4 days in Belgium or 2 in Amsterdam/Belgium?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by heep223

Definitely not. Common misconception if you haven't been there.

I've been there many times. I have relatives there. When my children were younger they probably enjoyed Bruges more.

[heep223]

Originally Posted by troutman

I've been there many times. I have relatives there. When my children were younger they probably enjoyed Bruges more.

Sorry for the assumption. Seems odd to me then that you'd think it was a place only for stags.

[LChoy]

I lived in the Netherlands for a year, and had the opportunity to travel around Western Europe during the weekends.
Given your choice, I would definitely do the split trip between Belgium and Amsterdam, rather than only spending your time in Belgium

In my opinion, Brussels is quiet and there are far more things to do in Antwerp or Bruges (disclosure, I never been to Bruges). Even then though, 4 days is a lot of time to spend in Belgium. If you go, I recommend going on beer tours, look at the diamond districts, need to Google it, but there is the original place for Waffles in Brussels (as well as fry shacks, with the rich mayo topping), and finally the chocolate districts in Belgium and Antwerp

For Amsterdam, I rather spend 4 days there than Belgium. It can be a touristy place with all sorts of attractions you find in any tourist city (Chain restaurants, the wax museum), but there are some unique things. The Canal tour is a nice thing to do for your first time there. Also, the Ann Frank museum is a must in my opinion. Van Gogh museum, flower district, and the Heineken brewery are other places you may want to visit.
The red light district is much more touristy than I imagined, as well as the famous "coffee shops" if that's your thing. For food, I would suggest seeking out an authentic Indonesian restaurant, as the Dutch aren't known for their culinary offerings. However, Dutch things to try include Herring (whole fish swallowed whole with onions), fries and fried snacks from vending windows, and syrup waffles (freshly made are the best). You can also take a day renting a bike and exploring the city.

Anyways, that what I can remember from the time I lived there almost 10 years ago. You can always message me or reply back if you have questions about Amsterdam.

LChoy

[getbak]

Prague is awesome. If given the choice, always choose Prague.

[CliffFletcher]

I think the appeal of Amsterdam starts to pale once you're out of your 20s. The museums are still great, but the rest of the centrum is a pretty seedy tourist scene swarming with baked American college students and red-faced British drunks. I know most Dutch people go out of their way to avoid the place.

If you want the canals, the architecture, and the sidewalk cafes, go to a smaller city like Leiden. It's only a 25 minute train ride from Amsterdam central station, so you can stay in Leiden and take the train into Amsterdam to see the sights. Haarlem also offers many of the pleasures of Amsterdam without the freakshow.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Yeah Brussels is nothing to write home about. I would choose 2 days in Amsterdam / 2 days in Bruges too. I had some fantastic mussels in Bruges (as opposed to mussels in Brussels ). But if you can't make it to Bruges, definitely Amsterdam over Brussels. Tons to see and do there (even without the extra-curricular stuff lol).

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Teh_Bandwagoner

Yeah Brussels is nothing to write home about. I would choose 2 days in Amsterdam / 2 days in Bruges too. I had some fantastic mussels in Bruges (as opposed to mussels in Brussels ). But if you can't make it to Bruges, definitely Amsterdam over Brussels. Tons to see and do there (even without the extra-curricular stuff lol).

Brussels has great mussels. In my first post in this thread I mentioned going to mini-europe. Me and my cousin went to a restaurant there and had dinner. We were still hungry so we both ordered a 2nd dinner. Mine was 60 mussels. Never eaten anything so delicious in my life.