First class Belgian tourism
Posted on 24.09.05 at 22:51 CET
This morning, after paying 7 Euros each for a return ticket, we installed ourselves comfortably in a first class carriage away from all the screaming kids, scouts and other noisy groups; and less than 2 hours later we were ambling along the Belgian seafront enjoying the fresh breeze, the sand and the sun for a day.
How was this possible?
It was all thanks to a birthday: Belgium is 175 years old, which anyone living here probably knows by now unless they’ve been living under a rock (from a Belgian quarry, of course). And in honour of this event, the Belgian railways would like to encourage you to visit this little country you live in.
So, during every weekend starting now until the end of December you can buy a return ticket to any location in another region for 5 Euros in second class or 7 Euros in first class. Living in Brussels gets you the best deal of all considering this is the smallest region, you can basically go wherever you want for that price. The ticket is also valid all weekend which means you can leave on Saturday and come back on Sunday if you feel like spending the night deep in the Ardennes.
As far as I know, they haven’t been making much noise about this special offer but you can find all the info you need on their website.
I’ll be taking advantage of this more than once.
7 comments
Thanks for the tip. They aren’t making much noise for sure: we paid full price for tickets from Brussels to Antwerp last weekend!!
I took advantage of this offer on Sunday and spent a day walking in the South with some friends. You can’t beat that for 5 Euros! Next week: Gent.
Btw, you have to ask at a ticket desk, this offer isn’t available from the automatic dispensers.
B.B. It is available in the ticket machines, it’s under the “other tickets” menu and called “birthday ticket”.
Please note that the offer is only valid when you travel from one community (Flanders) to another (Brussels Capital Region or Wallonia) or vice versa. So you can travel from Ghent to Namur for 5 Euros, but not from Ghent to Ostend.
Oops, Colin already mentioned that in his post. Did not read it quite well then, sorry.
sounds nice :)