Belgium and the Champagne region of France

TheCheeseWench

Anyone have any insight? We are traveling at the end of October and will spend a few days in Belgium (we love craft beer) before heading to Champagne. We are going to stay in Brussels and take day trips to Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp. Is there anywhere else we must go? Aside from Cantillon/Drie Fonteinen we have a "wish list" of breweries but none completely set in stone. I have no clue when it comes to the foodie side of it yet, I haven't gotten that far.

In Champagne I was leaning toward staying in one of the B&Bs that are at the Champagne houses, probably in one of the smaller towns (Cramant perhaps) rather than in Reims or Epernay. We are still trying to determine if it is worth messing with a car for those days or if we should just hire a tour guide to take us to taste, and taxi/uber for getting around in general.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Jells2dot0

I've been to Bruges, Reims, and Epernay, all in the same trip! We had a car for the entire trip, which was fine in France but a lot harder in Belgium. We stayed at La Briqueterie in Vinay and just took a day trip into Epernay and Reims. I was not really a fan of Reims, but there was a lot more to see there. There are quite a few champagne houses and the cathedral. The cathedral was gorgeous. We did not allow ourselves too much time in Epernay, though, so perhaps that is why we felt like it wasn't as eventful. Epernay was far less crowded. In either location, be sure to secure your spot on a tour early.

I really, really liked Bruges. We stayed at Duc de Bourgogne right along one of the prettiest waterways. We toured a few breweries, small museums, and ate a ton of chocolate.  I wish we had stayed there more than two nights.