Want to know how to spend 4 days in Belgium? What better way to spend the Easter bank holiday than to be exploring a new country?! Over the Easter holiday, I travelled to Belgium with a good friend of mine, who I’d met on a trip to Croatia last year.

It was a great way to have a reunion and explore a new country at the same time. I was a bit worried I wouldn’t be able to take off with the protests that were going on in London, as it was announced they’d target Heathrow but thankfully they didn’t disrupt my flight out. No only the air traffic did that, which delayed my flight for about an hour.

4 CITIES + 4 DAYS = 1 EPIC WEEKEND OF EXPLORING

EXPLORE:
Brussels
Brugge
Antwerp
Ghent

BRUSSELS

We started off exploring Brussels after we had landed and arrived at our apartment. First off though we were greeted with the train ticket machines having a melt down and not accepting cards. We had a lovely guy in front of us originally from Brussels but lives in Berlin giving us a few tips. Especially to allow plenty of travel time when heading to the airport to get home.

We arrived at our apartment in Brussels around mid-day due to the mess up with the ticket machines. Our apartment was from Airbnb called Apartment Stephanie. It was down a quiet street not far from the metro station Hotel de Monnaies which made it easy to get around. The decor of the apartment was chic and bohemian which spoke to me on multiple levels and was clean and comfy. It was the perfect base for exploring Brussels and a few of the smaller cities around it.

Once we’d dropped our bags off and freshened up. We headed out into the city to find some food and explore. We found a place in the Brussels main Markt called Baogo which is a Korean restaurant that do burgers and poke bowls. Me and Amy both ordered Cokes and burgers – mine was a halloumi burger with sweet potato fries.

We then walked a bit further into the city and came across Les Galeries Saint Hubert which is a gorgeous glass roof arcade in the center of Brussels. It is home to mainly the chocolate shops, jewellery shops and a few other little shops filled with some awesome things.

IF YOU WANT DELICIOUS WAFFLES IN BRUSSELS CHECK OUT MAISON DANDOY. 

After we had explored quite a bit of the city, we headed back to the apartment and explored a few shops in the main shopping center area checking out a few shops. We picked up a few snacks from a shop in the train station before heading back which we either had as a snack or for breakfast. We were quite tired from travelling so we watched a little bit of tv on our one English channel before heading to bed.

BRUGGE

On our second day, we decided to head for Brugge and check it out there. We caught the train from Brussels Midi towards Brugge. The train journey takes about an hour and is the longest out of the 3 we took. I loved the vibe of Brugge and definitely felt it was more for the tourists to visit. Whereas Brussels didn’t have that friendly vibe. It was a beautiful, hot and sunny day. Which was perfect for exploring the city and relaxing outside taking in all of the views. We wanted to climb the clock tower but the queues were so big they didn’t get any shorter. So we gave up on that and decided to wander a little further.

We were quite hungry so we decided to shop at a cute cafe for some Belgian frites at The Potato Bar which was very quirky. I ordered a small portion of fries, Classic Vegetarian Cheese croquette and home-made cheese-o-naise on the side which was Old Bruges cheese with a Sprite. Least to say it was very cheesy but very yummy!

FOR BELGIAN FRIES TRY THE POTATO BAR AND FOR BELGIAN WAFFLES CHECK OUT THE HOUSE OF WAFFLES. 

After our yummy meal, we walked a little more. And decided to stop and go on the boat trip up the river. It was only €10 and it takes you up and down the river with your guide giving you lots of history and facts about Brugge. We had a lovely chatty guide who was talking to me & Amy about photography. Just a word of warning that they only accept cash. So make sure you have enough money in cash before getting the board, but there are plenty of ATMs around.

Then we stopped to check out Minnewater Lake (Lake Of Love) which was lovely and so peaceful. It was great to sit on a bench with a nice cold drink and relax for a little bit. After walking around the city quite a lot and taking everything in, we came past a young boy selling pizzas for €3 a slice which was so cute.

Once we’d relaxed for a bit we explored more of the streets. And came across quite a few more yummy chocolate shops and some beer shops. It was getting quite late so we decided to head back home. And made our way back to the train station. It was probably about 8pm by the time we got back to where our apartment was, so we decided to shop in Dominoes to grab a pizza for dinner as we were starving. They had different pizzas in Belgium compared to the UK and also they don’t do their famous dips that we have. I was gutted they didn’t have Garlic & Herb. I’d chosen their Grilled Veggie pizza which was yummy and filled me up just right. I also caught up with the footie scores before heading to bed.

ANTWERP

We got up at a good time and made our way to the train station to catch a train to Antwerp. The train journey takes just under an hour and the station is gorgeous. It is definitely the prettiest train station I’ve seen and looks just like Grand Central Station in New York. The center of Antwerp is about a 10 minute walk from the station, past loads of restaurants so if you’re hungry – check those places out.

Once we’d reached the center of Antwerp, we walked around the main square and looked up places we wanted to check out which sadly they were all quite far away. We then decided to head for Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) which is a museum and exhibition center that also had a viewpoint from the top of the whole of Antwerp. It was a very hot day and it was Easter Sunday so not many places were open until much later.

Museum aan de Stroom definitely reminded me of the Harpa Concert Hall in Iceland. Especially in terms of architecture and the unique structure of the walls of the building. It is filled with many different exhibitions with the top floor, floor 10 being the viewpoint. It was very hazy but sunny at the top but it was a great view of Antwerp from above.

FOR GREAT VIEWS OF ANTWERP VISIT THE MUSEUM AAN DE STROOM VIEWPOINT. 

We had a little bit at the top of the viewpoint taking in the views before we headed back down to get some late lunch. We saw a lovely restaurant as we came up to MAS that did lovely looking salads called MON. Both Me & Amy had been craving a salad that day. We managed to get a table outside in the shade and ordered some nice cold drinks. I ordered their Vegetarian Greek Salad and Amy had their Caesar Salad which we both enjoyed. I could definitely eat that all over again.

After we’d finished our late lunch we realised we were nearby the Port of Antwerp. So we had quite a bit of a walk to get there and check it out. Sadly it was closed that day but when we got there. We took a few pictures of it before heading back into the center. On our way back to the center we came across quite a few quirky shops. I popped into one and picked up a cool book for my Dad which will be a little Christmas present.

We caught the train back to Brussels and had a snuggled night and showers in the apartment before watching Line Of Duty which was quite tense. We definitely slept well after all of that exploring.

GHENT

It was our final day in Belgium and we checked out early and headed to Ghent with our luggage in tow. The train to Ghent took about 50 minutes which went quite quickly. We had quite a long walk from the train station into the center of Ghent. But once we got there we sat down for a rest and to check out nearby places we wanted to see. The vibe from Ghent is pretty much the same as Brugge and Antwerp – lots of the typical architecture and definitely felt more tourist friendly. It is mainly centered around the river with boat trips and riverside restaurants but it’s perfect for a warm sunny day.

We were quite hungry and came across this really cute pizza place called Otomat for lunch. We ordered their lunch time deal which is a small pizza and a side salad. I ordered their Margarita pizza with their house side salad of tomatoes and red onions. To start with I ordered a Sprite. Then I ordered their Vintage Coke after which was different but really yummy.

FOR YUMMY PIZZA I DEFINITELY RECOMMEND OTOMAT IN GHENT.

Once we’d had dinner, we walked past Gravesteen Castle and over a small bridge to the main riverfront and chilled by the river for a little bit taking in the atmosphere and relaxed in the sun. We had about an hour before we had to make our way back to the train station. We decided to stop in this cute bar for our final drink before we made our way to the station. The bar RAY was awesome, it was based in a greenhouse. With pretty flowers and plants hanging from the ceiling and just had a nice chilled vibe to it. Amy ordered an Aperol Spritz and I had a Coke.

After our drink, we made our way back to the train station and caught the train directly into the airport before catching our flights home. It was a great weekend trip and reunion with Amy and hopefully we’ll have future travels together soon.

A FEW FAQ’s:

How much money do I need to spend?
In the 4 days I had in Belgium, I spent around £236. This includes food, train tickets and a few souvenirs.

How did you get around Belgium?
We mainly walked around the cities but used the metro and trains to get to each city. You can find out more information in my post How To Get Around In Belgium including ticket prices and the best route to get to each city.

What was your favourite city?
Overall, my favorite city has to be Brugge. I just loved to vibe of it and the architecture in the city. My least favourite city was Brussels, I just didn’t like the vibe. It felt dirty, old fashioned and lots of immigrants, homeless people and it didn’t feel safe at night.

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Would you like to visit Belgium? Which part is taking your fancy? Let me know in the comments below.