Visiting Belgium & The Netherlands In December

You could definitely spend a lot more than one day in Brussels but if you don't have more time, I would suggest wandering around the city center and maybe going to one of the museums that interests you the most. I visited Brussels in December so I wanted to check out some of the more decorative Christmas windows and also visited BOZAR to see a David Hockney exhibit. 

Tervuren is a small village in Flanders. It's a stone's throw away from Brussels. I highly recommend to visit it as a one day trip. If you're not charmed by cute, little streets then I'm sure you'll enjoy visiting the Royal Museum for Central Africa. It's an ethnography and anthropology musem that focuses on the Congo (that is a former Belgian colony) but also extends the exhibit to other parts of the continent. The museum is surrounded by a beautiful park that, if weather allows, is definitely worth a visit.

Leuven is the biggest city in the Flemish Brabant province with the largest and oldest university in Belgium. You can admire some stunning architecture in the center of the city. It's hard to miss it but just in case, make sure not to miss Leuven City Hall. It looks amazing, especially the way it's illuminated at night. 

We came to Maastricht for lunch and a walk. We were very lucky with weather as it was sunny. Chilly but sunny. If you don't have a lot of time, I recommend focusing on the center of the city. There's some lovely architecture in Maastricht as is has many rijksmonumenten (national heritage buildings), the second highest number in the Netherlands. We popped into a gorgeous book store to do some Christmas shopping. It's called Book Store Dominicanen and it's located in the medieval church. You'll find plenty of Dutch but also English titles here. I highly recommend to visit this place, even if you're not a bookworm. Inside, you'll also find a nice cafe where you can enjoy some snacks and a drink in a truly heavenly ambiance.