Three languages, 1,500 beers and a train network that crosses the country in ninety minutes. Small enough that you can base yourself anywhere and see all of it.
Belgium is two countries that share a state: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, French-speaking Wallonia in the south, and officially bilingual Brussels in the middle. The division shapes politics, signage and sometimes dinner, and it is worth knowing before you ask a question in the wrong language.
For travellers it is unusually convenient. Nothing is more than ninety minutes from anything else by train, which means you can stay in one city and day trip to the rest, and Brussels is a two-hour Eurostar from London and under an hour and a half from Paris.
Bruges is the postcard and it deserves it, if you stay overnight and see it after the coach parties leave. Ghent is what Bruges would be with a student population. Antwerp is the biggest and most modern. Brussels is the least pretty and the most interesting to eat and drink in.
Trains link everything, and the whole country is less than three hours across.
The capital: Art Nouveau, the EU quarter, and the best bars and food in the country.
Loads to see and do, me and my friend used the hire bikes to get around the city which was a very good way of seeing everything. Well priced food and beers.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Medieval canals and cobbles, overwhelmed by day and lovely at night. Stay over.
Bruges is a very clean beautiful city. One of the best.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Bruges with 70,000 students: same canals, better nightlife, half the tour groups.
Ghent was a great place to explore for my 5 day trip! Plenty to see and do very walkable which makes exploring very easy!
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Diamonds, fashion, a cathedral with Rubens in it, and the biggest nightlife in Flanders.
We went in the July scorching weather, highlight was the MAS museaum where you can enjoy panoramic rooftop views and an interesting exhibition, followed by a supervised dip in the harbour all for free. The historic centre is beautiful and easily accessible by bike and foot. We only had a short stay of one night on our cycling tour but would love to return and enjoy all this lively city has to offer.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
A university town with the longest bar in Europe and the world's biggest brewer.
It's beautiful and it also has a lot of history. The pubs are great and there's a lot of students everywhere because KUL is everywhere, which makes the city way prettier.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Wallonia's heart: a Sunday market along the river, steep stairs, and a different country in feel.
Really historic area and great ambience to the city. A lot of renovation works to improve the look of the area. Recent investment in the infrastructure with a new tram. Very French feel to the area. Musée de la Vie Wallonne a way to start understanding the Walloon Culture. In French but with QR codes to translate into English. D'outremeuse District great with plenty wee cafes for Belgian Beer. Belgian people are very friendly and Liege in particular.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Belgium does short trips extremely well, and beer better than anywhere.
Three or four days, two or three cities, all by train.
Chips, waffles, mussels and chocolate, all better here than the clichés suggest.
Beer bars with 200 taps and student cities to drink them in.
Flemish painting, Art Nouveau and the two world wars.
Cheaper than the Netherlands, and the trains cost almost nothing.
Bruges is the headline and the advice is simple: stay the night. Between about eleven and five it holds enormous numbers of day visitors, and in the evening and early morning it is one of the most atmospheric towns in Europe with almost nobody in it.
Ghent is the better base for most people — the same canals and medieval architecture, a castle in the city centre, and 70,000 students keeping it alive after dark. The Ghent Altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral is one of the most important paintings in European art and has been stolen thirteen times.
Brussels rewards wandering: Art Nouveau houses by Horta, the comic strip murals, the Grand Place lit at night, and an eating and drinking culture that the EU quarter's reputation does not suggest. Ypres and the Flanders battlefields are a sobering day trip from anywhere in the country.
Belgian beer is the reason many people come and it deserves the reputation: trappist ales brewed by monks, lambics fermented with wild yeast, and a culture where every beer has its own glass and nobody finds that odd. A café with 200 taps is normal here.
Frites are the national dish and they come from a friterie, twice-fried, in a paper cone with mayonnaise. Not a side, a meal, for €4 to €6. Mussels with them in season — September to April — is the classic dinner.
Waffles come in two kinds and Belgians are firm about it: Brussels waffles are light and rectangular, Liège waffles are dense, caramelised and eaten in the street. Chocolate is everywhere, and the good shops are not the ones on the Grand Place.
Student cities do it best. Leuven's Oude Markt claims to be the longest bar in Europe — a single square lined entirely with bars — and Ghent's Overpoort is the same idea with a younger crowd. Both are cheap by western European standards.
Brussels has the variety: beer cafés with hundreds of options, jazz bars, and a late scene around Saint-Géry and Flagey. Antwerp is the closest thing to a proper club city, particularly around the Zuid district.
Beer prices are reasonable — €3 to €5 for most things, more for a strong trappist, which is fair since some of them are ten per cent and will end your evening earlier than planned.
SNCB trains connect everything and the distances are tiny: Brussels to Bruges or Antwerp in an hour, to Ghent in half that. Fares are calculated by distance and capped at €20.90 for a single journey. Under-26s get 40% off, adults get 30% off at weekends, and a Train+ card (€6 a month) takes a further 40% off off-peak and weekend trips. Since July 2026 tickets can no longer be bought on board, so buy in the SNCB app, at a machine or at the ticket office first.
Cities are walkable and mostly flat, and Flanders is excellent cycling country — the coast tram runs 68km along the North Sea and is the longest tram line in the world.
Brussels is the international hub: Eurostar to London in two hours, Eurostar, which absorbed Thalys, to Paris in under ninety minutes, and Amsterdam and Cologne both under two hours. It makes a good hinge in any northern European route.
Belgium is cheaper than the Netherlands and roughly level with France outside Paris. Dorms start around €24, a beer is €3 to €5, and frites with mayonnaise will feed you for €5.
Brussels is the most expensive for beds but has the widest range; Ghent, Leuven and Liège are noticeably cheaper. Bruges charges a premium for the setting, particularly in summer.
Trains are the pleasant surprise: crossing the country costs less than a city taxi in most capitals, and the weekend and under-26 discounts make day-tripping from a single base the cheapest way to see the country.
Belgium is a safe country and the cities are comfortable to walk around. Brussels has the reputation issues of any capital, concentrated around Brussels-Midi station and parts of Molenbeek, where ordinary caution at night is sensible rather than alarm.
Pickpocketing happens around Grand Place, on the Brussels metro and at the main stations, at the usual European level. Bag-snatching at Midi station in particular is common enough to be worth knowing about when you arrive on the Eurostar.
The genuinely underestimated risk is the beer. Belgian ales run to ten or eleven per cent and are served in 330ml glasses, which fools people who order them like pints.
Belgium is in the Schengen area. EU citizens need an ID card; UK, US, Canadian and Australian passport holders get 90 days in any 180 across the whole zone, counted across all member states.
Passports need three months' validity beyond departure and to have been issued within the last ten years. ETIAS has been delayed repeatedly — check the official EU site.
If you are arriving from London by Eurostar, note that UK exit and Schengen entry checks happen before you board in London, not on arrival, so allow the time they ask for.
Belgium has mild, wet weather most of the year and a pleasant summer. Christmas markets and Carnival are the two winter reasons to come.
Average highs for Brussels. It rains in every month — the difference is temperature rather than dryness.
Pick how you travel and how long for. Per night, for one person, including day trips by train.
Trains between cities are €7–15 a leg, less at weekends or for under-26s, so day-tripping from one base is usually cheaper than moving hostels.
Two of these fill the entire country. Both are worth planning around in either direction.
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Enter Winter Wonders and explore the magical Christmas market with its array of unique gifts and delicious treats. This event features an ice rink,…
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Film Fest Gent in Ghent, Belgium, is a renowned celebration of cinema that brings together film lovers, creators, and industry experts. The festival features…
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The Musiq3 Festival in Walloon Brabant, Belgium, invites music lovers on a unique journey across genres and cultures, from South American rhythms and Broadway…
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The Belgian International Art Fair (BiAF) in Antwerp brings together a diverse array of contemporary artists, offering visitors the rare chance to engage directly…
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The Athora Bruges Marathon is a major annual running event in Bruges, Belgium, drawing thousands of runners from both Belgium and abroad. Participants enjoy…
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Nourrir Charleroi is a community-focused festival in Charleroi, Belgium, that champions sustainable food practices and social equity. The event unites local residents, farmers, and…
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Desertfest Belgium gathers fans of stoner rock, doom metal, psychedelic rock, and sludge at OM Liège in Seraing, Belgium, for a weekend dedicated to…
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Created by the French composer Georges Bizet in 1875, Carmen is an opera of four acts. When it was first performed in Paris during…
The highest-rated hostels in the country, live from Hostelworld. Ghent and Brussels have the most choice, and Bruges is worth one night for the empty evening.
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