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Home - City Guide - Brussels - Excursions | ||
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Excursions For a Half Day Bruges: The heyday of Bruges - just an hour's train or bus ride from Brussels - lasted from the thirteenth century, when merchants became rich from the cloth trade, until the silting of the Zwin River brought about the city's rapid decline. Nonetheless, Bruges remains one of the most beautifully preserved medieval cities in Europe and is Belgium's top tourist attraction. Its charming streets and canals are packed with little restaurants and atmospheric cafÉs and a cluster of interesting museums and churches. Michelangelo's delicate marble Madonna and Child lies within the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady). The Tourist Office, Burg 11 (tel: (050) 448 686; website: www.bruges.be) provides information and a hotel booking service. For a Whole Day Antwerp: Located 50km (31 miles) north of Brussels, Antwerp is tucked into the east bank of a bend in the Schelde River. Its largely quadri-lingual inhabitants - known as Sinjorens - are proud of the history and culture of their city, which reached its apogee in the sixteenth century. Masterpieces by Rubens (a former resident) and Van Dyck are on display at the Museum voor Schone Kunsten (Royal Museum of Fine Art), LÉopold De Waelplaats (tel: (03) 238 7809; admission: BFr150). Antwerp is also a thriving port, the world's leading diamond centre and now an international fashion capital. Antwerp's tourist office at the central Grote Markt 15 (tel: (03) 232 0103) provides a wealth of information on the city, easily reached by train from all three principal Brussels stations to the Centraal Station in Antwerp. |