Lille, France
Day trips by car from Kent, or train from London/Paris

Just one hour from the Channel Tunnel at Calais, Lille is the leading city of the industrial border region of northern France, once part of Flanders. A classic example of a ‘rust belt’ city cleaned up and economically revived by service industries, Lille has become a fashionable place to live over the last twenty years, spurred by its excellent transport links with the opening of the Eurostar station in 1994. A visit would include a walking tour taking in the impressive Place General de Gaulle with its beautifully-restored Vieille Bourse, the Vieux Quartier with seventeenth-century buildings in a distinctive Flemish style (brick and stone), and ending up in the Place Rihour for the Office de Tourisme, shops (including Le Furet du Nord, reputedly the largest bookshop in France!) and a wide choice of restaurants. For free time, choices from: the Palais des Beaux Arts, Musée General de Gaulle (his birthplace), the Vauban Citadel, the Hospice Comptesse (museum with fine 17th-century interiors) or - in nearby Roubaix - the intriguing La Piscine: Musée d’Art et Industrie, a converted municipal baths which houses arts and crafts from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

See also:
Photo Gallery: Lille

Bruges, Belgium
Day trips by car from Kent; or a short stay add-on to one of our main tours (e.g. Ardennes or World War I)

Just one hour's drive from Calais, Bruges is a world-class tourist destination within easy reach for a Day Out from Kent, and perfect for a short stay in comfortable hotels we know right in the centre of the city. A visit would include a walking tour taking in the Beginhof almshouses, canal quaysides, close-up views of St John’s Hospital, Notre-Dame church, the Belfy, the Burg square with its 14th-century gilded Town Hall, the old financial district (where banking emerged in the 1300‘s), and ending up in the central Markt square.  Hear about the history of Flanders and Bruges’ central role within it.  For free time, choices from: the Groeninge art gallery (Van Eyck, etc.), St John’s Hospital (the Hans Memling museum, set in a 13th-century hospital), climbing the Belfry, a canal cruise (45 minutes), and a look inside the Town Hall.  A longer stay would give time for the Gruuthusemuseum (15th-century merchant’s home), the Lace Centre next to the intriguing Jerusalem Church, the Museum of Folklore (a craft museum in old almshouses), and, in Notre Dame church, the tomb of Mary of Burgundy and a Michelangelo Mary & Child statue.

See also:
Photo Gallery: Bruges

Ghent, Belgium
Day trips by car from Kent

Ghent is 90 minutes from the Channel Tunnel terminal in Calais, making a door-to-door time of three-and-a-half hours from Canterbury.  Within Flanders, Ghent and Bruges have always been major rivals: today Ghent makes an intriguing contrasting visit for those who know Bruges - less picture-perfect, but more ‘authentic’ in some ways (i.e. a lower ratio of tourists to residents!).   A visit would include a walking tour taking in the attractive quaysides of the River Leie (with impressive stone mansions and warehouses dating back to the 1200’s), the exterior of the Count’s Castle, fine medieval and Renaissance houses, the Town Hall, the Belfry and Cloth Hall, and St Baaf’s Cathedral (which includes Van Eyck’s famous Altarpiece of the Adoration of the Lamb).  Hear about Ghent’s role in the history of medieval Flanders, its wealth from weaving, and its links with England.  For free time, choices from: a river cruise (45 minutes), a visit to the Castle (fine Romanesque), the Museum of Folklore (a crafts museum in attractive 16th-century almshouses), and time for the excellent riverside cafés.

See also:
Photo Gallery: Ghent

Reims, France
Short stays by car from Kent, or by train from Paris; or a short stay add-on to one of our other tours

A two and a quarter hour drive from Calais (or a 45-minute train ride from Paris), Reims combines the charms of a classic French city with the delightful countryside of the champagne fields roundabout.  The city has many fine Art Deco buildings from the era of rebuilding after World War I damage.  A visit would include a walking tour of the city centre, with its famous 13th-century Cathedral (with spectacular stained glass, including Chagall windows at the east end), a tour of the Pommery or Mumm Champagne houses, and a drive through the champagne fields. For free time, choices from: the May 1945 Surrender Room (where the Nazis surrendered to Eisenhower), the basilica of St Remi (superb Romanesque), a snail farm (!), nearby Epernay, or shopping and museums in Reims.

See also:
Photo Gallery: Reims

Paris
Day trips by Eurostar train (from London or Kent); or a short stay add-on to one of our other tours

The Eurostar high-speed train from Ashford (25 minutes from Canterbury) or London St Pancras allows the intriguing possibility of day trips from England, with up to 9 hours in Paris (Ashford to Paris is only 1 hr 55 minutes). A visit would include a walking tour from the Luxembourg Gardens through the Left Bank to the River Seine, over the Pont des Arts and through the Louvre courtyards, across the Tuileries Gardens to the Place de la Concorde - carrying on then by Métro to either Montmartre or the Arc de Triomphe.  An alternative (or second) walk takes us from the Bastille through the small-scale Marais district with fine 17th-century town houses and squares, down to the Ile St Loius, Notre-Dame, and across to the Latin Quarter, ending at the pavement cafés around St Germain-des-Près.

See also:
Photo Gallery: Paris
Paris: the top 9 sights

Berlin - from 1939 to 1989
Short stay: on-ground arrangements (make your own way to and from Berlin)

With your own private guide, explore the fascinating mix of World War II, Cold War and post-Reunification history that this city has to offer. Berlin has a heady blend of reminders of the Cold War alongside spectacular modern architecture, with the World War II heritage less visible but 'underpinning' the rest. We also offer add-on tours to the 'V-weapon' sites at Peenemünde and Nordhausen, and to Leipzig - central to the story of the collapse of East Germany in 1989.

See also:
Suggested 3-day Berlin itinerary
Add-on tours to Leipzig, Nordhausen and Peenemünde

The Chamber of Commerce building in the centre of Lille

The Belfry (left) dominates the Bruges skyline

The Graslei - one of the quaysides on the River Leie

The portals (decorated doorways) on the West Front of Reims Cathedral

The restored Reichstag building, where the German Parliament has met since 1999