Hi all, I will be in Brussels from June 28-30th and would love to try the trappist beer at Westervletern. I was wondering how you would suggest getting there from Brussels? Should I rent a car, or is there a bus or train that will take me there. I would Imagine cab would be way too expensive.
thanks
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As far as I can see on the Belgian Rail and Belgian Bus websites, there is no train or bus going to Westvleteren.
You can get from Brussels to Ieper or to Diksmuide, and from there on to Westvleteren you%26#39;ll need a car (or a cab) for the last 28/38 km.
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Your best bet is training it to Poperinge and then either hiring a car or getting the Belbus - a v. good little service where you ring up the bus company (with plenty of notice), they pick you up and take you where you want to go! Here is the link for the West Flanders service - unfortunately its in Flemish but if any of the Flemish speakers on here could do a translation for skruphie3...
delijn.be/over/…
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Translation:
If you want to reserve a ride with the Belbus in West Flanders, you need to contact the Belbus station at least 2 hours in advance. The telephone operator needs following data:
-your name
-the day and the required time of departure
-the municipality and the departure and arrival stop
-if you want to connect to a train.
Reserving a ride can be done max. 2 weeks in advance.
Contact:
phone 059 56 52 56
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I have also been told that you can rent a bicycle in Poperinge and ride to Westvleteren. We are planning to do that in August! Keep in mind that you likely won%26#39;t be able to tour the brewery, but there is a little cafe that serves their beer across the street. Closed on Fridays. A good beer guide by Tim Webb is called Good Beer Guide Belgium. The edition I have is a little dated (2005) and not really well organized, but chock full of information about travel in Belgium and reviews hundreds of breweries, pubs, and the like. Also, visit beermapping.com for excellent Google maps of places to drink good beer in Belgium, the US, and several other countries.
Cheer, and Bon Voyage!
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i have been to the westvleteren brewery a couple of times. it is in a nice enough are but nothingspecial.The abbey is fairly unprepossessing a ot ncer places to go to drink beer.
If you want the beer just drink some in BXL and save the journey.
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Thanks for the tip, Brussels boy!!! :)
I think for us it%26#39;s more of a beer %26quot;pilgrimage%26quot; - the quaintness of going to the countryside, and getting away from the big cities for a day. Additionally, of course, Westvleteren has gained a reputation in the USA for being one of the %26quot;best%26quot; beers in the world, if not THE best. I have had some before, and not sure I would rate it quite that high. We live near the Three Floyds brewery just outside of Chicago, and their Dark Lord beer is highly rated as well. But I personally don%26#39;t like it all that much, and think that the fact that it is only available one day per year raises everyone%26#39;s expectations. However, that doesn%26#39;t stop me from going to the annual release day party. I%26#39;m sure St. Sixtus%26#39; reputation similarly has somewhat to do with the fact that it is not as widely available.
We do plan to enjoy the beer scene in Brussels and much of West Flanders as well. Recommendations of particularly tourist-friendly small breweries would be welcomed.
Cheers!!!!
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