Day 1: Journey to Brussels Christmas Market
We leave St Pancras International by Eurostar for Brussels where we have ample time to visit the Grand Place and experience Brussels' Christmas Markets. The city's historic market square, with its magnificent guild houses and impressive Gothic Town Hall, is widely considered to be unrivalled in Europe. The festive chalets, which are set up throughout the city centre sell all kinds of Christmas delights including decorations, gifts, handicrafts and unusual stocking fillers, while the more adventurous can take a spin around the ice-rink. The centre of the city is charmingly illuminated with hundreds of fairy lights and strung with garlands, while a huge Christmas tree stands sentry in the Grand Place. We have free time to enjoy the markets and maybe sample the specialities of the region before we catch our onward train to Ghent.
Day 2: Bruges
Bruges is truly beautiful at Christmas, with its gabled historic buildings, cobbled streets, and horses and carts trotting by, so our excursion by rail is not to be missed. The Christmas Market is situated on the main square, forming a ring around an open-air ice rink, and the festive stalls are laden with all sorts of Christmas goodies, including unusual hand-made decorations, brightly-coloured sweets and elegantly-packaged Belgian chocolates. For those who need sustenance after such shopping delights, why not visit one of Bruges' many cosy bars and restaurants offering a wide array of tempting dishes and distinguished local beers.
Day 3: Ghent
Today we visit Ghent's Christmas Market, a major attraction at this time of year, with its wooden chalet-style huts selling decorations, candles, cards and hand-made gifts. Visitors are entertained by choirs singing carols and you may wish to cruise along the waterways of the old town - an ideal way to sit back, relax and discover Ghent's many charms. The town, with its quaint cobbled streets and winding rivers, was very wealthy in medieval times, as it was Europe's largest cloth producer and the Continent's largest city outside of Paris. Its opulent past can be seen in its many magnificent buildings.
Day 4: Ghent to London
After a free morning in Ghent for some last-minute shopping or sightseeing, we transfer to Brussels and join our Eurostar to St Pancras International.
