Tour Of Flanders

drewfromrisca

For my 30th next year, my girlfriend and I are planning on spending a long weekend in Belgium watching the race, does anyone have any experience and advice on a) how to get there b) hotels to stay (I've heard Oudenaarde is a good base but I'm struggling to find anywhere to stay c) how to get to the race on trains/bus/driving there. You know the general type of stuff!!!

Thanks for your help

Drew

vermooten

(a) drive is easy; or Eurostar?
(b) Ghent and Brussells are full of hotels. Flanders is pretty small so its eas to get around.
(c) Oudenaarde has a rail station, just a short walk from there to the Koppenberg (well, a couple of miles maybe)

Enjoy!!

Bronzie

If you take your car it's easy enough to see the race on one of the early climbs (we often head for the Molenberg) and then head to Geraardsbergen.

The town square in Geraardsbergen has a big screen TV so you can watch the riders come past just before hitting the Muur, and then watch the last 20 mins on the big screen. Plenty of bars and cafes there too to watch it on TV.

DavidBelcher

vermooten wrote:

(b) Ghent and Brussells are full of hotels. Flanders is pretty small so its eas to get around.

My girlfriend's mum went to Ghent the other weekend. Apparently it's not very tourist-orientated so there might not be much in the way of non-cycling activities. On the other hand, I guess it means accommodation, eating out, etc. could well be cheaper than a popular short-break destination like Bruges.

David

Monty Dog

For the best race experience, stay in the centre of Bruges to watch the riders sign-on at the Grand Place and the depart. If you choose your route you can probably catch the route at 2 or 3 places - but beware, half of Flanders is trying to do the same thing so you need to plan carefully to make sure you don't get caught in a traffic jam. The race only really gets going after Oudenaard - the hammer goes down into Kluisbergen and then onto the Oude Kwaremont, followed by the Paterberg and Koppenberg in quick succession. My suggestion would be to park at the east side of one of these hills - watch the race go through and then head over to Geraardsbergen and catch the finale on the top of the Muur. There's live TV coverage from about 1pm so the other alternative is to find one spot, watch the race pass by and then retire to a local bar for the finish. Most of the hotels near the finish in Ninove / Meerbeke are booked up for the sportive the day before and by the race teams.

teagar

From what I've heard from Flandrians, it is more popular than you could possibly imagine. It's virtually a 'national' (side-steps touchy issue), holiday/celebration.


I'd certainly like to go one day .

andyp

DavidBelcher wrote:

My girlfriend's mum went to Ghent the other weekend. Apparently it's not very tourist-orientated so there might not be much in the way of non-cycling activities. On the other hand, I guess it means accommodation, eating out, etc. could well be cheaper than a popular short-break destination like Bruges.

What was she expecting? Ghent is a great place to visit as a tourist with some fine old buildings and churches. There are also some excellent museums and galleries. It's a lot larger than Bruges, is still a working city and doesn't have the theme park feel that Bruges has.

There are also some damn fine bars and restaurants and a good selection of shops.

teagar

andyp wrote:

DavidBelcher wrote:

My girlfriend's mum went to Ghent the other weekend. Apparently it's not very tourist-orientated so there might not be much in the way of non-cycling activities. On the other hand, I guess it means accommodation, eating out, etc. could well be cheaper than a popular short-break destination like Bruges.

What was she expecting? Ghent is a great place to visit as a tourist with some fine old buildings and churches. There are also some excellent museums and galleries. It's a lot larger than Bruges, is still a working city and doesn't have the theme park feel that Bruges has.

There are also some damn fine bars and restaurants and a good selection of shops.

But Bruges is like a fairytale...

onehipwonder

This is a good site to find accommodation and all other things related to the tour of flanders. I booked a hotel from here when we stayed in Oudenaarde in September. It's a great little town and has the tour of flanders museum as well.

http://www.rvv.be/en/tourism/accommodations

vitesse169

Last month me & mrs V went to Ghent for a couple of days. We saw some of the 6day racing in the evenings & did the culture thing in the day - Ghent castle, museum, shopping, beer tasting etc... We took the Eurostar to Brussells then the commuter to Ghent St Pieters. The hotel Adoma was 500mtrs from the station, & velodrome a 10min walk further on. The Eurostar was £59 return each plus free onward train travel from Brussells. We had a great time in Ghent - people v friendly, comfortable hotel with a quality brekkie..... going again next year.....

fredjeraketje

Hi there, I live 5 k from the centre of Oudenaarde. The place where I live is actually located at one of the (smaller) cobble stone sections of the Tour of Flanders. I can tell you that the number of bed and breakfasts in the area is booming, so you shouldn't have any problem at all finding accommodation around Oudenaarde. Ghent is definately a good city to visit, as is Bruges. But also Oudenaarde itself has something to offer. About 1.5 k from the station, you'll find the museum of the Tour of Flanders. If the weather is good, you should try to rent a bike on Saturday and do a few of the hills.

On Sunday, you could watch the start of the women's race (which starts in the very centre of Oudenaarde), and then go to some spots to watch the men's race. It all depends on what means of transport you have. I think doing this by car is a b*tch, especially when you do not really know the area. I myself go by bike, this allows me to skip the queue in jams. With a bit of luck, I think I can watch the men 6 times just going by bike. You could also choose to just go to one spot. As some people suggested, Geraardsbergen or the Koppenberg are the major spots. You could also go to one of the less popular hills if you want to be on the first line. And to watch the race, you simply have to enter a café, I bet all the cafés in Flanders are watching this race.