Looking to to travel to Belgium soon and want to explore Belgium deeper than just hitting up Brussels? By using this guide, you can explore Belgium and tweak it to accommodate your needs and desires in this 3, 5 or 7 day guide! After all, you’ll need plenty of time to enjoy all that beer, chocolate, frites, waffles and more!
Surprisingly, as the largest cultural center in Western Flanders, Ghent has been easily overlooked by its more popular neighbor, Bruges for its charming canals and beautiful architecture. Originally coated in layers of grime from years of being an industrial center, but in the 1980s, the town underwent a restoration program which has resulted in the city emerging as one of the best kept secrets in Europe! Not only is it a true gem, but one of the most exciting places to visit in Belgium!
Not far from Ghent, is the town of Aalst which is practically unheard of beyond Belgium, but within, it is renowned for having a yearly three-day, 600 year old Carnaval. Recognized by UNESCO as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, this event deserves all the attention it can possibly muster as being a three day festival of debauchery! Plus, it might possibly be the best kept secret in Europe!
While recently visiting Bruges for a sporadic, last-minute change of plans we agreed that we would include a day trip to the Belgian coast line and have some beach time. After all, our original plans were to go to a lake in Germany to soak up the Vitamin-D, but that didn’t work out.
Our weekend trip to Bruges turned out to be the BEST, last -minute decision EVER! Not only did we get a great price on our hotel, pretty good weather, lots of waffles and fries and beer, but we were also blessed with amazing weather on our last day, so we headed straight for the beach!
Let’s be honest, Bruges is definitely one of the most romantic cities in Europe which easily gets overlooked by its popular neighbor, Paris as well as Venice. Bruges is often called the “Venice of the North” with its crisscrossing canals which encloses its historic center making it one of the most beautiful canal cities in Europe. Whether you take a stroll during the day or during the night, romance will certainly be found in this quaint town as you stroll hand in hand.
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