The Best of Belgium
Why Belgium
I built this gay Belgium tour because it’s one of the easiest places in the world to travel as a gay couple, and most people overlook it. Belgium was among the first countries anywhere to open marriage to same-sex couples, and you feel that ease on the ground rather than in a brochure — it simply isn’t a question here. What I love for my clients is the scale: four cities you can hold in a single relaxed week, each with real character, none of them exhausting. Great art, the best beer and chocolate on earth, gabled houses over still water — and a welcome that’s matter-of-fact rather than performative. It’s a trip for people who’d rather go deep on a small, beautiful country than skim a big one, and it sits naturally beside the other European journeys I design.
When to go
April–June and September–October
Ideal length
8 days, 7 nights
Price
From $7,200 pp
(tailor-made — varies by season and choices)
The trip in a nutshell
Belgium is small, and that’s the gift of it. In one easy week you move through four cities that each feel like a different mood — and you never spend a day in transit to do it. We start in Brussels, with a welcome dinner in a place that’s been part of the city’s gay life for years, and a morning walk through its queer history. Then the medieval water-cities: Ghent, younger and more lived-in than its postcard reputation, and Bruges, all canals and quiet. We finish in Antwerp — fashion, diamonds, and one of the most relaxed gay scenes in northern Europe. Trains do the moving; you do the looking.
What we take care of
A tailor-made itinerary, built around your pace
Handpicked hotels in the right neighborhoods
Local experts, guides and key reservations
Private door-to-door transfers
Experiences designed around you, never a checklist
24/7 support — before and during your trip
Who this is for
This route is for the couple who loves art, history and good living and would rather travel slowly through a small country than race across a big one. For the two men who want museums and Old Masters in the morning and a beer-and-chocolate afternoon, who like a town they can walk end to end, and who want to be openly, easily themselves the whole time — which, in Belgium, is simply how it is.
First-timers to the country, or returning travelers who’ve only ever changed trains here, both come away surprised by how much is packed into one gentle week. If you’re new to the way I work, here is how a tailor-made trip comes together.
Sample itinerary
A starting point, never a fixed menu — we shape every day around you. This is how I’d pace a gay Belgium tour over eight days: two nights each in Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp, one in Bruges, and everything a short train apart, so the days stay unhurried.
DAY 1 — Brussels | Arrival and a welcome dinner
A private transfer from the airport into the center and time to settle in. In the evening, a welcome dinner in a spot that’s been part of Brussels’ gay life for years — the right, low-key way to start the trip.
DAY 2 — Brussels | The queer city
A morning walk through the city’s LGBTQ+ history with a private guide, then a long, traditional lunch. In the afternoon, a relaxed tasting stroll — you mix your own cocktail, sample local beers, and (this being Belgium) the chocolate that goes with them. The evening is yours.
DAY 3 — Ghent | The city from the water
A short train to Ghent — under an hour — and bags to the hotel. A canal cruise to read the city from the water, lunch by the quay, and a climb up the belfry, the tallest in Belgium and a UNESCO landmark, for the same view from above. The evening is free.
DAY 4 — Ghent | Art through a queer lens
A morning at the Museum of Fine Arts through a queer lens, then Gravensteen, the moated medieval castle right in the heart of town. Ghent is a student city, so the evening hums — easy to find a good table or a quiet bar.
DAY 5 — Bruges | Flemish masters and still canals
A twenty-minute hop to Bruges. A guided hour in the Groeningemuseum — six centuries of Flemish art — then the city’s beer story told properly, tasting included, and a slow boat along the canals. With the day-trippers gone by evening, Bruges turns hushed and yours.
DAY 6 — Antwerp | Diamonds, chocolate and the gay quarter
On to Antwerp, the world’s diamond capital and Belgium’s coolest city. A local lunch, then the country’s biggest chocolate museum for a proper tasting, and a walk through Antwerp’s gay quarters with a guide. The rest of the day is open — for the boutiques, or just a terrace.
DAY 7 — Antwerp | At your own pace
A morning at the diamond museum, then lunch in view of the great Gothic cathedral before you step inside. The afternoon is unstructured by design — fashion, a last beer, a final dinner in a city that makes it very easy to relax.
DAY 8 — Departure | Home from Brussels
A relaxed morning, then the train from Antwerp to Brussels Airport for your onward flight — already planning the next one.
Hotels we love
A handful of stays, chosen for character, location and quiet — never a chain, never a compromise. These are the kind of places we book; the exact properties flex with your dates and taste.
Le Dixseptième, Brussels
A 17th-century residence on a quiet street a couple of minutes from the Grand-Place. Small, characterful and central — the grand squares, the galleries and the city’s gay nightlife are all an easy walk away.
Hotel Harmony, Ghent
A family-run hotel on the Kraanlei canal, in the old Patershol quarter. Gravensteen castle is a minute away on foot, the belfry a short stroll, and there’s a terrace on the water for the end of the day.
Hotel De Orangerie, Bruges
A 15th-century former convent on the Dijver canal, with just twenty rooms, each decorated differently. It’s a few minutes from the Markt and the Groeningemuseum — and right on the water once the day-trippers have gone.
Hotel Julien, Antwerp
Two restored 16th-century townhouses in the historic center, with twenty-one rooms, a private spa and a rooftop. Understated and residential — the cathedral, the boutiques and the old-town bars are all close by.
Make this itinerary yours
This is a starting point, not a fixed package. Tell me your dates and how you like to travel — more art or more food, an extra night in the city you fall for — and within 48 hours I’ll come back with a gay Belgium tour shaped around the two of you.