Belgium chat. Brussels, Bruges or Antwerp. I can only do one.

Belgium based here

Not answering your question but if you dont like tourist traps I'd say go to Gent instead. Very alternative nightlife and special kinds of bars, music clubs like Vooruit and cafe video. Lots of water as well. For friendly ppl dont go to antwerp (arrogance). Brussels is our capital so more 'colourful' in terms of people and Also loaads of things to do music-wise. Bruges is very nice architectural-wise but yes, bit tourist trap but deff worth it.

Oh and basically gent is a leftie city so I think socially the best choice if you want to meet new people. Lots of vegan food options and a bit of a hippy-ish atmosphere but in a good Way (I dont like hippies). If you need more about Gent let me know, just moving in there

brusells is fucking beautiful, ghent seems fun but i was only there for a few hours

Seconding Ghent. It's a really pretty city with few tourists. Very overlooked and probably my favorite in Belgium.
Antwerp has some nice buildings in the center but for a non-capital city it felt very crowded and flooded with immigrants.
Brussels is just butt ugly, it's an architectural mish-mash. The strict center, which is the only place that looks nice, is full of tourists.
Bruges is absolutely beautiful but it's a gigantic tourist trap. It feels more like a Disneyland zone than an actual town.

Hasselaar here.
I'd say Gent > Antwerp > Bruges > Brussels.
Gent because it's all-around based.
Antwerp's nice, just very busy.
Bruges, like previous anon said, looks nice but it's just one big tourist trap.
>Brussels
>Worth your time
Great joke friend, i laugh every time

Disregard anyone who uses the term "tourist trap"

Is the movie "In Bruges" the main reason its so touristy?

>>1157865
I think my parents and aunt and uncle went there just because of the movie lel

I personally found Bruges to have too many tourists. Ghent on the other hand is much like Bruges but it's quieter.
And if you have the time, go visit Ypres' museum In Flanders Fields. Great exposition!

>>1157658
Bruges sucks, go to Ghent instead.

Out of those three cities Antwerp > Brussels > Bruges.

Leuven is cool too.

>>1157658
Antwerp dude here.
>Antwerp: harbour, old part of Antwerp is nice with some cozy places and streets.
In the middle is a big street that separates the good side from the bad side.
Good side: Old part.
Bad side: Diamond square mile, bus hotspot, parkspoor noord and the more southern part.

>Bruges: Tourist hotspot, but you architecture so go there for that. Maybe also friendly locals, although tourists may make them more agressive towards you.

>Brussels: Some parts are good, but some are a no - go zone, even in the day and especially during the night. If you're white and go there, you're pretty much fucked (almost if you're lucky).

>Gent: Nightlife, friendly locals, cute women. Go here.

>Leuven: For slightly better nightlife, there is a straight street with a lot of bars, I think.

>>1157703
>>1157706
>>1157813
>>1157836
>>1157880
Good advice here.

Antwerp: 6,5/10
Brussels: 5/10
Gent: 8,5/10
Bruges: 7,8/10

Do not go to the seaside part of Belgium, you'll be dissappointed.

>>1157658
Dutchfag here, would concur with the Belbros. Brussels is definitely a fuckin shithole. Gent, Bruges and Antwerp are all nice. I'd put Antwerp last tho.

>>1158295
Some parts of Belgium are hilly/

Antwerp really can't compete with Bruges or Ghent.

Bruges is smaller than Ghent and also attracts more tourists, but both are equally pretty imo. I personally prefer Bruges, but that may be because I live in Bruges and know it better than Ghent.

Ghent is a student city, so it certainly beats Bruges when it comes to nightlife. It's more lively than Bruges, even with the amount of tourists Bruges gets.

Don't go to brussells........ they've let the city literally get overrun by Muslims. There's military everywhere and people are overall annoyed.

Thanks, everyone. Appreciate your feedback. I think I'll be choosing Ghent.

Will I be able to make do knowing only English? (and some Spanish, which obviously won't be a help.)

It seems a lot of the younger Belgians know good English, correct? I'd like to engage the locals in conversation. Also, I'm hoping not to be severely confused taking the train and other public transport.

>>1159288
English won't be a problem. Certainly not in Ghent, which is a student city, and reasonably internationally-minded too.

The only "major" thing which you should know when taking the train is whether your hostel (I presume) is located closer to Gent Dampoort or Gent Sint-Pieters (most likely the latter), and you have to make sure your train stops at that station. But the Belgian train website (nmbs.be) is also available in English, so no sweat. Buses and shit I have no idea about, but I don't think you'd be taking the bus a whole lot anyway.
Enjoy!

>>1159294
Great, thank you very much!

Anyone have any specific places they'd recommend in Ghent?

>>1157706
Thanks, man. Ghent it is. Any hidden jems you can direct me to?

>>1157658
A one-time only bump in case that Ghent bro comes back. Looking for awesome hidden gems that the local enjoy.

If you're into abandoned sight seeing and industrial buildings, definitely check out Charleroi.

You can get a tour guide who knows their way through the industrial district.
Lot's of cool factories are only accesible by jumping over a wall or fence but it's worth it.

Also the city is significantly cheaper than the flamish cities.

File: Gravensteen_15x10_0.jpg (108KB, 1020x537px) Image search: [Google]

108KB, 1020x537px

Ghent bro here again.

When are you travelling?
There is always lots to do in Gent but depends on timeframe so in general I could advise you to check out some local stuff.

For starters this is a really cool site that publishes the daily free stuff to do in Ghent (board games, social events, concerts, etc...) Might be good if you to engage in something to meet locals instead of sit awkwardly in a bar or something. Description is in flemish so I'd use google translate
http://www.gratisingent.be/

You've got a street called filled with bars called 'Overpoort' which is basically where all the students/frats go to get drunk and party. I think its not that alive during the weekend. Music depends on the place you go, I think its mostly pop music/electronic. 'Decadance' in overpoort has house/techno.

Then there's the (imo) more alternative rock oriented music places like 'Vooruit'. Very big club with alternative programme. Music biz people and musicians hang out here. Site = vooruit.be
Then there's 'Charlatan', cool little venue with concerts/dj sets/parties. Site = charlatan.be
Last I'd say 'Kinky Star' near charlatan also has concerts

For electronic music check out kompass club and artcube.

For good food, check out 'De Frietketel'. They sell fries and other fried goodies (typical belgian) with loads of veggie/vegan stuff as well if you like that.

Then architecture: check out 'Gravensteen' (pic related). Basically a badass castle. Ghent based students made the american press in '49. They took over the castle and barricaded every entrance as a protest because the beer price went up. Anyways it's in the centre and everything around there is very nice. Check out 'Groot vleeshuis' near gravensteen and Sint-jacobs church. Sint-Pieters abbey is also nice. Also check out the mini castle near Rabot. Its walking distance from centre and this is the address: Opgeëistenlaan 1
9000 Gent

To continue... Check out the link to this architectural walk (english available) in and around gent centre: http://www.routeyou.com/nl-be/route/view/2542/wandelroute/architectuurwandeling-in-de-kuip-van-gent

Oh also check out pizzeria 'marco polo' in gent. Very nice!

And then for the hidden gems. Check out 'trollekelder' café which has 200+ beers. Check out mokabon for good coffee and Damberd for jazz tunes.

Damn I've typed way more than I should have.

ANYWAY

If I were you I'd definitely check out Charlatan for open people/qt women/very late parties.

If there's more you need, please ask. I might not know everything since I'm only just moving there. Oh and last but not least try and check out the graffiti street in gent centre if you want some cool pics.

Good luck and have fun!

>>1160982
>>1160965
Very grateful for this info, thank you.
I land in Paris September 18 and need to be in Amsterdam on September 24th for Above & Beyond. (So, I like electronic music and will definitely check out Kompass Club and/or Artcube.)

I’m paying it by ear between those two cities. I’ll move along depending on how much I’m enjoying where I am, all while making sure I get my ass to Amsterdam by the 24th.

Planning on taking trains. I hope they're flexible enough to facilitate my plans (or lack thereof).

> Brussels
Boring tier. There's a reason why they say architects killed Brussels. Only the center is worth it. I

> Mechelen & Leuven
cute medieval cities but not worth your time if You're here for one day

>Bruges
never been there

> Ghent
hippies but pretty ok. I don't like the leftie atmosphere

> Antwerp
Pretty shit tbqh. Good if you want to go shopping though

> Hasselt
Shit, nothing happens here

> Wavre
Absolute shitcore

> Namur
Bretty ok but very small.

> Mons
Meh, cultural capital of 2015(?) but still pretty boring

> Charleroi
pls nuke tier

> Arlon
Boring

> Liège
Shitcore

>>1160985
>Damn I've typed way more than I should have.

I do this too when talking about my hometown or cities in which I really know the score.

Thanks again!

>>1160987
Damn, man. For your own sake, you should move.

>>1160989
I love the countryside m8, although it's getting more and more crowded

>>1160992
>it's getting more and more crowded
Isn't everywhere? I hate it, and it's frightening.