THINGS TO SEE IN BELIGUM WITH A DOG IN 5 DAYS: 2024 ITINERARY

Belgium is a country that I really wanted to visit, as everyone told me that it was a beautiful country, but due to life circumstances I had never had the opportunity to visit it. So what better than the three of us travelling together to a country that none of us knew. The truth is that travelling with a dog in Europe can be a great challenge. We are the advance guard, and we want to present the information to you realistically. What I mean by this is that if you go with a dog, you can't go at the same pace as if you were on your own.

It also depends on the dog you have, but in our case, we DON'T consider Snow as a dog that is made for walking all day. He gets tired (of course) and doesn't have the same stamina as we do, so this is something you should be VERY aware of when organising a trip.

We went for a total of 3 and a half days, so we do recommend going for a minimum of 5 days, as this way you won't have to rush around like we did to see everything. It was actually 5 days, but on the way there the flight was delayed and we arrived 3 hours later than planned, which meant we couldn't take advantage of the afternoon. And the return flight was too early, which prevented us from enjoying the day. So yes, 5 days is the minimum you need to visit Belgium at its finest.

Before visiting any city, and even more so now that we are travelling with Snow, we always look for information about it to choose what to see, where to sleep, where to eat, what excursions we are going to do and if dogs are allowed or not. The truth is that we DON'T struggle to find accommodation that was good value and pet friendly, but it is also true that at Christmastime accommodation is in high demand and everything was sold out VERY quickly.

The feeling we got is that everyone loves dogs there because Snow was treated great everywhere and they were very considerate with him, offered him water and didn't make any complaints. It's also easy to tell which places allow dogs and which don't, just look at the entrance.

If the local has a sticker with the forbbiden symbol and a dog, you'll know that they DON'T allow dogs, but if it doesn't include the stickers, you should be able to go with your dog. As for the excursions, on the free walking tours, pets are usually allowed on all of them, but on the bus excursions they DON'T, as bus drives are not allowed to carry dogs. However, they are allowed on public transport, so yes, we consider that Belgium is a very dog friendly city.

We have prepared this optimised itinerary of qué ver en Bélgica con perro en 5 días con el que podréis ver lo esencial (y algo más) sin perder mucho tiempo. Es solo una propuesta, podéis añadir y quitar lo que os apetezca. Hemos añadido al itinerario la posibilidad de entrar en las principales atracciones, pero también tenéis que tener en cuenta el tiempo y que en la mayoría dogs are not allowed. El itinerario está pensado para ver todo de forma más panorámica, por eso podéis adaptar lo que queráis. Si queréis organizar un viaje a Bélgica como este y no sabéis cómo adaptarlo a vosotros, recordad que tenemos los consultancy services that are available at a very cheap price..

We drove from Vigo to Porto, which is 1h and a half driving, as from Porto we had a direct flight to Brussels. We travelled with Brussels Airlines, an airline that allows dogs in cabin as long as they weigh less than 8kg including the carrier. You have all the infor about this airline here. You also have our most read post of the blog: how to travel with your dog by plane. Remember that Snow is a trained service dog, so he travels in the cabin with me carrier free.

On our Instagram profile you can see a video of his first experience, so you can see how a service dog has to behave. The flight was very late, and this, together with the transport strike in Brussels, meant that we arrived at the hotel at around 19:30, when we should have arrived at 17:00.

We did the check-in in the hotel and showed Snow our room. As we have travelled quite a lot, it didn't feel too strange for him to be away again. In fact, he adapted right away. It is also true that the room was spectacular, but we'll tell you more about that in the post about dog friendly accommodation. Dejamos las maletas y fuimos a conocer un poco la ciudad de Bruselas. Elegimos dormir esta ciudad porque la mayoría de excursiones y conexiones salían desde aquí, por lo que al viajar con perro nos fue más cómodo. Y no nos arrepentimos. Total, que paseamos un poco por el centro y sacamos un par de fotos y vídeos.

We went to the Grand Place, and as we went during the long weekend in December it was all decorated for Christmas. The square is normally huge, but as it was all decorated it lacked a bit of space, but it was super nice. That night we went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, as we always do, it is now a tradition.

But it turns out that they DON'T is pet friendly, which was shocking because the one in Porto was. I asked the waiter why they didn't allow pets, and he told me that it was because of a health law, to which I told him that in Belgium they had A LOT OF pet friendly places. Then he told me that he had no idea why pets were not allowed there. What I am trying to do is to encourage you to always ask, because sometimes they can't give a good reason and end up admitting the dog without a problem. And they didn't have the sticker on the door either, so legally speaking, they can't refuse to accept dogs.

We started the day exploring Brussels. For that, we did the Civitatis Free Tour, because a free tour is the best way to know a city as they teach you how to move around. In addition, if you have a good guide, they will recommend you local restaurants and will solve all your doubts.

You need to know something about the Free Tourand is that in Civitatis it says that they DON'T allow dogs, but it's a mistake because we spoke with the company, and they DO allow dogs. In fact, our guide, Nelson, told us that they would never refuse a tour to someone with a dog, that all the guides love dogs and are happy to have them on the tour.

So you can safely book using this Civitatis , because they are allowed. The route we took on the free tour was as follows:

• Grand Placethe centre of the city, it is simply beautiful. The Grand Place of Brussels is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful squares in Europe and the geographical, historical and commercial heart of the city. In addition to the imposing square itself, the Grand Place is also home to numerous historic buildings worth visiting:
  • Hotel de Ville
  • Maison du Roi
  • Maison des Ducs de Brabant
  • Le Pigeon
  • Le Roy d’Espagne

While were at the Grand-Place, the guide explained to us how Belgium was built, we analysed the buildings, their symbols, etc. Things you probably wouldn't know on your own.

• Manneken PisAlso known as the peeing boy, it is a tiny statue of a peeing boy, and it is one of the attractions of Brussels. It is really curious. It is located a few steps from the Grand-Place and is an icon not only of Brussels, but also of Belgium. Depending on the time of the year, they dress it with different costumes. We caught him naked, but the guide told us that it is not usual. He has about 1000 costumes, and they are in a museum where you can see them all. But this is not the only figure like this, but I will tell you more about this in the guide of what to see in Brussels with your dog.
• Comic Walls: Belgium is known for its comic book culture: Tintin, Lucky Luke, the Smurfs, Blake and Mortimer... they're Belgian, and in Brussels there are murals painted in honour of those comics. They are amazing.
• Sablon District: where we visited the church of Notre Dame Du Sablon, a jewel of the Gothic style. We went inside to see the interior, but remember that dogs are not allowed inside religious buildings. But as we always say, if you travel with another person, you can turn yourselves.
• Justice Palace: its dome is visible from a large part of the city.
• Real Square: we stopped here to see the facade of the Royal Palace of Brussels, located next to one of the most beautiful parks in the Belgian capital.
• Mont des Arts: the end point of the tour, a spectacular site that personally reminded me of the Trocadero in Paris, with the stairs, the gardens and the incredible views.
• Atomium: this is probably the most iconic place of Brussels and Belgium.

This is a more general guide, with a day-by-day itinerary to give you an idea, so if you want to find out more about Brussels, we recommend you check out this post about what to see in Brussels with your dog.

The next day we had a big day out, because we took an excursion to visit Antwerp and Ghent on the same day, which we had to do in the same day, and we DON'T recommend you to do it. First, because this excursion doesn't allow dogs because it is done by bus. We decided to do it because we had to save time, so we could bring you as much content as possible.

Our recommendation is to spend 1 day in each city and 2 days in Brussels. And pets are allowed on the trains, so you won't have any problems getting there, but I'll talk about this at length in the post of the transport with your dog, so I don't want to saturate you with too much information here.

Antwerp is a city that most people don't visit, they stick to Bruges and Ghent, but it is a very special city. We liked it very much because it is an industrial city, with a spectacular square, Christmas markets, etc. And also where a lot of Belgians live. It doesn't have too much to see, but it is a nice city to spend the day in. We had lunch in Antwerp and then headed for Ghent. We thought it was spectacular, like something out of a fairy tale and with a touch of Edinburgh. We also had the feeling that it was not as crowded as Bruges. And Snow had a great time. Of course, we ended up very tired.

We arrived in Brussels at 19:00 because the traffic was terrible, and we were stuck in a traffic jam for almost an hour. Here you can explore Brussels by night, the markets, the galleries, etc.

If you want to know more about Antwerp, you can read the guide here, , and if you prefer to go to Ghent instead, you can read the guide here.

We left Bruges for the weekend because the price of the trains is cheaper and because we were doing this trip on our own. The bad thing is that it rained a lot, which spoiled our day a bit because we couldn't sightsee as much as we would have liked. Even so, the impression we got was very good, a pedestrian city, straight out of a fairy tale, with its canals (and its fog). We'll tell you more about it in the guide to dog friendly Bruges guide.

We always use the last day to buy souvenirs and gifts from the city, as well as to pack our bags and return home. In our case, our flight was leaving early, so there was little we could do. We went back to Brussels airport to catch the flight to Porto, and from there home. Ideally, you should take a flight in the afternoon-evening, so you can make the most of part of the day.

Snow was great the whole flight, and everyone was amazed at how calm he was, but that's just the way he is. I always say he is a special dog.

Before we continue, we would like to leave you with 3 videos about Belgium that you can watch on our profile on Instagram. This way you can get an idea of what you will find there.

You can visit other cities of interest from Brussels. You can do it on an excursion or on your own, but you should know that if the excursion is by bus, pets are not allowed, so we recommend that you go by train to the destination and, once there, take a free tour. We will be uploading all the content on our Instagram. Here are some other important cities you can visit:

• Amsterdam: the capital of the Netherlands, and a day trip option from Brussels. Obviously, it's not the same as travelling directly to the city and staying there for 2–3 days, but if you're planning a longer trip, you can still make the most of it.
• Mechelen and Leuven: the two cities of Flanders, full of history, art, and culture. The tour is done by train, so it is quicker and more comfortable than by bus. The guides in Antwerp and Ghent told us that this was a very good option as well. As it is by train, ask if pets are allowed, because you might be able to take them with you for a supplement.
• Luxembourg: one of the most expensive countries in the world. We are looking forward to visiting it, as they say it is a beautiful country. Besides, we know a girl who went with her dog, and she only speaks wonders about the country. Dogs are not allowed in Civitatis, but they are allowed on the trains, so ask if you can do something to make sure they are allowed.
• Leuven: one of the university towns in all of Flanders, so it's well worth a visit. It is done by train, so in principle you shouldn't have any problem to go there with a dog.

Even if it is a short trip, think that many things can happen, such as your dog getting sick, getting cut by a bottle (in Brussels there was a lot of glass on the ground), or simply getting sick because of the change in temperature or for any other reason. For this very reason, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you hire travel insurance. We recommend you IATI, as it is one of the few insurances that not only offers a very competitive price, but also covers practically everything, including your pet. Remember, you have a 5% of discount if you book using our link