Where other than Paris?
MJH
night train somewhere to see something different. In a night you can get to
Nice, Milan, Strasbourg, etc. Where would you go? What are some recomended
places to go?
All input appreciated
Mark
Pls reply to
mhu...@home.com
Dave Smith
> I am going to Paris next Sunday for a week and a bit. I want to take a
> night train somewhere to see something different. In a night you can get to
> Nice, Milan, Strasbourg, etc. Where would you go? What are some recomended
> places to go?
I have been to Nice and Strasbourg. Let me tell you that it is a tough all to
pick one or the other. Nice is......very nice. I sits on the Cote D'Azur,
nestled between the sea and red san stone ills speckled with palms and
evergreens. The ride down there is quite pleasant. I'd be tempted to do a day
time trip rather than night, just to see the scenery. I have very fond memories
of Nice. The city was full of tourists, hardly heard French on the streets, and
prices reflect the heavy tourist traffic.
I have equally good memories of Strasbourg, and considering that we arrived in
Paris after an overnight flight then hopped on a train for four hours to get
there and still fell in love with it, that's got to say something. It is quite
unique. It has lovely old buildings, a canal with swans and ducks and tour
boats. There is a beautiful old cathedral and a monument to Guttenburg. the
culture there is interesting, having a strong German influence. The food was
incredible, very rich and tasty. And of course there are the wonderful Alsatian
wines to try. If you are a beer drinker, it is home to Kronnenburg brewery,
makers of Kronnenburg and 1664.
I can't make this simple for you. The two places are completely different. It's
not like you have two similar types of places and want to know which is better.
One is a beach resort with lots of attractive young people strutting their
stuff, while the other is a old, established city.
FWIW.... when I went through France last month with my brothers, I was looking
forward to the chance to revisit Strasbourg and was disappointed that it did not
happen. As much as I liked Nice, Strasbourg was much more interesting (to me).
If it helps, Strasbourg is much closer and therefore cheaper to get to. I also
remember the prices being considerably lower.
Richard Price
>
> I am going to Paris next Sunday for a week and a bit. I want to take a
> night train somewhere to see something different. In a night you can get to
> Nice, Milan, Strasbourg, etc. Where would you go? What are some recomended
> places to go?
>
I would go to Brugges, Belgium (after they clear up the tainted meat
scare, that is).
Brugges is simply one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. You can't
find anything ugly there. It was a trading capital of Europe in the
middle ages, but its river to the sea became filled with silt, so it
could no longer function as a port. For several centuries, it was all
but abandoned, only to be re-discovered in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Because it was given up for dead for so long, there is almost no
presence of industrialization -- no factories, no pollution, no modern
buildings whatsoever. It really looks like something from 1650! And
because there is no industry there, the Nazis pretty much overlooked it
in WWII. There was little or no bombing there, so the buildings remain
as they were before.
We loved it in Brugges. Great food (especially chocolates and beer) at
some very fine restaurants and very friendly people.
Brugges is relatively undiscovered (compared to Paris, the Rhine, Nice,
etc). Although there is a lively tourist trade there, you don't feel
overwhelmed by it.
Richard
<exec...@earthlink.net>
PS: Funny story. A friend and his wife honeymooned in Brugges. Nine
months later they had twins. I told them it was because Brugges was SO
romantic, their love doubled!
Jack
Let me add my personal comment, Richard. You all know my web site
http://home.earthlink.net/~primos/ has a extensive and informative
walk through all the important and romantic sites of Brugges. Just log
on it to get also the recommended restaurants and cafes!!
Just to open your appetite on Bruges here is the first article again
from that series:
City no.1 of the tourism industry in Belgium, Bruges is a miracle from
History. Fallen into lethargy during 4 centuries it ignored
industrialization and therefore his magnificent constructions remained
unspoiled. By visiting it, you will make a journey into Time, the
epoch of splendor of the Duke of Burgundy's court, and also discover
the more secret romantic facets of the Flemish soul.
To visit this city I recommend you 3 things:
1. Bruges is an incomparable romantic city, so come in couple. You
will forge souvenirs for a lifetime, strolling hand in hand along the
canals, even under the rain. The small intimate restaurants and
cordial cafes, will shelter your love-affairJ.
2. High season is not the best moment to go. The city is literally
overwhelmed with visitors. So better try the week ends in springtime,
when the jonquils cover the Beguinage lawns, or when comes the fall
and you can stroll along the embankment of antique and collectibles
merchant stands or profit fully of the treasures of Flemish painting
in the Groeninge Museum and Memlinc Museum.
3. And this is an order! The city is totally unfit for the automobile,
and the best surprises will come if you ride along by bicycle. You
will get lost in the small streets and that's the best thing that
could happen to you. Around a corner a canal or a bridge will suddenly
appear, a church ignored by the crowd, an old tavern where the time
stopped or the very dignified guild of ancient bow shooters practicing
their sport.
A self guided walk in Bruges, prepare your walking shoes!!!
It is an illusion to see all in Bruges in one day. I'll give you an
itinerary in two parts: it will cover full two days. You will have
visited about 90% of the museums and monuments.
First part will be on foot. the second is best to do by bike.
You can of course always ignore my advice and loiter around as you
please, cause the charm of Bruges is also the lounging and strolling
at random along the canals and streets.
1. The Tourist Office is nestled at the "BURG" in the ancient
"Justitiepaleis" People working there are highly competent and treat
you with angel's patience.
2. City Hall is a jewel of Gothic art, dating from 1421. It is not
build out of bricks but of stone. In the Middle Ages it showed some
prestige. A dazzling facade!! Inside you should visit the Gothic Hall.
3.The Basilica of the Holy Blood (Heilig Bloed Basiliek) Very
peculiar. It's in fact a double church. A first Roman style building
was imbricated in a later build Gothic church, the whole thing being
connected with a beautiful exterior Renaissance stairway. On a Rococo
altar you can see the precious relic contains the holy blood brought
by Thierry d'Alsace during the 12th century (the legend says he
received a few drops of Jesus blood from the Patriarch of Jerusalem
during a crusade)
Just next to City Hall you will see a little passage under a cute
little arch leading to street with a bizarre name: Blinde Ezelstraat
(Blind Donkey street) going down to the "Reie", a waterway. The view
from the bridge in both directions is full of charm. On the left the
Fishmarket, a gift from Napoleon Bonaparte. To the right, the
"Huidevettersplein" ( Tanners place) where they used to tan the
leather.
Continue after the plein, pass the excursion boats landing and you
arrive at the"Rozenhoedkaai" (Rosary Embankment) where the wooden
houses, the water, the ivy, the willows, the belfry, the City Hall
turrets........
The promenade goes on along the Duyver and while walking the canals
you see clearly the social stratification of the ancient city.: to the
patricians and rich merchants the houses with a pier, to the handy
craftsmen the houses with a gable-end, the lower class the small low
little houses. Along the Dyver, on week ends you have a permanent,
bric a bric, second hand junk market.
4. The Groeninge Museum. A must, even if you don't like paintings.
Absolutely one of the most dazzling collections of Flemish Primitives.
Van Eyck, Hugo Van der Goes, Rogier Van der Weyden, Hans Memling,
Gerard David,Hieronymus Bosch, Brueghel !!! There is also a modern art
section featuring Magritte, Delvaux and others.
5. Just next is the Brangwyn for them who love lace. Very important
collection.
6. Gruuthuse Museum, collection of furniture, weapons, all sorts of
tools used in the past centuries, tapestries, coins and so on...
Trough the gardens of the Gruuthuse walk towards the small St.
Boniface bridge, and watch from that bridge all boats going to the
Beguinage. It's an out of this world image, surrounded by all this
images and impressions of long gone ages.
My last article left us on the St.Boniface bridge. We are just at the
great " Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk" (Our Lady church). Build in scaldic
gothic during the 13th century is remarkable by the 122 meters (nearly
400 feet) tower rising over Brugge. It is the highest known brick
construction in the world. As soon as you enter your attention will go
on the right side to the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin where you can
admire a "Virgin and child" from Michael Angelo, a youth work in white
marble. In this church are buried in a mausoleum Marie de Bourgogne
and her father Charles le Téméraire
In front of the church you'll see Saint John Hospital. There is the
Memling Museum ( see below) and an ancient pharmacy set in a small
cloister with a cute well. In the rear part of the renovated hospital
several halls were organized for temporary art exhibitions. Along the
canal is a very agreeable cafeteria, the brasserie "Promenade".
The Memling Museum is situated in the chapel of the hospital. This
immense Flemish painter of the 15th century, world renowned, has only
six major works (but what works!!!!) . The place was specially
designed for these paintings, rare privilege!!
Leaving St.John Hospital make a right into the very busy
Katelijnestraat and immediately you'll see left and right
(Stoofstraat) corridor entrances surmounted by a name and a date. Go
and look closer, you're in front oft the "Godshuisjes " or "Maisons
Dieu" in French. These houses are a typical urban and social Bruges
phenomena.
Along the Stoofstraat you strand on the Walplein, small shadowed
square where another main Bruges attraction appears : "Brasserie
Straffen Hendrik" Guided visit every hour to see how they made and
make now that special beer. The cooper's workshop and a tavern from
1900 end the visit, which could be much shorter if you would not have
to listen to the soporific comments of the guide in four languages. A
good point nevertheless: the view from the roof is magnificent and the
beer tasting is included in the ticket price.
Through the Wijngaardstraat you arrive at one of the most
emblematically sites of Bruges: Het Prinselijk Begijnhof Ten
Wijngaerde". This convent of Beguines is to Bruges what the Eiffel
tower is to Paris: a postcard!! There is an inexpressible poetry
fleeing into the atmosphere as if a divine grace was present in the
soughing of the wind in the foliage. The impressionist light of the
sun on the lawns marked with jonquils (it was around Easter), the
toddling of a nun hurrying to the chapel, the red and white frontlet
of the cottages hidden the low walls of their garden, all this
contributes to make of the Beguinage a place blessed by the angels.
The place is now occupied by a Benedictine congregation. A little
Beguine house is laid out for visits and transformed into a small
museum.
You can continue along another very romantic sight "The Minnewater" or
the " Lake of Love". At the end of the pond, to get back into city
center take the Katelijnestraat, H.Geestestraat, see the St.Salvator
Cathedral and to the right, strolling along the very commercial
Steenstraat, you will be back at the "Markt", center of Brugge where
the Belfry visit will start the second part of the visit, which means
new day! You will be exhausted by now ;-)
As a pleasant extension to all that walking in Bruges you can take a
boat ride along the canals. You have 5 piers where you can embark, no
fixed schedules. They wait until the boat is full to depart. Usually
running from 10-18 h and in wintertime only on weekends and during
vacation periods like Christmas. If the commentary during the trip is
very dull and not interesting (they have to satisfy everybody in 5 or
6 languages) the boat uses during 30-min. passages where only a boat
can come. And if during the navigation some nauseous emanation will
tickle your nostrils, be sure that the municipality makes immense
efforts to cleanse and purify the canals. But Bruges is the victim of
his own success: 15 years ago a development study had foreseen a
tourist frequency of 500.000 a year. In 1994 Bruges had 4 million
visitors!!! This explains that.
Where to eat in Bruges? http://home.earthlink.net/~primos/
Jack
My Paris, Ile -de-France and Languedoc-Roussillon posts on
http://www.worldtable.com/Jack/guides.html
Amsterdam,Provence Cote d'azur, Normandy landing beaches and
memorials, Loire valley and its chateaux,
Languedoc-Roussillon,Belgium,and Dublin posts are now available on
http://home.earthlink.net/~primos/
OCwarner
RobCan
Netherlands. About three hours to Schiphol, for Amsterdam or The Hague.