Belgium Pre Tour

Once upon a time, Alma, Beverley, Claire, and John went to Belgium to check out venues and accommodation for the Suffolk Singers May 2018 Tour to Belgium.
Ypres is a wonderful town with a huge Cloth Hall (two courtyards, rebuilt after the Great War), a tall, imposing cathedral hidden from view, and a lovely quiet shopping area similar to the old town in Lille.
Suffolk Singers booked to sing in St Martin's Cathedral, Ypres,
​during the afternoon of Saturday 26 May 2018.
As you go out from the town, there is the Menin Gate, where every evening they have a Service of Remembrance including the Last Post. The Gate is far larger than you might imagine.
Suffolk Singers booked to sing during this service
​at the Menin Gate on Saturday 26 May 2018 at 8pm
The accommodation at the hotel is very comfortable, with a bar upstairs and a good dining room with a good quality three-course dinner for €20. There is a bar serving Belgian beer alongside other tipples.
​The breakfast is huge - cereals, fruit, cooked 'English' breakfast, yoghurts, sweet pastries, savoury pastries, fresh juice, cold meats, cheeses, many types of bread - plenty to keep even the Suffolk Singers well fed!
Ghent is a town with a feel of a University - slightly larger, a bit more impressive in size. That said, there are a few shopping districts of different character that go out from the central market, which itself has a large number of restaurants. There are three large buildings east of the main square.
The first is St Nicholas, which is undergoing restoration, but you can visit the east end of the church, with many statues of saints, and very light and airy; you can even look through to the nave which is being restored.
The next building is the Belfort, or town hall, which has a carillon playing different tunes at each quarter of the hour.
The third is St Baaf's Cathedral (or St Bavo). This is the home of the Adoration of the Lamb by Jan van Eyck, although it is currently out for restoration. The cathedral is large with a huge organ; the stone is pink, the people are friendly, and the acoustic is huge. There are many chapels at the east end, and is well worth a proper visit.
​Suffolk Singers are booked to sing in St Baaf's Cathedral in Ghent
​during the afternoon of Sunday 27 May 2018
As you explore the city, St Michael's which sits the other side of the river is also worth a visit.
The final stop of the tour before returning to Blighty will be Bruges.
The original cathedral was destroyed, and it was up to two local parish churches to step up. The new cathedral (St Salvator's) was rebuilt with the help of an Englishman. It is currently undergoing restoration, including plans to move its ancient organ (albeit ten years younger than the Thamar in St Michael's Framlingham) to another part of the cathedral, and add a new organ at the back. 
There are some steps around the cathedral, and for lunch we'd very much recommend grabbing a takeaway snack from the cafe on the Zilverstraat and enjoy the view.
The other parish church is Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Our Lady of Bruges/St Mary's), which is currently undergoing restoration, although the east end is now a museum, and you can enter for €4 (pay at the Sint-Janshospital opposite), which allows you to see the Michelangelo Madonna and Child (destined for Italy but brought by two enterprising brothers to Bruges), as well as gothic artwork and the impressive tombs of Charles the Bold, last Valois Duke of Burgundy, and his daughter, the duchess Mary.
Otherwise you can visit the Belfort and climb the 8 million steps to the top (possible numerical exaggeration but not in terms of how high it seems!), take a canal cruise, or just walk along the canals from Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (via the Bonifacius Bridge) to the Wollestraat to see the Beer Wall, and purchase some for yourself!
​
Bruges is the final stop before we return to the UK, on Monday 28 May 2018:
​no singing, just sight-seeing!
Truth be told, we came to Belgium to check the accommodation, to see the venues (and we were very glad given the amount of scaffolding), and check logistics. However, having done all that, we genuinely had the most marvellous time - it's a  beautiful place to visit, with much to see and just appreciate. The majority of walking is on the level, although take sensible shoes for the cobbles of Bruges and Ghent, and as with most cities the major sites are within easy reach of each other.