Northern France and Belgium

[MartinQ]

I've got a week off work at the start of September and was planning a mini tour of northern France and Belgium. Not a great distance so will be at a leisurely pace. I'm thinking of taking in Bruges (however it's spelt!), Brussels (maybe/maybe not worth it?), Nuerburg (and it's Ring, fnar), Luxembourg (worth a visit, even just to say I've been?), Reims for Champagne, Ypres and back to Calais.

Anything I've missed off and must see, or must be avoided?

[Mister3man]

Bruges is well worth a visit. Spent a few days over there last year.

[g3org3y]

Amiens is worth a look. Cathedral has a stunning light show every evening which is absolutely worth seeing. Not sure how interested you are in WWI history, but the surrounding area Arras/Peronne/Somme is worth exploring if you have a day to devote to it.

Re: Reims - don't forget to get a photo of your car infront of the old racing grandstand. There's also a really decent motor museum with lots of properly old metal that's genuinely worth a look.

[MartinQ]

I'm definitely interested in WW1 history, and slightly ashamed I don't know more. I think I'll be stopping off at your suggested places.

[RichS]

Got to say I wasn't ecstatic about Reims, it's a nice old city with some decent bits, but if it's the real old champs houses you're after then Epernay is your best bet.

If you can make it, an hour further down the autoroute Troyes is, in my view, much prettier and more buzzy than Reims.

[kiteless]

Another vote here for Bruges, as it is a very lovely spot.

Also, not far away is Ronquieres Lock which is impressive if you like engineery type stuff.

For Lux, I'd definitely visit the place but take a few jerry cans; the fuel is very cheap indeed.

[New POD]

MartinQ said:

I've got a week off work at the start of September and was planning a mini tour of northern France and Belgium. Not a great distance so will be at a leisurely pace. I'm thinking of taking in Bruges (however it's spelt!), Brussels (maybe/maybe not worth it?), Nuerburg (and it's Ring, fnar), Luxembourg (worth a visit, even just to say I've been?), Reims for Champagne, Ypres and back to Calais.

Anything I've missed off and must see, or must be avoided?

http://goo.gl/maps/xyKUs

Here Go HERE. Eat Here. Have the Crab, and Mussels and oh Eat here.

[Sortie 10]

If Amiens is a potential city on your list, you would be well advised to keep a track on the news - there seems to be a lot of rioting going on at present...

[adsvx220]

Luxembourg is worthy a visit, you'll only need one day to see it all, it's very small, but a nice place to see. Same goes for Brussels, worth a visit, had some great food here when we visited. You won't need to stay there long though, maybe stay one night, have e day to explore, and a nice meal in the evening.

And another vote for the old reims grandstand, good photo oppertunity!

Adam

[5potTurbo]

kiteless said:

For Lux, I'd definitely visit the place but take a few jerry cans; the fuel is very cheap indeed

Luxembourg, the city, Moselle wine region, Vallée des 7 chateaux, etc., is worth a day/overnight, although I'm biased having live here for 14 years!
Great restaurants here too - see the entries in the Food section Wiki.
Fuel's cheaper here than in France, Germany & Belgium, but not so much as to bring jerry cans any more.
(I used to fill my S3 225 for €30 - it's not like that now!)

[g3org3y]

MartinQ said:

I'm definitely interested in WW1 history, and slightly ashamed I don't know more. I think I'll be stopping off at your suggested places.

There's a specific route to follow called the Circuit of Remembrance.

Here's some info:

http://www.somme-battlefields.com/battlefields/dis...

Iirc the start/finish is Albert and Peronne. You can pick up free maps/info at either. We did as much as possible but got rained off so didn't see it all.

The other place worth visiting is Vimy Ridge where there is a massive monument commemorating the Canadian contribution to the war (iirc the site was a Canadian stronghold against the Germans).

[MartinQ]

Thanks for everyone's advice. There's certainly a lot to think about as we won't be able to fit everything into a week.

Right, I'm off to make a plan!

[Rosscow]

I'd perhaps give Bruges a miss this time round and make a special long weekend of it.

get the Eurostar to Brussels, then the train to Bruges.

It's a lovely city and really deserves a couple of days to enjoy it - don't rush it!

[LaurasOtherHalf]

Just came back last week from something similar, itinery was:
Starting in Carlisle then
1 York
2 ashford Kent
3 Brussels
4 Brussels
5 adenau (nurburgring)
6 adenau
7 adenau
8 brugge
9 brugge
10 Surrey
11 back home to Carlisle

Thouroughly enjoyed it all, it was Laura's first time coming to the nurburgring with me so I wanted somewhere she'd like hence staying in adenau where there are a few nice restaurants & bars.

Brussels was great & we really liked it, did a cycle tour which was fun, stayed at the Novotel in st Catherine's which I would highly recommend with a secure multi story car park opposite.

Brugge was fantastic too, did the canal boat trips & enjoyed the local food & drink, what a superb place.

Longest journey apart from the last leg getting back up north was around 3 hours so the other half didn't get grumpy. Only downside to Belgium is the sheer mind numbingly boring scenery on the motorways between cities, but I new about that already.

The people in Brugge & Brussels are very different, & give each place a very different feel, but we came back looking forward to going back again in the future which is obviously a good recommendation.

Any questions feel free to ask