7 DAYS IN AMSTERDAM
April 1 – April 8, 2021
Day Trip to Brussels: Comic City
In the 17th century, Brussels was a center for the lace industry. In 1695, during the Nine Years’ War, King Louis XIV of France sent troops to bombard Brussels with artillery. Together with the resulting fire, it was the most destructive event in the history of Brussels. The Grand Place was destroyed, along with 4,000 buildings – a third of all the buildings in the city. The reconstruction of the city center profoundly changed its appearance and left numerous traces of the bombardment, which are still visible today.
Leopold II (9 April 1835 – 17 December 1909) was King of Belgium from 1865 to 1909. Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private venture undertaken for his own personal gain! He used Henry Morton Stanley the famous African explorer, to help him lay claim to the Congo, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
You’ll travel 2 hours from Amsterdam and cross the Belgian border to the city of Brussels. This gorgeous city is famous for being home to many Belgian comic book characters, including some you may know like The Smurfs, Largo Winch, Tintin and Lucky Luke to name a few. Throughout Brussels, there are many murals and frescos on the walls of downtown buildings, celebrating the city’s many cartoon heroes! You will get a kick out of how famous cartoon characters can be!
Your travel and visit to Brussels will take approximately 8 hours and you’ll be back in time for the night life in Amsterdam!