Flanders: Brussels, Ghent & Bruges: a 4-day road trip
Brussels to Antwerp via Ghent, Bruges — about 221 km of driving across Belgium, suggested over 4 days.
See the attractions & sights guide for this route →
Stops on this route
Brussels
Brussels is Belgium's capital and the de facto capital of the European Union, a bilingual city where French and Dutch share every street sign. It blends Art Nouveau townhouses, Gothic guildhalls, and the glass towers of the EU quarter, and is famous for its beer culture, chocolate shops, and comic-strip murals scattered across the old town.
Ghent
Ghent is a Flemish university city built at the confluence of the Leie and Scheldt rivers, once one of medieval Europe's largest cities on the strength of its cloth trade. Its skyline of three towers, canal-side guildhalls, and a moated castle make it a well-preserved rival to nearby Bruges, without the same volume of visitors.
Bruges
Bruges is a canal-laced Flemish city so well preserved that its entire medieval centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once a major trading port linked to the sea by a since-silted channel, it stagnated economically after the 15th century, which paradoxically left its Gothic architecture largely untouched by later development.
Antwerp
Antwerp is Belgium's second-largest city and a major port on the Scheldt river, long a centre of the diamond trade and, in the 16th and 17th centuries, home to Baroque master Peter Paul Rubens. Today it mixes a restored Gothic old town with a reputation as a hub for fashion design and nightlife.
Road charges and rules along the way
Belgium
No motorway vignette or environmental sticker is required for passenger cars in Belgium; motorways are free or distance-tolled.
Mandatory equipment: Safety vest (reflective, high-visibility), Warning triangle
Plan this route with EuroDrive Scout — tolls, vignettes, ZTL alerts, fuel and parking →