

 

[HenrikO]

ah, thanks for the info... if I don't make it for open beer day this year, I will next... that's my plan

so I can easily get public transportation from Brussels to Drie Fonteinen?

Commuter train and/or bus to Beersel, I think, but it's been a while so anyone with more current knowledge feel free to correct me.

 

[stupac2]

What is it with you guys and public transport?

Car lobbyists destroyed our infrastructure, basically.

 

[matedog]

Car lobbyists destroyed our infrastructure, basically.

Very true. Though I have found it very easy to get around major cities (Seattle, San Diego that I've actually tried) with public transit using the Google Maps app. It takes away a lot of the headaches of trying to learn a new city's transit system.

 

[Quatz]

ah, thanks for the info... if I don't make it for open beer day this year, I will next... that's my plan

so I can easily get public transportation from Brussels to Drie Fonteinen?

Should be easy, there's a bus that stops right in front of the brewery and the train station is also less than 10 minutes walking distance. So you will have a choice between taking the train (probably will have to transfer somewhere) or the bus (definitely need to transfer somewhere) or a combination of both. It will probably be around 45 minutes to get from Brussels to 3 Fonteinen.

 

[user 305778]

It was super easy for my wife and I to take a train from Brussels to Beersel for 3F and then walk up there. When we did it in 2012 you had to do it on a Friday, though, as the train didn't run on Saturday.

 

[RyanG1]

ah, thanks for the info... if I don't make it for open beer day this year, I will next... that's my plan

so I can easily get public transportation from Brussels to Drie Fonteinen?

Here is the gmaps instructions. Took me a few seconds to type and sort it out. You can adjust time and date of course.

http://tinyurl.com/m3zdzw4

 

[Quatz]

Here is the gmaps instructions. Took me a few seconds to type and sort it out. You can adjust time and date of course.

http://tinyurl.com/m3zdzw4

This not the correct address, you need this one: http://tinyurl.com/lt98yph
Trains are not yet covered by google maps so you you should also look for trains here and decide which is better for you.http://www.belgianrail.be/en/Default.aspx

 

[Quatz]

And this is the train schedule with the correct address for 3 Fonteinen and a random time I chose, just to give you an idea.
http://tinyurl.com/m39n43e

This site does combine trains and buses so it will be the easiest to find the best route. Ask me should you need more!

 

[Snarf1]

Are bike DUIs in Belgium a thing? Looking at a b&b that's about 8km from Spontaneous fest and my friend says bike DUIs are mentioned on alot of cycling tour pages. Are we really in danger of getting in trouble for drunk biking at midnight in somewhat rural Belgium?

 

[flexabull]

There's trains, buses, subway and trams going almost anywhere, it's even relatively easy (as in one bus leaving about every 90 mins) to get to In De Verzekering in Lennik on a Sunday.

It's a major city in Europe, don't sweat it with a car.

As a side note, my hometown (population about 90,000) has a better (as in cheaper, more frequent buses with better route coverage) public transport than Seattle and Seattle's the best public transport system I've seen in the U.S. outside NY. What is it with you guys and public transport?

Seattle the best public transportation outside of NYC? You must be joking... Well, I guess they do have the ****.

 

[Quatz]

Are bike DUIs in Belgium a thing? Looking at a b&b that's about 8km from Spontaneous fest and my friend says bike DUIs are mentioned on alot of cycling tour pages. Are we really in danger of getting in trouble for drunk biking at midnight in somewhat rural Belgium?

In theory, yes. In practice, the only people who get charged with a DUI while on their bike are people who also misbehave in other ways like vandalism, exorbitant nightly noise, reckless behaviour,... If you can somewhat behave like a normal person you shouldn't have any problems. Most policemen are pretty understanding and will just send you on your way even if you misbehave. Most people biking at night are probably drunk, I always take my bike home when I go out and never got into trouble.

So don't worry about it but don't act like a dick when cops stop you.

 

[Quatz]

Right after I typed this out, I came across this news story: http://tinyurl.com/l7g88e4
It's in Dutch so here's a short summary: some guy took his daughter to the coast. He had too much red wine at lunch and decided to rent a go cart as people who visit the Belgian coast tend to do. He was driving around violently, endangering pedestrians so police stopped him. He had a BAC of 3.27 so he lost his drivers license for 15 days. Don't be this guy and you should be fine.

 

[stupac2]

He had a BAC of 3.27

Is this some weird metric BAC or did you misplace the decimal there? With a BAC of 3.27% you'd be dead several times over. I don't think it's even possible to get one that high unless you're injecting yourself with straight ethanol.

 

[Quatz]

Is this some weird metric BAC or did you misplace the decimal there? With a BAC of 3.27% you'd be dead several times over. I don't think it's even possible to get one that high unless you're injecting yourself with straight ethanol.

I don't know, we use ‰ (promille) to express alcohol content and I thought BAC was the same but I guess not then. I tried Googling it but I don't know what it should have been.

 

[stupac2]

I don't know, we use ‰ (promille) to express alcohol content and I thought BAC was the same but I guess not then. I tried Googling it but I don't know what it should have been.

Ah, that would do it. I figured it was something like that, though permille is so uncommon here that didn't specifically occur to me.

 

[sp0]

Will be visiting Brussels from August 31st-September 3rd, and looking into an airbnb. First thoughts are to book a place close to cantillon, but not sure what else there is (restaurants, sightseeing, etc.) nearby. Any pointers on best neighborhood to stay?

Thanks

 

[codasnap52]

Will be visiting Brussels from August 31st-September 3rd, and looking into an airbnb. First thoughts are to book a place close to cantillon, but not sure what else there is (restaurants, sightseeing, etc.) nearby. Any pointers on best neighborhood to stay?

Thanks

I just stayed in Brussels over the weekend and have gone the AirBNB route 3 times now. This recent visit was by far my best and I used this site to book the space...

http://www.apartmentsapart.com/europe/belgium/brussels

If you are looking for shared space this isn't as cheap as AirBNB but the location we chose using Apartments Apart was in the heart of town about 2 blocks from Moeder and about 5 minutes from the Grand Place. It also came with every amenity we would need.

Of note, avoid staying near Cantillon. Its a rougher part of town and I got my wallet stolen on the street last year while walking at night in the area.

 

[thrashD]

Are there any Belgians/Europeans/tourists that have any plans soon to visit De Dolle? I am very much ISO a cycling jersey they sell in their pub and was wondering if someone would be able to pick me one up and I can paypal the money and arrange shipping. Could set up a trade as well if you'd like. Send me a message if you can help me out! cheers!

 

[Snarf1]

Are there any Belgians/Europeans/tourists that have any plans soon to visit De Dolle? I am very much ISO a cycling jersey they sell in their pub and was wondering if someone would be able to pick me one up and I can paypal the money and arrange shipping. Could set up a trade as well if you'd like. Send me a message if you can help me out! cheers!

If by some miracle I make it there tomorrow, I'm all over it. Saw the taster in person for the first time last night and I want it so badly.