Flanders :
Brugge : Historic city. The major attraction in the country. A city that survived the past and remains in it old original state.
Ypres: I see this city as the capital of WWI. Apart from the war nice but also somewhat dull.
Ghent: Vibrant, nice university town harboring several art treasures. Old Town combining an important old heritage with the modern world. Personally I prefer Ghent to Bruges.
Antwerp : Second port of Europe, funky city feeling and behaving much bigger than the actual size
Mechelen : Nice, historic town containing some gems
Leuven : One of the oldest universities in the world, nice and lively, stay away during weekend as it may be deserted
Brussels : in the Flemish region but independent as region. Somewhat crazy and unique melting pot. In fact a patch of 19 smaller cities, Brussels itself being one. As a result it is more complicated than other cities having one city center. Some parts are gems, some are black spots. Very complex but worthwhile the study. Never try to understand this city to his full extent as this is probably not even possible.
You might consider staying in Mechelen as you have frequent trains to Antwerp - Brussels - Leuven only taking 20 minutes to travel.
Wallon region :
Flanders has beautiful nature reserves but the Wallon Ardennes is an amazing and wonderful area for breathtaking hikes. Nature in Belgium - - > the Walloon have it!
Liege : The birthplace of Emperor Charlemagne . Nice city.
Namur : I love this extremely nice city having an unique sphere
Dinant : The hometown of Adolphe Sax, the inventory of the saxophone. Has a large and spectacular citadel with beautiful views. Nice.
Bastogne : Remember the Battle of the Bulge. If WWII is part of your interests you can't miss this one.
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