7 Days in Belgium: Chocolate, Beer, Waffles, Frites, and More
- Kevin and Roxanne
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Is Belgium a place you should visit? A country known for chocolate, waffles, and beer, what’s not to love??! And don’t forget the frites. Belgians will proudly tell you they invented the French fry too.
We appreciate that Belgium remains slightly “under the radar” compared with many of Europe’s most popular destinations. That’s not to say it is undiscovered or without tourists, but compared with Amsterdam and other heavily visited European cities, Bruges and Ghent felt refreshingly manageable.
Belgium is also easy to reach. You can fly into Brussels or Amsterdam and use the excellent train system to travel between cities. Together with our good friends Curt and Jordan, we flew from Minneapolis to Amsterdam, spent two nights on a houseboat, and then took the train to Belgium. It was a relatively easy trip from a transportation standpoint, allowing us to minimize travel time and maximize the fun part: actually being there.
When Is the Best Time to Visit Belgium?
We traveled at the end of March and beginning of April and were a little caught off guard by how chilly it was. It wasn’t bitterly cold, but I had packed only one sweater—and ended up wearing it nearly every day. A hat, scarf, and gloves were also helpful at times.
Still, after hearing about the heat waves that arrived in Europe later that summer, I would happily take the cooler spring weather again.
Spring and fall are both good times to visit, with fewer crowds and generally comfortable temperatures. I would also love to return during the holiday season, when Bruges and Ghent are decorated with lights and filled with Christmas markets. These cities are charming any time of year, but they must be especially magical during the holidays.
How Long Should You Spend in Belgium?
We felt that seven days/six nights in Belgium was a good amount of time for this trip. It allowed us to spend three nights each in Bruges and Ghent, with enough time to explore both cities without rushing. Of course, travelers interested in slow travel—or those who want to visit Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, or other Belgian cities—could easily stay longer.
This was not our first visit to Belgium. In 1994, we spent time in Bruges and developed a very distinct memory of eating absolutely delicious waffles purchased from a street vendor. In 2007, we stopped in Brussels for a few hours. It is an interesting city, but on this trip, we decided to focus our time elsewhere.
Itinerary
Our full trip itinerary was:
Travel day from Minneapolis
Two nights in Amsterdam
Three nights in Bruges
Three nights in Ghent, including a day trip to Dunkirk and Ypres
Travel day—Kevin and I stopped in Antwerp for a few hours, then continued to Scotland while Curt and Jordan flew home
Three Nights in Bruges
Bruges is well known, in part because of the 2008 dark comedy In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. We highly recommend watching—or rewatching—the movie before your trip.
Bruges is a popular destination for bus tours and day-trippers. For that reason, I strongly recommend staying overnight. Once many of the tour groups leave, the city becomes quieter, and you can experience its peaceful streets, canals, and illuminated historic buildings in the evening.
The historic center is compact and easy to explore on foot. We joined a free walking tour through GuruWalk—remember to tip your guide—and found it to be a fun introduction to the city and its history.
Our guide explained the supposed origins of phrases such as “Blue Monday,” “not having a pot to piss in,” “a bitter pill,” “piss poor,” “hammered,” and “hangover.” My guess is that some of the stories were embellished and perhaps not everything we heard was entirely true—but it was fun to think we were learning so much, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Chocolate in Bruges
Although we originally planned to devote an entire day to a self-guided chocolate tour, we ended up visiting chocolate shops throughout our stay instead. This was definitely a more practical approach than overloading on chocolate one day. And who would be opposed to having chocolate every day??
On our city tour, we learned to look for chocolatiers associated with the Bruges chocolate guild, an indication that the chocolates are made locally by skilled chocolate makers. Because we visited shortly before Easter, the shop windows were filled with elaborate and enormous eggs, animals, flowers, and other elaborate creations defying the traditional bounds of chocolate.
A few of the chocolate shops we visited included:
Church of Our Lady
The Church of Our Lady is home to Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child, one of the few Michelangelo sculptures located outside Italy, It was worth the admission fee to see the sculpture, along with the ornate tombs and archaeological exhibits in the lower level.
Markt Square
Markt Square is the heart of Bruges. Framed by colorful historic buildings and the imposing Belfry of Bruges, the picturesque plaza is filled with restaurants and cafés and frequently hosts markets and other activities. It is one of those places where you will probably find yourself returning several times during your stay.
LESS Eatery
We had a wonderful prix fixe meal at LESS Eatery. The food was creative and beautifully presented, and it was a memorable break from our otherwise steady diet of waffles, chocolate, beer, and frites.
Belgian Beer
When in Belgium, one must try at least a few of its many beers. Kevin and Curt were especially enthusiastic about sampling as many different varieties as possible.
Some of the places we visited included:
Le Trappiste, located in a very cool arched underground space
One of the fun things about drinking beer in Belgium is the enormous variety. Each beer seems to come with its style of glass, brewing tradition and history. Most are very flavorful and no Miller Lite was to be found.
Waffles and Frites
Waffles and frites—not necessarily together—are the other required foods in Bruges, and really in Ghent too.
The smaller hand-held Belgian waffles are made fresh by street vendors and topped with your choice of chocolate, Nutella, whipped cream, fruit, or other delicious additions. This is a must-do, and you deserve at least one a day!
Three Nights in Ghent
In Ghent, we were happy to meet up with our son Cormac, who had just spent the previous month working on an organic farm near the border between Belgium and the Netherlands.
Less touristy than Bruges, Ghent is a lively university city with youthful energy, busy streets, and a strong local character. Bruges and Ghent share several similarities. Both have canals, picturesque historic buildings, walkable streets, and narrated boat tours. Unless you are a passionate boat-tour person, I would probably choose one city for a canal cruise rather than doing one in both.
Gravensteen Castle
One of Ghent’s most distinctive attractions is Gravensteen, also known as the Castle of the Counts. The imposing medieval fortress rises unexpectedly in the center of the city. Inside, you can explore stone passageways, towers, historic rooms, weapons, and exhibits about medieval crime and punishment. Take the audio tour. We chose the humorous version, which made the castle’s darker history surprisingly entertaining.
Ghent Boat Tour
A narrated boat tour is a relaxing way to see Ghent and learn about its history and architecture. Floating past Gravensteen from the water is especially impressive and gives you a different perspective on the city.
Frites Atelier
Frites Atelier often has a long line, but the frites are worth trying. The shop is located beside a lively plaza. If you can find an outdoor table, it is an ideal place to people-watch while enjoying your fries.
’t Galgenhuis
In the same plaza as Frites Atelier is ’t Galgenhuis, an impossibly small and charming pub. We sat upstairs in the cozy loft during our first visit—and yes, there were multiple visits to this place. It became one of our favorite spots in Ghent.
A World War I and World War II Day Trip
Because we are history fans—and because I was working on a veterans museum at the time—we rented a car in Ghent and spent a day visiting significant military sites in Dunkirk and Ypres. The route gave us the opportunity to explore sites connected with both World War I and World War II in a single day.
Dunkirk, France
Dunkirk was the site of the World War II evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied troops after German forces trapped them against the English Channel in 1940. During Operation Dynamo, Royal Navy vessels were joined by hundreds of civilian “little ships,” including fishing boats, pleasure craft, lifeboats, and other private vessels.
Although the Allies lost France and were forced to abandon enormous amounts of military equipment, the evacuation saved the core of the British Expeditionary Force. Preserving those troops allowed Britain to rebuild its army and continue fighting the war.
The Musée Dunkerque 1940–Opération Dynamo occupies the fortified galleries of Bastion 32, originally constructed in 1874 as an artillery and munitions storehouse. Although the building itself was interesting, I was disappointed by the museum’s storytelling. The timeline was difficult to follow, and many of the exhibits relied on text-heavy displays and dated displays of artifacts.
Still, we were glad we visited, especially because it gave us the opportunity to stand on the beach where this extraordinary event took place. Make sure to watch or rewatch the movie Dunkirk before visiting. It helps bring the landscape and the scale of the evacuation to life.
Ypres, Belgium
Back in Belgium, we visited Ypres, one of the most fiercely contested areas of World War I. Several major battles were fought around the city, resulting in enormous casualties on both sides. Ypres was nearly destroyed during the war but was later painstakingly reconstructed. Today, it remains one of Europe’s most important centers of remembrance.
The principal museum is the In Flanders Fields Museum, located inside the reconstructed medieval Cloth Hall. The museum uses artifacts, personal stories, photographs, maps, and interactive exhibits to explain the war’s impact on soldiers, civilians, and the surrounding landscape.
I was particularly impressed by the quality of the interpretation and the museum’s engaging storytelling experience. Visitors can select individuals whose journeys they follow through the exhibits. I chose a Norwegian man who had immigrated to Minnesota—an unexpected personal connection. Sadly, like so many of the people whose stories are told there, he ultimately died in the trenches. Part of the goal of the museum was to communicate the enormous personal toll of war and it was effective. All of our selected individuals died.
The museum made the overwhelming scale of the war feel human. Rather than presenting the conflict only through dates, troop movements, and casualty figures, it reminded us that every number represented an individual life, a family, and a story interrupted.
Final Thoughts on Our Belgium Itinerary
Belgium did not disappoint.
We came for the chocolate, waffles, frites, and beer—and enjoyed every bit of them—but the trip offered much more than its famous food and drink.
Bruges gave us quiet canals, medieval streets, chocolate shops, and lovely evenings strolling the quiet picturesque streets. Ghent offered youthful energy and a city that felt both historic and very much alive. Dunkirk and Ypres added an entirely different dimension, connecting the beauty of the region with the difficult history that shaped it and important lessons for today.
Belgium may be easy to overlook on a map crowded with Europe’s headline destinations, but perhaps that is part of its appeal. It is welcoming, walkable, charming, and wonderfully easy to enjoy at a slower pace. Sometimes the best trips aren’t about checking off the biggest sights but simply enjoying where you are—and Belgium was perfect for that.
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