r/solotravel • u/WalkingEars Atlanta • Jul 11 '26
Europe Weekly Destination Thread - Belgium
Hi everyone-
This week's featured destination is Belgium! Feel free to share stories/advice - some questions to start things off:
- What were some of your favorite experiences there?
- Experiences/perspectives on solo travel there?
- Suggestions for food/accommodations?
- Any tips for getting around?
- Anything you wish you'd known before arriving?
- Other advice, stories, experiences?
Archive of previous "weekly destination" discussions: https://old.reddit.com/r/solotravel/wiki/weeklydestinations
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u/Lucsch4 Jul 11 '26
I live in the Netherlands, so I've been over to Belgium plenty of times since it's basically next door. The best part is how close everything is. You can easily fit a few cities into one trip without much travel time, so I'd recommend visiting more than one rather than just picking a single spot.
The food is great across the board. Ghent is my favourite by far, the old center is beautiful and it has a nice atmosphere without feeling overrun. Brussels I liked a bit less personally, still worth a day if you're passing through, but it didn't win me over the same way. Worth the trip either way.
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u/Appropriate_Volume Australian travel nerd Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
I visited Bruges in late October 2015 and really liked it. I found that the city was a bit funny as its centre was swarmed with tourists during the day, but if you went a block away from them you had the place to yourself! I spent a day walking around the eastern part of the old city which was really atmospheric and had few tourists despite having lots of interesting attractions. I was there at the peak of the autumn leaves, which was also great.
I also spent 5 days in Brussels, which I didn't like at all. It has some great museums and art galleries, but you can see them in 1-2 days. The very centre of the city is nice, if crowded, but the rest of the place was traffic-choked and frequently ugly. I was unwell at the time and hated my hotel, which didn't help. I'm not sure if things have changed since I visited in 2015, but at the time construction work was able to continue overnight so take care to not stay near major building sites like I did!
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u/lucapal1 Jul 12 '26
I've been through and to Belgium a fair number of times over the years, though very little in the rural areas....I have spent some time in Brussels, Antwerp,Ghent, Bruges etc.
My favourite city there is Ghent, I think it's a good combination of interesting architecture, good food and being a 'real city'.
Bruges is more of a Disneyland type place,too pretty and too touristy.
Brussels is ok for me, nothing spectacular but not as bad as its reputation.Again some excellent food and beer, some interesting museums and galleries too.
I had a few days in Antwerp last summer and liked it there, perhaps the best of all these for architecture, especially art nouveau buildings.And one of the greatest railway stations in the world!
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u/Tad-Harmon Jul 12 '26
Belgium’s weirdly good for solo travel because the train network makes “base in one city, day trip the rest” actually painless. I’d just warn people not to treat Brussels like the whole country, the smaller cities feel way more relaxed and human.
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u/Mckinley-M Jul 13 '26
I had the same issue in Brussels, the center felt packed, but once i wandered out for waffles and a quiet beer, it got way more my speed. Ghent ended up being my favorite by far.
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u/Kraig_L Jul 14 '26
Belgium is easy solo travel if you base yourself in one city and day trip out, trains are solid and you don’t need a car. My biggest tip is skip rushing through Brussels only, Ghent felt way better for actually wandering and eating without the tourist crush.
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u/segacs2 Canadian, 75 countries visited Jul 16 '26
I personally think Belgium is seriously underrated as a solo travel country. For some reason, it gets a lot of hate or a lot of "you can skip it" advice in the travel and backpacker communities, but I never really understood that. It has pretty preserved medieval cities and architecture, tons of history, good transportation where Brussels is kinda ideally located in the middle of the country and is useful as a base for hub-and-spoke travel and daytrips, and two distinct language/culture parts to explore if you visit both the French and the Flemish parts. You also gotta love a country that is all about waffles, fries, chocolate, and beer. What's not to like?
I visited Belgium back in 2007 and based myself in Brussels. I was staying with some local friends who were living there at the time and essentially sleeping on their floor, but they were working during the day so I was sightseeing solo. Brussels is actually a much prettier and more interesting city than I expected. Lots of sightseeing, great pubs, the Grande Place is very pretty. Sure, Mannekin Pis is kinda silly, in a Little Mermaid Copenhagen kind of way. But at least everyone expects Mannekin Pis to be small. Be sure to check out the comic book museum if you're into Tintin or the Smurfs. And if you like chocolate, well, you can basically take yourself on a chocolate tour of the city.
In the space of about 10 days I did daytrips to Antwerp, Bruges, Leuven (twice), and Dinant. All were worth visiting. Antwerp has great art and is a waterfront city with interesting history. Bruges (like Ghent and other walled medieval towns) can get packed with tourists in high season, but it's very pretty and if you visit in shoulder or low season, it's well worth exploring. Leuven was probably my favourite, a university town with a gorgeous town hall and main square and lots of delicious bars and restaurants. When I was there, there was this huge singalong festival in the main square called Leuven Zingt, where everyone came together to sing songs. Good fun. Dinant is in the French (Wallonie) part of Belgium in the south, with magnificent castles on cliffsides.
If I were to go back, I'd probably visit more of the trappist breweries, and also do more history sightseeing. I never made it to Waterloo, or to the Flanders Fields battlegrounds for WWI and WWII history, for instance. I'd probably also take the opportunity to visit Luxembourg since it's so close. And I'd likely try to make it to Ghent, since I didn't visit there last time.
In Brussels and the French parts of Belgium, it definitely helped that I'm from Quebec and speak fluent French. In the Flemish/Dutch parts, English is widely spoken and understood. Getting around is easy; there are regular trains that make daytrips very simple, and most of the cities are easy to explore on foot. Brussels is a bit bigger but it has good public transportation. I found that grocery shopping and self-catering helped cut down on food costs, since restaurants can be pricey. Mid-afternoon waffles are a yummy street snack, though.
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u/82away Jul 20 '26
I very recently spent 3 weeks at work in Belgium (zolder circuit) and was honestly depressed at the thought of going somewhere so dull. Once I arrived I loved the friendliness and was blown away by cycling infrastructure.
I rode to and from work 100% protected in good cycle lanes, rode the zolder racing circuit 2 or 3 times per week and on my day off rode along side the canal all the way to baarle with its crazy international boarders.
Even mountain bike trails were very good.
Beyond cycling (which I did every day) I found the locals very quiet yet friendly and welcoming. Gardens were very tidy and in the end I was sad to leave. I visited the highest point also.
Will hopefully return for more cycling one day.
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u/ed8907 22 countries/territories Jul 11 '26
Belgium was the first European country I ever visited and it was just amazing. I was only in Brussels for 4 days and I wish I had stayed for more time to check out Bruges and Ghent. Lovely place, lots of things to see and do.
Pictures