aerosmith

Hi all

Would need some advice from the experts here.

Will be having a short holiday spanning 2 weeks in the above 4 cities. I have a fixed constant in a LH flight (already purchased) from LUX to MUC. And from my research done here, it is fairly easy to catch a train from BRU-LUX and MUC-SZG.

My international flight itin will enter into BRU, and depart from SZG. Thus this will generate 7 nights for BRU (and surrounds like Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, etc) & LUX; and 7 nights for MUC & SZG.

1. Where should I focus in those Belgian cities? How many nights should I stay in LUX?

2. How should I divide the 7 nights between MUC and SZG? What are the major attractions I shoudl target?

Thanks in advance for all your responses.

LondonElite

One day and night in Luxembourg is more than enough. It is very small and quite dull.

I would do four days Munich and three days Salzburg, and a day or two in the surrounding countryside, which is very beautiful.

Ghentleman

Here's what I would do: stay 2-3 nights in Brussels and make a daytrip to Antwerp. Stay 2-3 nights in Ghent and make a daytrip to Bruges. Take the train to Luxemburg. This is a 4 hours trip, so you could add a stop in Liège or the Ardennes (Trois-ponts, Vielsalm). One day in Luxemburg. Fly to MUC. Follow LondonElite's advice.

Lost

I would spend a few nights in Ghent... In fact I'm headed back next year to do everything I didn't have time to do when I was there in October. This time I'm planning on making my base Ghent the entire time I'm in Belgium, then making a few day trips to BRU, Brugge, etc...

Highly recommend the city ^

Edit: when are you going? The Ghent Festival is in July and it's supposed to be the big town event of the year.

Lost

haha, just saw your name (I see what you did there ).

Do you know what the history is with the graffiti alley (Werregarenstraat)? A couple blocks north of the belfry. I thought that type of street art was very interesting when I was there in the fall.

Ghentleman

Yep, I'm a local.
In the Werregarenstraat, (now more known as Graffiti Alley) graffiti is merely "tolerated" not officially allowed. But as you have seen, no-one cares.
There is only one official place where graffiti is allowed, it's called "Keizerviaduct".
There are many walls with great graffiti art, after all both Roa and Bue the Warrior are from Ghent. Some are on private buildings and made on commision by the owners, some are on derilict buildings and tolerated (and some are entirely illegal).
https://www.flickr.com/groups/ghent-...reet-art/pool/

JamesEaston

LondonElite and Ghentleman have laid out the perfect plan. Day trips for the first part are spot on (as they should be by a Belgian local . Day trips from Munich include Dachau and Nuremburg. Day trips from Salzburg include the Sound of Music tour (you see a lot of beautiful countryside, not just the SoM stuff) and Innsbruck.

LondonElite

If you enjoy Alpine drives, I recommend the Rossfeld Panoramastrasse, easily accessible from Salzburg. I posted about this recently.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germa...rary-help.html

aerosmith

Thanks again everyone for your responses. I have some further questions that would need some clarifications.

My expected train journeys during my upcoming trip are as follows:

Brussels Airport-Ghent
Ghent-Brugg-Ghent
Ghent-Brussels
Brussels-Antwerp-Brussels
Brussels-Luxembourg
Munich-Salzburg

After browsing through this forum plus searches on the internet, it gives me the impression that I do not need to purchase any train tickets way in advance for my above train trips. I would just need to check the train schedules and get to the train station say 1 hour in advance? Is my understanding correct? I am trying not to mess up my trip should there be any situation where the demand is more than supply for a particular train routing.

Thanks in advance for your responses. Deeply appreciate it.

LondonElite

Correct. Whilst I can't speak for all operators, there is no significant benefit to buying these early, and certainly not in view of the flexibility of buying on the day (or day before). You may not get the seat assignment you want (on those services that have these), but it shouldn't matter, these are all pretty short trips.

Ghentleman

For the Belgian trips, you buy your ticket online or at the station (selfservice or counter). Just show up 10-15 minutes before departure. Prices are fixed, no reservations. These routes have frequent, direct connections so no stress. Only for BRU-Gent you will have to change stations in Brussels.

Koby

There are 2 direct trains each hour on this route (BRU airport to Gent), so no need to change.

Ghentleman

There is one an hour direct taking 56 minutes, the others take 1:07 or 1:22.
Switching trains in Brussels gets you to Ghent in under an hour.

aerosmith

Will be departing next week and in my final leg of my planning. Some final questions for the gurus:


Brussels Airport-Ghent
Ghent-Brugg-Ghent
Ghent-Brussels
Brussels-Antwerp-Brussels
Brussels-Luxembourg
Munich-Salzburg

For my above segments, can I assume I could purchase the train tickets with my credit card? I am trying to minimize my cash holding if possible.

Lastly, for the train ride from Brussels to Luxembourg, are there any "luggage hold" above the seats? And this being a 3 hour ride, will there be any issue of "demand more than supply" situation if I were to purchase the tickets over the counter prior to departure? I'm planning to take the 8.30am departure.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Ghentleman

Payment with chip & pin cc accepted: http://www.belgianrail.be/en/custome...y-payment.aspx
But keep some cash on hand, you never know.

The Munich-Salzburg segment will be cheaper if you buy your ticket online, but you you loose the flexibility.
The German railway also accepts CC.

Train to Luxemburg is a normal IC train so has overhead luggage storage.
I don't expect the train out of Brussels to be full in the morning. Since the ticket doesn't have a timestamp, just a date, the railroads don't know how many pax will be on the train so they will always sell you a ticket. In case the train is very full you will have to stand up but that is very unlikely to happen on this route/time of day.