Best City for 3 nights Belgium Or Dussledorf in Germany

LovexxLife

Hi All,
Me and my boyfriend are hoping to get away for the August Bank Holiday and best prices are for Belgium or Dusseldorf in Germany.
I was thinking of Antwerp, Brussels or Bruges or someone recently suggested Ghent.
We would probably stay in the same city for the 3 nights, its a holiday really to chill out and relax but we don't want to be bored either, I like the idea of going on the canal boats and popping into a museum (historical) or doing something fun like a fun fair.
Any one been to Dusseldorf for holidays is there much to see and do or is it more of a business type destination?

LovexxLife

sugarman wrote: »

Dusseldorf without a doubt. Great city and relatively cheap. Theres not THAT much to do but its a nice place to wonder around for a few days. Theres the Rheine tower, a few museums, loads of nice restaurants and bars along the river front and you can also go on boat tours.

You can easily hop on a train to Cologne for the day too, thats only 30/40mins away.

Is there regular trains and are tickets dear?

Cheshire Cat

LovexxLife wrote: »

Is there regular trains and are tickets dear?

http://m.vrsinfo.de/english/the-vrs/vrs-about-us.html

Gavlor

Düsseldorf is a great city, the old town is packed with nice bars, breweries and restaurants...

On the other hand you could stay in Antwerp and take a day trip to Brugge (25 mins). Again both are full of nice bars etc and antwerp is the diamond capital of the world if you want to trick you bf into becoming your fiancé

You won't be disappointed with either option tbh. I'm not really helping here!

LovexxLife

sugarman wrote: »

About every 20mins and its around 20quid return for an Adult.

How long does the train take to get there?
Dusseldorf is starting to look a bit more appealing.
Is it cheapish normal prices to eat out and drink?

Is dusseldorf famous for any food drink specialties to try or bring home as gifts?

Gavlor

LovexxLife wrote: »

How long does the train take to get there?
Dusseldorf is starting to look a bit more appealing.
Is it cheapish normal prices to eat out and drink?

Is dusseldorf famous for any food drink specialties to try or bring home as gifts?

There are 5 local breweries that also act as pubs, you won't be disappointed from a drinks perspective. Loads of decent restaurants too but it is Germany so it's quite expensive.

Edit: don't discount Brugge, it's a town that I would go back to in a heartbeat. Lovely canals and really arty if you're into that kind of thing. It also has a brilliant beer museum

Fr Tod Umptious

LovexxLife wrote: »

How long does the train take to get there?
Dusseldorf is starting to look a bit more appealing.
Is it cheapish normal prices to eat out and drink?

Is dusseldorf famous for any food drink specialties to try or bring home as gifts?

Express train takes about 15 minutes, local train takes about 30-40 mins.

You could also get a Rhein curise boat between Dusseldorf and Cologne, that would pass a day.

Dusseldorf has a very local beer called "altbier", which means " old style beer", its really nice, I used to buy a few bottles in the supermarket to bring home anytime I was there

LovexxLife

Gavlor wrote: »

don't discount Brugge, it's a town that I would go back to in a heartbeat. Lovely canals and really arty if you're into that kind of thing. It also has a brilliant beer museum

I saw photos of bruges and looks lovely! But my aunt said maybe it's more of a one day trip place, that there's a lot more to do in Brussels.

Are brussels and bruges the same prices for eating out as Ireland?

Gavlor

LovexxLife wrote: »

I saw photos of bruges and looks lovely! But my aunt said maybe it's more of a one day trip place, that there's a lot more to do in Brussels.

Are brussels and bruges the same prices for eating out as Ireland?

Yeah, pretty much. Brussels is slightly more expensive in places due to all the politicians and their expenses!!

Antwerp > Brussels IMO

LovexxLife

Thanks for your help!
We decided to try dusseldorf and if we get time in early December to try brussels and bruges for the Christmas markets and stuff.

We are flying in early morning Friday and late home Monday. So Friday I say we just relax around the city and get our bearings. I was wondering would Sunday be a good day to visit cologne or would a lot of places be closed would Saturday be better?

Is it straight forward getting from the airport to city centre on the train?
And have you any hotel recommendations?
Thanks again

Cheshire Cat

Please bear in mind, that shops are closed on Sundays in Germany.
Restaurants, museums and similar will be open.

munchkin_utd

sugarman wrote: »

Everywhere will be open Saturday and Sunday. A lot of shops stay open late till 9 or 10 Saturdays tho.

Its dead easy, there's a train straight from the airport terminal to Düsseldorf main train station. Its only a few stops away, 20mins or there about.

The shops in Cologne will not be open on a Sunday except the following 2 days
8. November 2015, 13.00 - 18.00 Uhr (chocolate festival)
6. Dezember 2015, 13.00 - 18.00 Uhr (christmas shopping)

still, on a Sunday all restaurants and tourist attractions are open, but minus any folks in town for shopping purposes, so its still not a bad day to visit.
In general all german towns would have the same shops, so what you see in Düsseldorf is the same as in Cologne.

irish_goat

I'm a big fan of Dusseldorf but I'd probably not go there for a couple's holiday, for me, it's more of a beer drinking destination. Bruges in my opinion would be a much nicer for a couple.

OverUnderP4P

irish_goat wrote: »

I'm a big fan of Dusseldorf but I'd probably not go there for a couple's holiday, for me, it's more of a beer drinking destination. Bruges in my opinion would be a much nicer for a couple.

hows it going man , im thinking of heading there in September with a load of the lads is it good ?