As awesome as America is for road trips, and as much as we love hitting the European capitals, it sure is a breath of fresh air to head out to a smaller city—one perhaps with a preserved medieval quaintness and yet still very connected to the rest of the world. This we found in Bruges, Belgium.

The town is a mere 45-minute inexpensive train ride north from Brussels Gare-du-Midi, and once there, you need not set foot in another vehicle again until you depart; the whole town is extremely walkable, so long as you like cobblestones and bridges over canals. It's also an affordable place to spend a few nights—although we recommend avoiding the months between April and September, when the town is packed with tourists in the day and prices are hiked.

Last month we headed to Bruges for some time in the city during a time of the year when the streets are more full of locals than tourists, and thus we freely roamed around the best places for the best deals, and we'll share our tips with you after the jump!]]> JetSetCD 2010-02-16T09:35:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/1/19/72438/4935

We’re all about Barack Obama and the inauguration, the parties, the celebs, and the hoopla. However, 2009 is a big year for some other world leaders as well. Since we try to be “fair and balanced,” we want to give a little love to the shining stars in some other countries. ]]> kjb 2009-01-19T09:25:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/9/19/0216/79230

Too slow, Jaunted readers, too slow. If you'd been paying attention to Belgian eBay this week, you could've been the proud owner of your very own country. An ex-journalist put his nation--"Belgium, a kingdom in three parts"--up for sale in frustration at the fact that powers-that-be still haven't formed a proper government, 100 days after a general election.

Bids for Belgium got up to €10 million before eBay pulled the nation off the auction site, saying selling the country was "unrealistic". Pity, because we wouldn't have minded owning Belgium ourselves. Or at least the bit with all the chocolate and beer.

Related Stories:
· eBay Stops Sale of Belgium [AFP]
· How To Do A Belgian Chocolate Deal [Jaunted]
· Give Us A Belgian Beer [Jaunted]

[Photo: MissyH]]]> amandak 2007-09-20T09:30:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/10/13/43854/156
Sometimes we think fast food is getting slower and more expensive, but now we've found the right destination to feed our cravings and help the bank balance. This week at a McDonald's in Belgium, a drive-thru customer ordered his meal--probably een Cheeseburger and een grote Milkshake--and drove off with the normal paper bag and a cheery Eet smakelijk (enjoy your meal) from the server.

He really enjoyed it: the bag contained 15,000 Euros (almost $19,000). He enjoyed his cheeseburger, contemplated moral values briefly, and returned the money to the store, where he was promised a reward.

Of course, we recommend experiencing local cuisine when you travel, but just for the record, he visited McDonald's in Waterloo, near Brussels; unfortunately, we can't guarantee the same result when you stop by.

[Photo: o2ma]

Related stories:
· Man Finds Money in Meal [Ananova]
]]> amandak 2006-10-13T09:26:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/4/25/11586/4266

Brussels may be most famous for being home to the beautiful Grand Place and the cute-yet-tiny Manikin Pis, but locals hold a special place in their hearts for the Atomium. A 334-foot structure first built for the 1958 World's Fair and shaped like a crystal molecule at 165 billion times magnification, the Atomium has just undergone a $28.3 million reconstruction.

The elevator--which was the world's fastest when the Atomium was built--now has a glass ceiling, just like Top of the Rock. Otherwise, the restoration stayed true to the original, which was futuristic enough, instead of going to Reichstag route and adding onto it.

In the American tradition, there's also a restaurant on top. Just what you'd expect from a structure described (on the Atomium web site) as "the most astonishing in the world".

[Image via zig/Flickr]  

Related Stories:
·   Mighty Atomium [Wallpaper*]]]> AVB 2006-04-25T11:58:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/4/19/15949/9941
On April 1, the travel section of Amsterdam's sensationalism-inclined newspaper De Telegraaf ran a little piece by Melle van der Velde on "de mooiste dorpjes van Wallonië," or the most beautiful villages of Wallonia. Wallonia, for those unfamiliar with Belgium, is the French-speaking part of Belgium. Photos of two villages appear in the Telegraaf's short article: Wéris, with its Stonehenge-light megalithic stones, and Falaën, with a cute little castle.

The Telegraaf suggests that Dutch tourism to the Ardennes, that forested, hilly region spread across Belgium, Luxembourg, and a bit of France, is on the upswing. This is only logical. Close to the Netherlands, the sparsely populated Ardennes region provides much needed geographical variation (being above sea level), not to mention some fresh air, for visiting lowlanders.

The "beautiful villages of Wallonia" is also the branded name of a rural tourist association in Wallonia. Founded in 1994, it was inspired by a French rural tourist association of the same name. There are 22 villages in the association, and they stretch beyond the Ardennes. One, Mélin, is just a stone's throw from Brussels.

[Image via Andre Wind/Flickr] ]]> artextor 2006-04-20T11:50:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2006/4/10/154931/820

Why, New York Times, oh why did you mention that Brussels is leading the way of the European party scene? It ruined a perfectly serviceable article about the bite-size Belgian burg.

Brussels is a fun little town. It's unpretentious, has fantastic food--both of the starred-Michelin and gooey-waffled variety--and allows the visitor come to appreciate the city's charms, rather than be all up in their grill about it.

But party capital? No no no no. This needs to stop right now. Describing a city in Europe as a "party capital" can be directly translated to mean "Here, there are discos playing the most annoying hits from five years ago. You will be forced to drink rum and coke and dance with strange-looking men in tight pants." Don't be fooled.

Go have dinner at La Quincaillerie instead.

[Image via Daniel S/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Going to: Brussels [NY Times]
·   Tower Comes to Tiny Towns [Jaunted]]]> AVB 2006-04-10T15:49:31-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/