Going to Paris for the 2nd time at the end of the month and wanted to do a day trip out of France - any thoughts on Brussels as opposed to Amsterdam?
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IMO, there%26#39;s not much to Brussels (if you ever want to visit, a day is more than enough). There is a very old square but most everything else seems modern (don%26#39;t know, perhaps extensively bombed during wars are rebuilt?).
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Berkley is right. There are not much to see in Brussels. ;-( Amsterdam is much nicer city to explore. It%26#39;s a pretty compact city which is easy to get around. I also liked how it looks so different from Paris, but just as lovely with all the canal houses! You%26#39;d definitely think Amsterdam is much more interesting than Brussles.
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I wouldn%26#39;t do either as a day trip. It%26#39;s a lot of travelling.
The food is better in Brussels, IMO, but the use of herbs is intriguing in Amsterdam :-)
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Oh, I didn%26#39;t mean it as one day trip! Yes, it%26#39;s a lot of traveling. Would never do either for just one day. And Robert, you are right about Belgium%26#39;s food. :)
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If the food in Belgium is better than Amsterdam, I may never go to Amsterdam! When in Brussels (or Bruges, for that matter) I pretty much lived on mussels and frites, because in general I thought the food was really not good (although I must admit I was on a budget and sticking to cafes, etc.). The contrast with France was pretty startling, where it seemed (and for the most part -- not universally, any more, unfortunately) that %26quot;good food%26quot; was the norm, and outstanding food was not that unusual.
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I really enjoyed Brussels, I%26#39;ve been three times now. There is more to the city than just the Grand Place.
No, it%26#39;s not on par with Paris, Rome, or London in terms of size and sheer choice of things to see, but it does have a lot to offer.
Antwerp is another city that I really enjoyed. I%26#39;d go back to Belgium in a second!
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There _is_ much to see in Brussels, especially on the art scene. The city was heavily destroyed ... not by bombs, but by greed and inconsistent dreams of glory.
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%26gt; Oh, I didn%26#39;t mean it as one day trip!
But the OP did.
I never thought Dutch food was anything to write home about, and I%26#39;ve had some wonderful food in Brussels, which I think is underrated.
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Billy - I live in Paris and went to Brussels on business on a day trip. Unlike most other posters, and if you have the luxury of time (you can spend days and days in Paris), I recommend the day trip. The TGV train will get you there in 1.5 hours from Paris Gare du Nord. So, a 9 AM train gets you there at 10:30, and you can be back in Paris at 7PM if you want, in time for a great restaurant.
The central square (Grande Place) is a marvel - though I don%26#39;t know Brussels much, I think that you could enjoy a leisurely several hours, good lunch with Belgian beer, walking around. I%26#39;m sure there are some %26quot;tourist%26quot; attractions to see such as art museum etc....
Heather Blenkiron
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Just my 2 cents - I had a post almost identical to this a couple of months ago and decided after the advice I received on TA that the day trip to Brussels would not be worth it. However, I am also going to Amsterdam on the same trip, so it would have been a lot of needless backtracking for me - that was part of the reason I decided against it. I believe Amsterdam is a 4 hour train ride each way? I agree that it would be much more interesting and beautiful, but further away than Brussels for sure. Since it is your second time to Paris, you probably have more free time and don%26#39;t need to hit all the major attractions again.....
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