Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Part 2)

As some of my readers probably already know, Andrew and I had a wonderful trip to the countries of the Benelux Union back in May. And while we all are bidding farewell to this summer, I thought it would make sense to share our travel memories. So, I am inviting you to virtually join our trip to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Part 2).

Netherlands Belgium and Luxembourg (Part 2)

Hello folks – I hope you are doing well!

Today we are going to have a virtual trip to Belgium. But first please be sure to check the first part of our travel journey.

So, on the day 8 Andrew and I left Hoorn towards Belgium where we spent three full days. Unlike the Netherlands, here we spent four nights every time in new place: Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and Bouillon.

We started our journey with Veurne – a city in northwestern Belgium, near the French border. The city combines late Gothic, Renaissance and baroque elements in its architecture. And if you are brave to climb stairs in one of the cathedrals and towers, you will be rewarded with breathtaking views over the city.

Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Its distinctive characteristics – canals, cobbled streets, and medieval buildings – make it one of the most beautiful and romantic cities in Belgium. And like Dutch Giethoorn from the previous post, it is also sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North, thanks to its gorgeous canals and bridges.

Ghent

Stopping for a short walk in a few other lovely spots, we then headed to Ghent, another stunning Belgium town.

Here on a parking lot we had a little car accident. Andrew reversed the car a little bit into the wall haha. But in his excuse, that garage was not well-lit – so we did not see the weird structure that other parking spots did not have. The result? The shuttered window. Luckily, the next morning our renting company’s car service agency brought us a substitute… there was a bit of nuance to that, though. I will not lie that that accident quite affected our mood, yet we still were able to pull it together and enjoy the evening in this town.

Mechelen, Leuven, and Brussels

On the day 3 of our stay in Belgium, we headed to Brussels, stopping for a couple of hours in Mechelen and Leuven. Both these towns are beautiful, with Leuven’s Town Hall being one of the most gorgeous buildings in Belgium.

If visiting Leuven, you should check out the Groot Begijnhof (Great Beguinage) – a village within the city, which has been recognized as the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was a community for unmarried, semi-religious women originated in the early 13th century. The Great Beguinage has the appearance of a small town on its own, with brown-brick houses planned along a network of narrow streets and small square; the majority of the houses dates to the 17th century.

As for Brussels, we spent here only one night, but one long evening walk was enough for us. While it is quite beautiful (and the Grand Place is simply gorgeous!), after other cities we had seen, Brussels left us a tad underwhelmed. Not as charming and cozy! And be sure to ride the Ferris wheel, as you will be rewarded with the views!

Dinant, La Roche-en-Ardenne, Durbuy, and Bouillon

On the day 4 we visited four smaller places, including Bouillon, where we stayed for a night.

Where can I start?! These small towns (although Dinant is a city) are GORGEOUS! They are definitely the most beautiful and charming places in Belgium, in our book. Well, you cannot beat Bruges, but it belongs to a different category. My favourite place turned out to be Dinant, while Andrew voted for Bouillon.

Durbuy is a town in eastern Belgium, known for its stone houses and cobbled streets. It is small, and it would be enough about 30 minutes to walk around, but it’s worth visiting. Also, here we tried amazing violet ice cream.

La Roche-en-Ardenne is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Luxembourg. Lying beside a bend in the River Ourthe, the small town of La Roche-en-Ardenne is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Ardennes. And it is not surprising!

Dinant is a colourful city in the Walloon Region, surrounded by steep cliffs. Above town is located the centuries-old fortified Citadel which is now a museum. Be sure to visit the Citadel and enjoy the sweeping views from above. Also, Dinant was the birthplace of Adolphe Sax – an inventor of saxophone, so you will find many sculptures and art installations.

Our last point Bouillon – a charming and quiet town in southern Belgium, near the French border, known for the medieval Bouillon Castle.

The next morning we were supposed to go to Luxembourg. But remember I mentioned the twist with a broken rented car? In Ghent a service company provided us with a temporarily car which we were supposed to exchange for a new permanent (because renting company offices did not work on weekends.) Since it was Saturday, we decided to follow our itinerary for the next two days and come back to the Netherlands on Monday. Luckily, we did not need to drive all the way to Amsterdam where we had taken the previous car – to a town near the Dutch-Belgium border. Still, it was more than 200 kilometers only in one direction and then back to Luxemburg. Even though this unplanned event changed our Monday schedule, overall it did not affect too much our stay in Luxembourg as it is a compact country.

I hope you enjoyed this virtual trip to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (Part 2). Stay tuned not to miss last part.

Cheers!