Belgium and Netherlands Landscape/Seascape?

[Salah]

Hi folks,

On mid August I will visit Belgium for a three-days business trip. Since our calendar is differ than western calendar, I am lucky to spend 8 days there. 2 days before the business and then another 3 days after I finish my business trip. I would like to take the opportunity to explore and photograph landscape and seascape in Belgium and Netherlands.

Any advice please for sites?

 

[Mark9473]

There's no rocks, no cliffs, hardly any dunes on the Belgian coast. If you want tourists on the beach with a backdrop of apartment buildings, it's the place to go though. The Zeeland region in the Netherlands, or the Côte d'Opale in Northern France are more interesting and much less populated. Personally I find the Somme estuary in France the most interesting destination within easy driving distance.

 

[bartjeej]

Can't really help you on Belgium or Northern France.

In the Netherlands, I think the Delta Projects in Zeeland are pretty cool, if you're interested in that sort of stuff.

As for landscapes, the dunes along the coast are nice but not spectacular. The typical polder landscape would give you a stronger sense of place I think. The provinces of (North and South) Holland, and Friesland are the best places for the typical polders.

Another idea could be to go to the Veluwe, a national park in the center of the country. August is a great time to see it, as the heather - those purple flowers that blanket the fields - is in full bloom then. Get up real eary or stay until sunset, and you can get some really nice shots.

Finally, if you don't mind a long-ish trip (Americans will find it short, but for us it's an eternity) to the far North of the country and get on board a ferry, it will drop you off at one of the Wadden islands. These combine both the North Sea with its dunes, the Wadden sea with its mudflats (large parts of seabed that become exposed at low tide, revealing all kinds of creatures and serving as resting point for seals), the typical Dutch polder landscape, and typical Dutch villages. There're bound to be plenty of tourists since it's a popular holiday destination with the Dutch, but for a good reason I think. I'd recommend Texel or Terschelling for convenience and variety; the others are quieter.

Have fun!

 

[tarakanchik]

I just came back from Belgium and it is a very photogenic place. However, what I photographed wasn't as much true landscapes/seascapes - it was mostly beautiful buildings, churches, etc. If that works for you, I would highly recommend a trip to Brrugges, then on the way back hit up Gent and Antwerp. Brussels itself has quite a few photogenic places. I was also a big fan of a little town of Dinant. All these places are easily accessible by train. For bridges and such, time permitted, you can check out Luxembourg. For unique land/sea 'scape you may want to try Mont Saint Michele if you have a car as it's in France.

 

[bikinchris]

I just came back from Belgium and it is a very photogenic place. However, what I photographed wasn't as much true landscapes/seascapes - it was mostly beautiful buildings, churches, etc. If that works for you, I would highly recommend a trip to Brrugges, then on the way back hit up Gent and Antwerp. Brussels itself has quite a few photogenic places. I was also a big fan of a little town of Dinant. All these places are easily accessible by train. For bridges and such, time permitted, you can check out Luxembourg. For unique land/sea 'scape you may want to try Mont Saint Michele if you have a car as it's in France.

 

[Salah]

Thank you guys for your comments. I will rent a car and will visit as much as I can for which places that you mentioned.

 

[Leen Koper ABIPP ARPS QEP]

Definitely worth a visit: Zierikzee in Zeeland, the south western part of the country. You can visit the Delta works, very interesting with its museum on Neeltje Jans on the famous storm surge barrier, the dunes, the polders and the old town of Zierikzee with over 1500 listed buildings. Moreover, in Zierikzee there is an interesting camera museum with over a 1000 cameras on display.

Leen Koper