Bruges- Brussels- Luxembourg

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Day 1 

I love looking at Flixbus and available options so I was pleasantly surprised to find you can get a coach from London all the way to Amsterdam, stopping at Bruges and Brussels too. If you dont mind coaches and want to travel on a budget, this is a great option. 

I got a 19:30 coach from Victoria London Coach Station which arrived in Bruges at 4am the next day. Flixbus sorted out the ferry and everything. 

Day 2

The 4am arrival in Bruges was interesting as there’s not much in the coach station so you could be waiting a couple of hours for things to open.

The early arrival did mean I was there to enjoy the empty city at sunrise which was beautiful and made the morning in the coach station worth it.

📍Minnewater Park 

📍Church of our lady 

📍Boniface Bridge (Bonifaciusbrug)

📍 Basiliek van Het Heilig Bloed

📍 Sint-Salvatorskathedraalg

📍 Grote Markt 

📍 Belfort

📍 Historium Bruges

📍 Jan van Eyckplein

Lunch in the centre 

📍 Belfry of Bruges, Markt

📍 Rosary Quay

📍 City Hall

📍 11:30 Walking tour @ Market Square- always love a free walking tour even if you have already seen the main sites. You learn and see things you won’t have spotted yourself. If you are solo travelling, they are also a great way to meet people and get tips where to eat and go next. 

📍 Boat tour 

📍 Sint Janshuis Windmill- a bit of a walk out but very pretty 

I then booked a Flixbus coach to Brussels just for sunset.

There are lots of accommodation options in Brussels so I always try and get the cheapest, best reviewed accommodation that’s nearest the train/coach station. I book hostels on Hostelworld because it’s easy to navigate and meet people through chats if I want.

Day 3

I booked a walking tour for 10:00 which gave me a clear time to get up and out. The meeting spot was the Grote Markt which had lots of eating options. Lots of eating options meant I could find a coffee to walk with. 

📍Grote Markt

📍 Arte callejero (Tin Tin)

📍 Manneken Pis

📍 Muralla Medieval

📍 Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert

📍 Church of Our Blessed Lady

📍 Law Courts of Brussels (lots of scaffolding…) 

📍 Museo de la Música y los Instrumentos

📍 Royal Palace 

📍 Cathedral of St Michael and St Gudula

Walking tours are great to meet new people and get lots of photos of things you might not have seen. I met someone who I ended up spending the rest of the day with and we had such a laugh. I did warn her that I had a fast paced itinerary as I only had one day in Brussels but she was up for the challenge. I also successfully persuaded her to go to Amsterdam for a the day as she would have seen most of Brussels.

📍 Monte de las Rates

📍EU Parliament

📍Arches park 

📍Get 51 tram to Planetarium just before sunset to see it in the light and when it sparkles

📍Derlerium Village

📍Girl pissing- Jeaneke Pis 

📍Dog pissing- Zinneke Pis

Brussels was a fast paced day but depending on your travel day, you can do it in a day. 

Day 4

My flixbus to Luxembourg was booked for 10:15 so I managed to walk to Basillique Nationale Church which is doable but quite a walk. 

The coach is less than 4 hours to Luxembourg and it was a useful time to reflect on my time in Belgium. As soon as I got to Luxembourg, I knew I’d love it as public transport is free so I got the free bus to the hostel where I met my friend, Bethany. Luxembourg is a great place to fly in and out of so meeting Bethany was so easy. This is my favourite kind of trip now- half solo travel and half with a friend. Then you get the best of both worlds. Finding friends who are the same travel types is vital. Bethany and I can chat and walk for days in whatever weather. 

 📍Casement du Bock 

📍Eglise St Michael 

📍Palais Grand Ducal 

📍Gelle Fra

📍Cathédrale Notre-Dame

📍Grand-Rue

📍Dicks and Lentz Monument

📍Place d'Armes

📍Place Guillaume II

📍Grand Duke William II statue

📍Luxembourg City Hall / Hôtel de Ville

📍Gëlle Fra - Monument of Remembrance on Constitution Square

📍Pétrusse Casemates

📍Pont Adolphe Bridge

📍Boulevard Franklin Delano Roosevelt

📍Statue of Charlotte

We didn’t mean to but we saw most of the city that afternoon. Luxembourg would make the perfect EDT (Extreme Day Trip) if you can find good flights.

Day 5

We made the most of the free public transport and got a train across the country to Vianden Castle. Absolutely stunning. An Austrian style castle on top of a mountain. It looks very Disney-esque. I recommend going into the castle and then walking down into the town and along the river. We then got a bus to the border and went to Germany. Bethany’s parents say it counts as we had a biscuit- and got evidence as proof. 

Day 6 

Luxembourg is a tiny city but has lots of different types of transport so we tried them all. We headed to the funicular that overlooks the valley and then walked to the glass lift on the other side. 

We went inside Casements du Bock which is the castle in the rock before walking down the valley and seeing Chapelle St Quirin. 

We headed back to our accommodation which was expensive even though it was a hostel. We did get free breakfast which means free lunch (sneaky sandwiches) and the free transport meant it worked out the same as other cities. 

The flight times weren’t the best to head back to Stansted but we felt like we had thoroughly enjoyed the city. 

As two teachers this was a perfect trip over February half term leaving time either side to rest and prepare for school.