We will be spending 10 days this early fall mostly in Germany and Belgium. We are interested in tasting beer and chocolate in both countries. We will have another couple with us, we will be traveling by car so we will be able to go smaller cities. We will be flying into Frankfort and intend to go to major cities of Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels, and Cologne with others as options. Any favorite chocolate shops and breweries anyone has visited? Any help will be appreciated.
Beer and chocolate tour
Recent Activity
View all Europe activity »
- 1 Paris Perfect: change of apartment
- 2
Sketches from Italy: Rome, Ischia and Frascati
- 3 Four Days in Seville
- 4 Oystercard/Travelcard planning
- 5 Comfortable shoes to wear in Italy this summer and not look like a tourist
- 6 Palace of Versailles guided tours
- 7 Ile de Re or Bassin d'Archachon at end of July
- 8 Going to London next week but can't find hotel/hostel!!
- 9 UK in the Fall: Trip Suggestions
- 10 Florence Day Trip to Sienna: should we stop along the way? Where?
- 11 Planning my days in Paris
- 12 Southeast England - more planning ?
- 13 I'd like to visit Sicily
- 14 Levanto, Italy B&B
- 15
UK Trip Report So Far....
- 16 Retirement Vacation
- 17 UK flexipass best option?
- 18 The Adventure Begins.. Sarge56 in Italy
- 19 If your passport is stuck in Charleston
- 20 Tour-Free Travel
- 21 New & Improved 2 Week Honeymoon Itinerary Italy
- 22 Bathrooms Along This Itinerary (Day in Rome)
- 23 London Evening Activity
- 24 Netherland -> belgium -> Germany (Rhine Valley)
- 25 Do I Need A Visa for London?
In Brussels:
Delirium for some 2500 varieties of beer:
http://deliriumcafe.be/?___store=deliriumcafe_en&___from_store=deliriumcafe_fr
also the very traditional café with its own beer, À la Mort Subite:
http://www.alamortsubite.com
Chocolates - there are a number of chocolate shops in the Sablon area. All are good. However Neuhaus and Leonidas are distinctly factory-made (usually sold in department stores and some specialty shops) when compared with Wittamer or Pierre Marcolini.
Lavandula
Chocolatewise in Antwerp I'd try "the Chocolate Line" at Meir 50. Mr Dominique Persoone makes fabulous pralines.
He also creates them for three-michelin-star restaurateurs.
He has a shop in Bruges.
On the other hand there's nothing wrong with major brands like godiva and neuhaus.
Do try them first by asking for a small paper bag with a selection of say six pralines just to nibble away.
A great way to find your preferred chocolate.
A big brand like leonidas is widely sold in Belgium but is not as refined as the above.
My favorite place of my husband (the Belgian beer-lover) is Moeder Lambic Fontainas, at Place Fontainas 8. There's another location in St. Gilles, but we haven't been out that way.
On the chocolates, we visit every place we can, focusing (though not exclusively) on the hand-made places. We each select a couple of chocolates (in a bag, not a box), and then take them to a cafe (or to Moeder Lambic), and have drinks as we sample. Choosing your favorite maker and variety is the main fun of it. I think my favorite is Galler.
Another beer place in Brussels that was surprisingly good, given its very touristy location, is Poechenellekelder, across the street from Manneken Pis. The interior is so weird that our teen DD didn't even want to sit inside, but the beer selection is very good! And very fun to sit at a table outside and watch the tourists giggle at Manneken pis.
In Bruges, we've returned several times for meals and beer to Bierbrasserie Cambrinus, Philipstockstraat 19.
People gave me lots of good suggestions for Belgian beer on this thread
http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/looking-for-belgian-beer-recommendations.cfm
Thank you so much for your suggestions, this will be very helpful. Any thoughts from anyone on locations for beer and chocolate in Germany?
Thanks for any help anyone can offer.
Every city has its own beers in Germany, from the Rauchbier in Bamberg to the Berliner Weisse mit Schuss (with a raspberry or woodruff 'shot' making it pink or green, and sweet). There are different kinds of beer to look out for - wheat beer, pale beers like pilsener, dark beers (ask for 'ein helles' for a light-coloured beer, or 'ein dunkles' for a dark beer).
There are numerous supra-regional commercial beers (such as Beck's from Bremen, Warsteiner, Bitburger, Radeberger, Paulaner, Veltins), but most beers are brewed in Bavaria, so your trip should probably focus on that state. Other parts of Germany specialise in wine, particularly the south-west and the Rhine areas.
IMO Germany does not really specialise in chocolate in the same way that Belgium does ... but even supermarket chocolate in Germany is of a high standard when compared with Hershey's or Cadbury. If you are looking for chocolates of the kind you get in a chocolate box, they are called 'Pralinen'. A starting point might be the confectionary section in a department store like Karstadt or Galleria Kaufhof. I have actually seen Neuhaus chocolates from Belgium for sale in Karstadt!
Marzipan, on the other hand - the specialty town is Lübeck. Marzipan (including chocolate-coated marzipan) from Café Niederegger in Lübeck is sold in stores across Germany (again, like Karstadt). Also gummy bears, another specialty of Germany. A good chain of stores selling them is Bären-Treff, which is in several cities; a commercially-available brand is Haribo. OK, but not fabulous.
Good luck, your trip sounds delicious!
Lavandula
Try Laurent Gerbaud in Brussels - a small choclatier
http://www.chocolatsgerbaud.be/2013/choco-index.php
Agree with other posting about Chocolate Line. The shop in Antwerp is located in the beautiful former Royal Palace on the Meir.
Gunther Watte, Steenhouwersvest, has a cafe; great hot chocolate.
For Antwerp beer; try De Koninck
http://www.dekoninck.be/
If you happen to be in Germany between Sep 21 and Oct 6, you might want to visit Oktoberfest in Munich.
'Chocolatewise in Antwerp' I would not only try The Chocolate Line but also Chocolatier Burie at Korte Gasthuisstraat. They organise 1 hour tours in their workshop but unfortunately only for groups of at least 10 pax.
'Beerwise in Antwerp' I think most beer lovers will point to Kulminator at Vleminckxveld because of their selection of 800+ beers. They have also been voted 'best beer café in the world' by ratebeer.com. Unfortunately it is also the least cozy café in the world, IMO.
Paeters Vaetje at Blauwmoezelstraat (next to Our Lady's Cathedral) is good, so is Quinten Matsijs at Moriaanstraat (which is the oldest café in Antwerp) and Duvels Genot at Sint-Aldegondiskaai, right in front of the new MAS museum. This café serves excellent dishes, all prepared with beer.
So far for Antwerp ...