When you live in Brussels you can visit cities in the country’s other regions, Flanders and Wallonia, or even in neighboring Germany, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, and still manage to return home the same evening. I miss that sometimes. More postcards from the past below.
While attending recently an event about 2024 European elections at the Belgian Embassy in Berlin, memories from my time living in Brussels flashed through my mind. And I loved that iconic phrase from Diana Vreeland, “the eye has to travel,” And did my eyes traveled.
I, for one, always pack light, travel easy and often. As previously mentioned, my favorite day trip in Belgium was Bruges, a perfectly preserved medieval town. Recommended for a visit in any season. Next choice in the Flemish speaking part of the country has always been Antwerp, for fashion, museums, to discover the city by foot and to see that train station one more time. Also, I remember a rainy day in February in beautiful Gent at the Design Museum for a Martin Scorsese exhibition.
On top of that, I saw from the tram De Kusttram in a day the entire Belgian coastline of the North Sea from the border with the Netherlands until reaching the dunes of sand near France. This is the longest tram line in the world with 67 stops, from Knokke–Heist until De Panne. The 2 hours and 15 minutes trip one way can be done all at once or with stops in town along the way.
Additionally, more trips from the past recommended are somewhere in Les Ardenne forest, in Wallonie, the French speaking part of the country. Saw a panorama of Liège from Montagne de Bueren and went canoeing in La Roche-en-Ardenne. Booked a spa day in the city of Spa and visited twice Dinant, where the saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax. Oh, the memories.
The Netherlands
Moving on to the Netherlands, even though Maastricht’s is also such a fun trip, however the day we visited the Hague and Rotterdam was a day to remember. First stop was Den Haag, followed by major port city Rotterdam. Both cities are close enough, with only 25 min (24 km) between the Den Haag Centraal and Rotterdam Centraal
Such a contrast between the modern landscape in Rotterdam with the traditional Hague, home of the Dutch government and parliament, but also to the Royal Family. Also, located along the coast, I remember Hague with beautiful houses, the North Sea views and a sandy beach resort.
On the other hand, Rotterdam is the largest European harbor, and the financial center of the Netherlands. Two recommended stops are the innovative unique cube houses, with their forward thinking design, and the Erasmus University named after one famous former inhabitant, Erasmus.
As well, for Christmas markets, good choices are Luxembourg and German cities near the border as Aachen, Cologne or Düsseldorf. Lastly, Amsterdam and Paris are manageable both also in a day with the fast trains TGV or Eurostar, but best is to enjoy the time there at least a full weekend. Not far from Amsterdam is Keukenhof, a beautiful spring garden in Lisse, in western Netherlands.
The website for train ticket and information is the Belgian Rail services. Along the way and the years, I truly appreciated and admired the creativity and innovation of Belgium when it came to transportation and trains.
Travel Journal 
I agree, these are great places to go on a day trip from Brussels! And the train system is very efficient making it even easier! Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you also for reading, Juliette. I think Brussels is a capital quite unique in this aspect.
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