While planning our trip in Europe, at some point we realized we had a bit of time to kill between Denmark and France. We looked at a few different places in the area to spend a week or so: France - too expensive; Amsterdam - too crowded; Germany - done that. We ended up settling on the often overlooked country of Belgium. The total summation of our combined Belgium knowledge can be fit into Beer, Chocolate and Waffles. Turns out, its definitely all those things but also so much more.
We managed to visit 4 of the main Belgium cities in our short time there. Fortunately all of these are easily accessible by quick trains. Below are my hot takes on each
Brussels - capital city, beautiful sights, great museums but a bit grungy
Bruges - picturesque tourist town known for its charm and canals
Ghent - The cool cousin of Brussels, and home to the very popular Ghent festival which was on when we went
Antwerp - An underrated pretty European town, once one of the richest in Europe
While each of these cities is unique, they all can easily fit what you imagine as a "typical European city". And I mean this in the best possible way. Unlike other countries or cities where individual sights need to be checked off, Belgium is more about "vibes". Let me tell you the things I appreciated about Belgium the most.
Charm without the crowds
Belgian cities are beautiful. Each will have at least one major center with gilded neo gothic architecture surrounded by lovely gardens and just the right amount of churches and cobblestone streets (there is such a thing as too much cobblestones 😣). The architecture, the flowers, the friendly locals (most who speak English), all make it a very pleasant environs for a European holiday. It's also very well connected to the rest of the continent and the world with major international flights. All this and its neither too expensive nor too crowded. Against famous countries like France, UK, and the Netherlands, Belgium is often overlooked which makes a great place to be in Europe for the summer when tourist density peaks.
Click through to see some Belgium vibes
The oldest and strongest beer in Europe
Belgian beer is famous the world over. Famously delicious with its light sweet flavor but also famously strong with ABV often topping 9%. Beer became famous in Belgium thanks to the the Trappist monks who as part of their service to the church and the community produced many goods including beer. This beer was and is famous for its quality and taste (the residual sugar and yeast make it improve with time unlike other beer). Trappist beer continues to be popular today though many are hard to find outside Belgium. We enjoyed many a fine trappist beer in Belgium including this very rare Westvleteren at 12% ABV. If you are interested in trying trappist beer, Chimay is a good start and is available all over the world.
Chocolates galore
Unlike the waffles (which really are just for the tourists), Belgians take their chocolates very seriously. Every city we visited had multiple local chocolatiers each trying to outdo the other with every kind of flavor you could imagine (earl grey was surprisingly good). Some like Leonidas and Neuhaus are famous across the world but there were more local players as well. They sure make it easy to indulge around here!
Some of my favorite museums
I didn't really have any museums on my bucket list when we went to Belgium. However, the ones I ended up visiting are some of my favorite museums from this whole trip (!)
This is low key one of my favorite museums ever and might be my favorite history museum. Having seen a ton of museums focused on different aspects European history, the world wars, their aftermath, I was pleasantly surprised to find a museum which provided a comprehensive story such an entertaining and immersive way that never felt too overwhelming. Not just politics but it covers colonialism's impact, battles between the working and upper classes, technological progress and its impact and finally the long journey to the EU today. The exhibits were so expertly curated I found myself reading each description and had to come back a second day to finish it all! If you ever find yourself in Brussels I highly recommend this.
Like many people in the world I have seen a few of Margarite's most famous paintings (like Son of Man or as lay people might remember man with apple in front of face). I even had a parody T shirt of The Treachery of Images. However I don't think I ever knew Margarite by name nor was I familiar with his brand of art surrealism. After I visited the Margitte museum I think he is now my favorite artist. Each of his paintings leaps off the canvas with colors and techniques so eye catching. His subjects are often things I could never imagine but can't stop wondering about. I have not encountered an artist which made me think as much as Rene Margritte and he's the first artist I think I could actually be a fan of.
You might think - isn't Banksy from the UK? Why is there a Banksy museum in Brussels? We were suspicious as well but this was a surprisingly great introduction to Banksy's work, history and philosophy of art as protest. Most of his famous pieces are recreated which is the only way to see them all in one place. I had no idea how funny he is nor how politically charged. His work on Israel and Palestine is particularly moving giving the times we are living in. I came in aware and I left a fan.
We had so much fun in Belgium. Not only because of all the things we saw and did above, but mainly because we were joined by two of our dear friends Shiv and Raghav for this leg of the trip. Traipsing down Antwerp's alleys, tasting a good Dubbel and vibing at the Ghent festival - all these were better for their amazing company and friendship. Thanks for making this trip so special!
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