Visiting Belgium, any advice?

[luckydevil]

So... I convinced the boss to send me to a training in Mechelen Belgium, just next to Brussels. I bribed his secretary to have me fly back a week after the training ends. I get a full week in Belgium. Well, minus the one day I'm going to Amsterdam

Day 1 is visiting Cantillon, drinking as much amazing beer as I can. I may just end it there as life should be downhill past that point. But supposing I don't commit some rose de gambrinus driven suicide or rub one out at cantillon and kicked out of the country... anybody been in the region and can recommend some places I should definitely visit?

[trouble brewin]

There is a lot of good info at the BBB website for spending a week in the region. Unlike most travelers to Belgium, I prefer Ghent to Brugge, though both are worth visiting.

It has been quite a few years since I've been to Brussels, but one of my favorite places is A La Becasse. I also recommend hitting up In't Spinnekopke for dinner. Great beer cuisine using Cantillon.

A lot of places are closed on Mondays, so plan ahead.

[scotchpine]

Check out the trip this guy took there in 2006. It's a great chronicle of a great trip with pics. Lots of tips and reviews of places. Hope it helps: http://www.stoutguy.com/beer/trips/2006Belgium/

[boobookittyfuk]

I'd be sure to check out westvleteren if you can. maybe rent a car and drive to watou. the brewery St. Bernardus has a bed and breakfast. So you can get a pretty good tour of their brewery and the dude's wife runs the B&B....they are SUPER nice people. My advice to driving in that area is that a path through a cow pasture is something they call a road. not all roads have a lane for both directions of travel. Also, the signs that say what the road name is are about 3 feet tall and the weeds around them are about 5 feet tall....but they are impossible to read anyway.


If you want the best chocolate from Belgium look for a brand call Leonadas.

[Swazi]

I'd be sure to check out westvleteren if you can. maybe rent a car and drive to watou. the brewery St. Bernardus has a bed and breakfast. So you can get a pretty good tour of their brewery and the dude's wife runs the B&B....they are SUPER nice people. My advice to driving in that area is that a path through a cow pasture is something they call a road. not all roads have a lane for both directions of travel. Also, the signs that say what the road name is are about 3 feet tall and the weeds around them are about 5 feet tall....but they are impossible to read anyway.

I'll second that. St Bernadus, westvleteren and De Struisse are all within a few miles of each other and well worth the visit. When I go to Belgium (cheap day trip from Kent, on the ferry), thats where I always go. I've never actually seen any of the rest of the country.

[johnhu]

I have only been to Antwerp during the winter, it was rainy and grey, didn't enjoy it much. Never been to Brussels though. Perhaps it's more appealing.