6 Days Family Holiday in Belgium
Belgium is Germany’s tiny neighbour and is well known for being the headquarters of the European Union and NATO. But apart from holding important offices and being the hub of political activities in Europe, this country is a well-known tourist destination. It is famous for its medieval buildings and architecture and attracts millions of tourists annually.
During one of the summer holidays, we, as a family, did a six-day holiday in Belgium, where we visited three places- Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent. This included two days of travel plus check-in/check-out, two days in Belgium, and one day each in Bruges and Ghent.
In this article, I have shared with my readers the itinerary we followed, our stay, travel and accommodation, and other vital information to help you plan your trip to Belgium.
Here is the Itinerary we followed in Belgium:
Day 1: Travel from Darmstadt to Frankfurt and from Frankfurt to Brussels. Reach Brussels; Travel from Brussels to Ghent; Check in at Ghent.
Day 2: Travel from Ghent to Brussels-Visit Parlamentarium & Hemicycle. Then Visit The Grand Place & Manneken Pis.
Day 3: Travel from Ghent to Brussels-Visit Atomium, Brussels Design Museum & Comics Art Museum
Day 4: Travel from Ghent to Bruges. Day trip to Bruges.
Day 5: Visit Ghent
Day 6: Travel from Ghent to Brussels; From Brussels to Frankfurt & from Frankfurt to Darmstadt
Before I get into the details of the places we visited, let me take you through the accommodation, travel between Germany and Belgium, and travel within Belgium.
How we reached Belgium:
Brussels is located about 400 km to the northwest of Darmstadt, Germany. We took a train (Deutsche Bahn) from Frankfurt and reached Brussels in about 4 hours.
The tickets for Deutsche Bahn trains can be bought on their official website:
If you have a car, you can even consider driving to Brussels.
After reaching Brussels, we took a direct IC train from Brussels Central Station to Ghent St Pieters. Tickets for IC trains can be purchased at the train station in Belgium.
Where we stayed:
Since we are a family with kids already in their teens, having enough space for each of us is essential. Hotel rooms are not spacious and restrict everyone to a small room. So, off late, we have started booking homestays. We usually reserve a flat or house, preferably with an equipped kitchen and a minimum of two bedrooms, so that each of us has our own space and there is always an option of cooking something.
As a family, we like having a good breakfast and starting our day, and a homestay allows us to make simple meals at home. Also, we enjoy exploring the local supermarkets, finding what’s new, and trying out foods and drinks that are locally available. Homestays are an excellent option for all the people who want to add this to their holiday experience.
For this trip, too, we booked a homestay, and as usual, the experience was great.
Since it was a short trip and we didn’t want to lug our baggage every other day, we decided to stay in Ghent, which is mid-way between Brussels and Bruges. So, the plan was to stay in Ghent for the entire trip and travel from there to see Brusells, Bruges, and, of course, Ghent.
Some of the advantages of staying in Ghent were:
- Accommodation is cheaper in Ghent in comparison to Brussels.
- Ghent is located midway between Brussels and Bruges, approximately 55km away. The IC trains ply between Ghent and Brussels and Ghent and Bruges every 20 minutes. With these IC trains, you can travel between the cities in about 30-40 minutes. So, you don’t waste a lot of time on travel.
If you are on a more extended trip to Belgium and wish to stay at each location, you can do that too. Here are the booking links:
Brussels: Book here
Bruges: Book here
Ghent: Book here
How we travelled around the city:
In Brussels, we used public transport to travel around places.
Tickets can be bought at train stations as well as at kiosks. Drivers sell tickets on the bus, but in this case, you have to pay a small fee.
Alternatively, you can buy the Brussels card, which gives public transport access and discounts on prominent tourist spots.
If you don’t need public transport, you can buy the Brussels card ( excluding public transport). This gives access to museums and many important places at discounted prices.
We explored both Bruges and Ghent on foot, so we did not need any public transport tickets there.
However, we bought IC tickets at the train station whenever we travelled between cities.
Day 1:
Brussels is located about 400 km to the northwest of Darmstadt. We took a train from Frankfurt and reached Brussels in about 4 hours.
After reaching Brussels, we took the next train and reached Ghent. Here, we had booked our homestay. We checked in and relaxed for the rest of the day.
Check out accommodations in Ghent here.
Day 2:
On day 2, we took the IC train from Ghent and reached Brussels in the morning. Our first destination was a visit to Parlamentarium.
About Parlamentarium:
Parlamentarium is a visitor’s centre. Through multimedia guides, visitors can understand the functioning of the European Parliament, its history, member countries, their challenges, achievements, etc.
Audio guides are available in multiple languages. The access is free, but your visit can be booked online on their official website to ensure an entry if the number of visitors is high. Their official website is:
https://brussels-parlamentarium.booking.europarl.europa.eu/
We spent about 2 hours in this place and then headed to our next destination, The European Parliament Hemicycle, which is just a few meters away from Parlamentarium.
The European Parliament Hemicycle:
The hemicycle is where all the members of the European Parliament meet during plenary sessions. Visitors can use multimedia guides to understand the functioning of the European Parliament and visit the Hemicycle. Here again, entry is free, but you can make an online booking to ensure access when the crowd is more. Their official website is:
https://brussels-hemicycle.booking.europarl.europa.eu/
Our visit to the Hemicycle took about an hour. It was already time for lunch, so we stopped by a restaurant in the same area to try local Belgian food.
A note for my readers: If you visit the two places mentioned above and want to learn more about Europe and its history, there is another interesting place called the House of European History, located a few meters away. Their official website is:
https://historia-europa.ep.eu/
Here also, entry is free, but you must book your visit.
In our case, the kids were tired after seeing two places, and it would have become too overwhelming for them to consume so much data in a day, so we did not visit this place.
Our next destination for the day was Grotemarkt/The Grand Place
About the Grand Place:
The Grand Place, or Grotemarkt, is a central square in Brussels and is the most important landmark of Brussels. Its most striking feature is the Baroque guild halls and two large edifices – The town hall and the Brussels city museum. The Brussels City Museum can be visited, and its official website is:
https://www.brusselscitymuseum.brussels/fr/
This square, constructed in the 11th century, went through many changes in the past and even got destroyed in the 17th century during the Nine Years War, but it was later rebuilt and renovated. Today, many visitors visit this square to admire its architectural beauty.
This place is surrounded by plenty of shops and cafes and offers plenty of photo ops.
You can also consider doing a free walking tour here to learn more about Brussels, its history and many more fun facts through a local.
A few meters away from the Grand Place is the Manneken Pis.
About Manneken Pis:
Manneken Pis is a small (55 cm) bronze sculpture depicting a naked boy urinating in the fountain basin. It was designed in the 17th century and installed in its present location. But in the course of history, it was stolen and damaged several times; because of this, the original was moved to the Brussels City Museum ( located at the Grand Place), and what we see on the street is its replica.
It is a well-known landmark in Brussels and can be visited if you are around the place. Many waffle shops surround the place, and it is a great place to try local Belgian waffles.
After we visited the Grand Place and Manneken Pis, we called it a day. We took the train back to Ghent, where we were staying.
Day 2:
On day 2, Atomium was the first place we had planned to visit.
About Atomium:
Atomium is an important landmark in Brussels, Belgium, built for the Brussels World Fair 1958. This 102 m tall structure has nine stainless steel spheres connected in such a way that they represent the Iron Crystal magnified 165 billion times.
Nowadays, it is the city’s most popular tourist attraction and serves as a museum and art centre.
One can visit the museum to understand the design and idea behind this structure and to get excellent views of the surroundings.
After coming down, one can shop at the museum shop and pick souvenirs.
The official website of Atomium is:
You can buy tickets from the official website or from Tiquets.de. Check where you get a better deal and buy from there.
Outside, there are a couple of cafes too. Adjoining the Atomium is a beautiful park, Mini Europe (an open-air museum with approximately 80 cities of Europe represented in miniature form. ), and Design Museum Brussels. All these places can be visited on your visit to Atomium.
Since we had limited time and were keen to see the design museum, we skipped Mini Europe.
You can check the official website of Mini Europe to know more and include it in your trip, especially if you are travelling with small kids.
You can buy the tickets for Mini Europe either from their official website or Tiquets.de. Compare the prices and see where you get a better deal.
Our next destination was the Design Museum.
About the Design Museum:
The design museum, previously known as The ADAM (Art and Design Atomium Museum), is a modern museum featuring works on furniture and equipment designed by 20th and 21st Century designers. It is located close to the Atomium, and a visit to the design museum can be combined with the Atomium visit tickets to get an overall price benefit. The museum has a separate section for paintings and other artworks too.
You can buy tickets either from the official website OR tiquets.de
Please note that you can buy a combo ticket if you wish to visit all three places, i.e. Atomium, Design Museum and Europe Park. That way you will get better prices. Combo tickets are usually available for two places. Your options are:
Atomium + Design museum ticket or Atomium + Europe Park. If you wish to see all three places, buy one combo ticket and one individual ticket. If you wish to see only two places, buy the combo you prefer.
After the visit, we headed for lunch, followed by a visit to the Comics Art Museum.
About Comics Art Museum
Also known as the Belgian Comic Strip Center, this is a museum dedicated to Belgian comics. It is an Art Nouveau building that served as a textile store. But after the death of its owner, it was closed. Later, due to vandalism, it ended up in bad shape. Famous artists of the 1980s planned to restore the building and convert it into a museum dedicated to the history of Belgian comics.
Today, this museum showcases the works of many comic book artists and demonstrates the various techniques used in comic-making. It is worth a visit when in Brussels. Kids are likely to enjoy this. Their official website is:
https://www.comicscenter.net/en/home
It took us about 2 hours in the museum, after which we explored the city for a while before we headed to Ghent.
This brought us to the end of our holiday in Brussels. Check out more pictures from Brussels here.
Day 4:
Today, we had planned a day trip to Bruges. Bruges is just 42km from Ghent and can be reached in about 30 minutes by train. Trains ply every 20 minutes between the two cities, so you don’t have to plan much in advance.
About Bruges:
Bruges is a lovely city in the northwest of Belgium known for its canals, cobbled streets, and medieval buildings. The city centre is just out of a fairy tale town and is absolutely beautiful.
If you wish to spend a day in Bruges, the best way is to get lost on the streets and explore things as they come. We reached Bruges by train. As soon as we exited the station, a lovely big park with a canal passing through it greeted us.
We crossed it to enter the main market square. Cobbled streets led us to the city centre, and streets lined with cafes, restaurants, and medieval structures.
The highlight, of course, was the boat ride on the canal. I would recommend it. It is a must-do activity in Bruges. It will surely leave you with lifetime memories. On the boat ride, you are told stories and interesting facts about the adjoining buildings and structures. The surroundings are absolutely stunning and offer plenty of photo ops.
Belfry of Bruges, a medieval bell tower, is a prominent landmark and can’t be missed.
Apart from that, churches and museums can be visited if you are interested. They give insights into the culture and life of the people and their history.
Do include trying out the local food, including beer, Belgian fries, waffles, and chocolates, during your trip and exploring local shops selling stuff made by local artists and craftsmen. The city centre is the best place to buy souvenirs and gifts you might want to take back as memories.
You can also book a guided city tour and get to know the city from a local. If you wish to go for a free walking tour and pay the guide as per your preference, you can book a free tour here.
For us, the three highlights of our day trip to Bruges were:
- The boat ride on the canal
- Having a relaxed lunch next to the canal at a local cafe
- Getting lost in the streets and surprising ourselves with new finds.
Check out my photo gallery page for more stunning photos of this lovely city.
Day 5:
Today was the day to explore the city where we were staying – Ghent. As I mentioned before, Ghent is located between Bruges and Brussels. That is why we chose it as a place to stay for our trip. Finally, on day 5 of our holiday, we explored this lovely town.
About Ghent:
Ghent is a port city located at the confluence of the Leie and Scheldt rivers. It is famous for its medieval structures, which include castles, abbeys, churches, bridges, and the town hall.
We started our day at Ghent by visiting the Gravensteen Castle.
About Gravensteen Castle:
The Gravensteen is a medieval castle in Ghent, Belgium. The castle dates from the 12th century and was the residence of the Counts of Flanders until the 13th century. It was later re-purposed as a court, prison, mint, and even a cotton factory.
Today, the castle has been restored and is open to visitors. One can visit the castle and get an understanding of its history with the help of an audio guide.
We found the audio guide very interesting. It was precise and interesting and explained the life of the counts who lived there, including the wars they fought, the political tie-ups they made, and also bits about how their personal life might have been. The castle has a museum section, and visitors can access the tower to get stunning views of the town.
After the visit to the castle, it was time to explore the city and stop by a local restaurant to enjoy some food by the canal.
The official website for visiting and booking tickets for Gravansteen Castle is:
https://historischehuizen.stad.gent/nl/gravensteen
After lunch, we visited the Butchers Hall
About Butchers Hall:
The Butchers Hall is a promotional centre for East Flemish regional products. In medieval times, it was a covered place where meat was sold. It is a perfect place to try local products like beer, ham, cheese, mustard, and desserts.
We tried some foods here and then headed to a show called the ‘ Lights on Van Eyck,’ which was put up at St Nicholas’ Church.
About Lights on Van Eyck:
Lights on Van Eyck is a show with a unique blend of multimedia art, music, and projections that showcases the works of Jan van Eyck, a painter active in Bruges and one of the early innovators of Early Netherlandish painting. The show is put up at St Nicholas’ Church in the city centre.
After this visit, we explored the city, bought souvenirs, and checked out local shops.
The official website of ‘Lights in Van Eyck’ is:
https://lightsonvaneyck.be/?lang=en
A boat tour is also a popular activity in Ghent. Since we had already done a boat tour in Bruges, we didn’t do it here. However, you can book the boat tour in Gent here. A free walking tour in Ghent can bring you closer to the city, its history and its culture. You can book it here.
Check out more photos from Ghent here.
With this, we came to the end of our holiday.
On day 6, we took the train from Ghent to Brussels and then from Brussels to Frankfurt. From Frankfurt, we took another train and reached Darmstadt.
Check out the photo galleries of Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent.
Also, read about our other family holidays.
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