Greetings, I'll be in Belgium for a week and a half on a beer tour, arriving February 28. Which means I'll be there on the March 1 FIFA match date. I'll be in Bruges that day (actually, my tour starts there the next day; I'm arriving a few days early to do a bit of exploring on my own). Are there any football-friendly pubs in the area where I might be able to watch some of these matches? Many thanks for any information you can pass along my way. Doug
Thanks, tomo, I'll give him a few days to recover from his New Year's celabrations. By the way, I'll be in Antwerp for a couple of days (one night) in late February. Any must-sees that I won't find in the guidebooks? Doug
Let me think... Apart from walking in the old town centre it can be nice for example to walk up to the left bank (linkeroever) of the city. You can take the walking tunnel under the river at Sint-Jansvliet (search on your map) to get there. It gives the greatest view over Antwerp. Also a nice visit is 'Roma', situated on the 'Turnhoutsebaan'. It's an old cinema that has been closed for decades but two years ago it was renovated. Now it has all kinds of concerts and stuff. For bars; I can give you some adresses, but I guess the best way to find something is just to walk around in the city and go for something that looks nice to you. If you plan to make it late, there are some night cafés of which the two most famous ones are Pallieter (visited by lots of actors) and Kassa 4 (often visited by famous musicians and a very sociable atmosphere, also during daytime). They are respectively on 'het Mechelsplein' and at the 'Ossenmarkt'. For monuments and squares, especially visit 'Conscienceplein' with its beautiful Carolus Borromeuschurch. 'Het Zuid' is the most trendy neighbourhood, situated around 'het museumplein'. As for other hidden treasures, nothing really pops up that touristic guides won't have in their descriptions. If you plan to visit football stadiums you can go look at 'het kiel', stadium of GBA, which was the Olympic stadium of the 1920 games and 'the Bosuil', the old stadium Antwerp still plays in and which was once the biggest stadium in Belgium. These stadiums might not be easy to find, as they lie somewhat outside the city centre. As you only plan to stay for one day I won't be overloading you with information. I guess you should stick to the tourist stuff to get the best impression. If there's anything else in particular you want to know about, just ask.
I hope you are still listening Doug. There's a bar that shows games on Sky. It's Celtic Ireland and it's listed on SoccerBars.com
I watched Liverpool-MU at Molly Bloom's in Antwerp in 97. That's where LFC Supporters Club Belgian Branch meet. (they did back then anyway) so if you support LFC, you might check it out. If you get a chance, try to catch a match at Jan Breydel Stadion in Brugge. I was able to get ticket to FCB-Anderlecht two years ago. Really great experience. Have fun there. Brugge is a great place.
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll actually be in Bruges for three days and, as I'm meeting up with a beer tour that starts in the city, I do have a vast amount of info on the city's bars, though not necessarily those that might be showing the 1 March friendlies. I'll probably stop into the Celtic Ireland pub on the 1st and see what's being televised.
When you're back in the US please tell what were your impressions about our beer (and rank your favourites if possible) .Thanks in advance
Will do, but it'll be a long list, I'm sure. Belgian beers are widely distributed in the US, by the way, though not very many true lambics and geuzes find their way here. Mostly Flanders red and brown, trappist and abbey, and farmhouse/saison ales. Ah, one week from now I'll be at the Kulminator in Antwerp....
https://www.bigsoccer.com/pubs/ 1200 pubs and counting. Add your favorite and help us build the world's most complete listing of soccer friendly pubs and restaurants.
It depends on what you prefer, there's a few cafés fairly near to the Jan Breydel stadium, but still a long way from Brugge center. I'm guessing if you don't intend to attend a Club game, you'd be better off in Brugge center. If you love Belgian beer, I can warmly recommend De Kuppe. They have over a hundred different kinds of Belgian beer there. Then you'll find several other fun cafés/bars/pubs on the Eiermarkt, which is literally a stone's throw from De Kuppe.
Another terrorist attack in Belgie today (RIP 3 dead). Is it true many young Belgians are afraid to go to nightclubs and restaurants these days because of the terrorism threat?? Or is that just a rumor I'm hearing
That is utter bullshit. I haven't heard of any report of less restaurant or nightclub visits after the Brussels attacks of last year. There was a lot less tourism the first months after the attacks in Brussels, happily that picked up back to normal levels this year.