Brussels & Frankfurt

[goodtime]

Any recommendations for things to see or experience in a day each in: Brussels, Frankfurt, may be Northern France.

Doing a last min. trip. No time to research. Not looking to hobby. I'm a seasoned Asia & North America traveller. Would love to ski the alps or try paragliding, may be next time.

Thanks.

 

[xarir]

A day in each isn't much. In Brussels you'll invariably be drawn to the Grand Platz which is the central square in town. In and around Grand Platz are the usual host of stores & restaurants. While I was there, even though it's rather fromage, I made it a point to have a Belgian Waffle. (They're not any different than what we get over here.) Just a block off the Grand Platz is the famous Mannekin Pis - a statue of a boy taking a pee. Personally I never saw the attraction, but it's a famous statue and it's close by so you may as well see it. There's also a comic strip musem which features Tintin quite prominently. And towards the outskirts of town there's the World Fair from 1958.

I rather enjoyed Brussels and Belgium as a whole. I found that the Belgians are a lot like Canadians - polite people who go about leading their lives with out fussing over things too much. And it's interesting that a lot of Belgians still appreciate the efforts of Canada in WWI. If you get a chance to tour the countryside around Belgium it's worthwhile doing - there are, sadly, an awful lot of Canadian military cemetaries over there.

Frankfurt is a very clean, efficient city but there's actually not a whole lot to see there. Like any European city there's the cathedral which is architecturally quite nice. There are lots of sex stores & strip clubs by the train station, but again it's nothing you can't get here (with the exception of the live sex shows). There's the Goethe house which was rather interesting. And the old part of town is quite picturesque as well. Towards the airport is the Opel car plant which is actually open for public tours.

Can you be more specific about where in Northern France?

 

[Keyser Soze]

Brussels is a great place to see. I wspent 4 days there last year and probably got to see about half of whiat I wanted to see.. Algo, go to Brugges for a day-trip.
Brusels in interesting for a day trip.
Frankfulrt is boring. Just big businese and not great sights to seel

Hope this helps.

 

[papasmerf]

Brussles???????? Sprouts


Frantfort?????????? Beer and sausages


Anywhere in France?????????? Capture it. Surrender is a French word.

 

[n_v]

A day in each isn't much. In Brussels you'll invariably be drawn to the Grand Platz which is the central square in town. In and around Grand Platz are the usual host of stores & restaurants. While I was there, even though it's rather fromage, I made it a point to have a Belgian Waffle. (They're not any different than what we get over here.) Just a blcok off the Grand Platz is the famous Mannekin Pis - a statue of a boy taking a pee. Personally I never saw the attraction, but it's a famous statue and it's close by so you may as well see it.

I have seen the Mannekin Pis. It's like a legend there. Go see it but you may even miss it if you don't open your eyes. The Grand Platz is amazing, especially this time of year. The whole platz is decorated in Christmas settings and in the main square there are vendors from all over the world selling their wares. I found a Canadian stand that was serving whickey and maple syrup. Good drink to warmd you up. Plus they have a live nativity scene in the sqaure. Just off it are a host of restaurants with courtside patios open till late at night on cobblestones streets. Quite nice to see. You can pretty much park your car and walk all of downtown.

I rather enjoyed Brussels and Belgium as a whole. I found that the Belgians are a lot like Canadians - polite people who go about leading their lives with fussing over things too much. And it's interesting that a lot of Belgians still appreciate the efforts of Canada in WWI. If you get a chance to tour the countryside around Belgiam it's worthwhile doing - there are, sadly, and awful lot of Canadian cemetaries over there.

I managed to make it over to Ypres for a day. Actually we got there late in the afternoon , but there we still saw the plethora of cemetaries and monuments. We went to the grave where the body of the writer of 'In Flaunders Fields' rests. And saw all the WWI trenches. Yes the sandbags are still there and the ditches/trenches still exist. Ypres is quite a nice town actually.

 

[goodtime]

Good suggestions

Great infos. True 1 day doesn't really do a place justice. Yes, I love Belgian Waffle.

Papasmerf, you forgot about French kiss but none for me.

It will be Northwestern France within 3hrs bordering Belgium/Lux/Germany. Keep them coming.

Yes, on my Life to-do list are visit the BMW factory and driving on the Autobahn, but no time on this visit.

 

[DonAngelo]

Goodtime

...here's a link to an awesome restaurant guide for Frankfurt.
I wish you eine "gute Zeit" in Frankfurt...lol.

http://www.selected-restaurants.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?TMPL=/about/about_city.html&url_id_stadt=5

 

[xarir]

Sounds like you'll be in the Alsace region then. This is a corner of Europe that's currently French territory but in past was part of Germany. It's a portion of land that's actually flipped back and forth several times between France & Germany over the past few hundred years. As a result, the locals there tend to speak German as much as they do French.

Colmar is a wonderfully picturesque town that's well worth seeing. There's nothing really specific to see there but it really is a great town to visit and well worth a detour.

The region of Alsace has several wines and correspondingly many vineyards - not much to see at this time of year though. There's a good drink there called Cremant which is a sparkling white wine. It's somewhat like champagne but sweeter in taste and generally lighter in texture. It's also a whole lot cheaper than champagne.

Strasbourg is the capital of the Alsace region and home to the EU Parliament. Heineken has a brewey in Strasbourg. You might have to arrange tours in advance, I can't remember. The cathedral in Strasbourg is worth seeing. Unfortunately the area immediately surround the cathedral is realtively built up so you spend a lot of time looking up at the cathedral since there's no space to back up and get a complete view. Inside, to the right of the knave is an astrological clock. The clock was a wonder when it was built (and still is today). It was hailed as the most accurate clock in the world when it was built and could show time, phases of the moon, month, day etc. Apparently there's quite a show at 12h30 when a bunch of angels pop out of there to turn hourglasses over.

 

[Musketeer]

Brussels is a beautiful city. Lots of History, Art & Culture...not to mention some of the best beers & cuisine in Europe!

Don't miss the Royal Palace & 'les jardins.' The Grand Place is spectacular...as is the the lace, chocolates, mussels........don't miss Le Lion d'Or for Belgian cuisine, and the Waterloo Battlefield if you love history!

The ladies of the night are situated next to the Gare du Nord railway station..... and there are some beautiful ladies there!

I agree, don't miss out on Bruges....one of the most magical, medieval and romantic cities in Europe!

 

[Berlin]

You have to experience one of the many FKK joints around Frankfurt.

Ditto.

Great place for clubbing as well.
One of the better clubs , Cocoon, is there in Frankfurt. Fronted by the their globally famous German DJ Svan Vath, you can't get anymore German than that ...


if you're into clubbing and Techno, that is.

 

[Warm Hands]

Definitely check out the Waterloo battlefields. It isn't far at all by train, maybe 20 mintues if memory serves me correctly. There are a few museums there, in Waterloo as well as at the battlefield, that really made the history come alive.

WH

 

[goodtime]

Thanks for info

Thank you for all the info.

Looking forward to Brussels.

Given the plane/train schedule, may only be an overnighter in Frankfurt so try catch a show or club. I know a lot of people suggests FKK.

Yes, Strasbough has been highly recommended by friends. It will depend on train schedule, I love to drive but given this leg will be solo, rather not waste time looking for parking & directions.

If I don't hit NW Frances, the alternative is take advantage of 1 day special airfares for to Milan or Venice, not Paris even though cool to check out the skating rink on level 3? of Eiffel tower, but given I was there not long ago, will leave for future visits.

Right now, prefer for places with crowds & people, so will leave battlefield visits for future. This should help as I put off my trip plans the last while to be focus.

 

[goodtime]

The food

Ah, great Eu food, so far. Just love the European way of life - slower pace, enjoy things and siestas. Great French roast duck and escargot, brussels spouts.

What a joke that imported Canadian Lobsters are 40% cheaper than European lobster, I guess I'm used to Canadian & New England lobster. Same with Maine Oyster cheaper imported vs local EU Oyster and EU oyster texture aren't as good...

Weathers been really foggy, hope it clears up so to see Brussels & Frankfort.

 

[DonAngelo]

Re: Thanks for info

If I don't hit NW Frances, the alternative is take advantage of 1 day special airfares for to Milan or Venice, not Paris even though cool to check out the skating rink on level 3? of Eiffel tower, but given I was there not long ago, will leave for future visits.

...Barcelona and Madrid are a lot of fun as well...just check out the web site of the Bagdad nightclub in Barcelona.

http://www.bagdad.com/newsite/info.php?Lang=EN

 

[goodtime]

Check this out

Thanks for Barc info but was there not long ago. With the Sants & Tapas.

Bedankt. Not sure if the following websites have pics. The Grand Platz was amazing with sparkles Xmas lights very nicely done. Really magical with that fairytale feel at night. Can be costly if you bring SO as it is the land of Chocolate & Diamond. Having internet trouble here. Not sure if website has English.

www.winterpret2004.be
www.plaisirsdhiver.be

 

[Esco!]

goodtime!!!!
You are a Spazzzz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[goodtime]

Escargot, care to elaborate?

 

[goodtime]

Belgium girls.

Wow, those young Belgium girls are hot. Petite, nice hair, good looking and very little make-up. So cute.

 

[Esco!]

Escargot, care to elaborate?

goodtime, when you stop editing your post I will respond to the post that you denied ever editing.
How's that??

 

[goodtime]

Escohort, perhaps you in denial. Was going to use much stronger language earlier but will give you benefit of the doubt as you seem to post rubbish for sake of increasing your post count. Blah, blah, blah... Not worth my time...