A great day out in Europe
 

Hi guys,

I'm a pilot based at Southend. I'm looking for a nice trip abroad, not too far (1-2hrs each way), but somewhere to spend the whole day in a nice European city. Any ideas?

I've done most of northern France, so I thought about Belgium? Brugge is meant to be nice but it doesn't seem to have an airfield. I haven't done Deauville either, not sure what's there.

I'm also happy to get the train from the airfield too.

Not sure if this is really the right place as I'm more concerned with the quality of the town than the airfield, but if any of you have any good ideas I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks.

I really like Belgium, probably more than France. Been to Oostende several times over the years the airport is straightforward and easy, good service and moderately priced. I've generally done an overnight trip, bit of a hike from up here, stopped at Southend for fuel & customs on the way out last time as it happens. Always stayed in the town itself, which is quite nice in my opinion, however Brugge seems to be about 15 miles away from the airport, which you may think is doable for a daytrip.

There is also here Aeroclub Brugge > Home but it's as far to the SE of Brugge as Ostend is to the NW, so possibly not worth the extra distance. Don't know if they can do arrivals from UK either, or English R/T, guess you could check it out.

ELLX Luxembourg? A little bit further but worth the trip!

Thanks for your input. I think that airfield may be a little far out for Brugge, but thanks for spotting it!

What about Deauville? Is the town there nice? Of course there's always the channel islands...

Luxembourg sounds good - aren't there lots of restricted areas to negotiate in Southern Belgium though? I find Jeppesen maps so unclear at times...

From Deauville, the popular destination is the port of Honfleur. A charming old fishing port with lots of good restaurants.

Lille. Easy ATC from Lille Approach at the FIR boundary. Good airport and links into town. Enjoy :)

Antwerp's a nice GA friendly airport with good access to the city. For Brugge, fly to Ostend and take the train.

I'd go for Antwerp, too. You can easily spend one day or more in the city and the airport has customs...

Schiphol, then bus to Amsterdam?

(You won't be left with much change from 300 euro, after you've paid for ATC, handling and landing, but you do get the thrill of landing at a major international airport. And the procedures are actually very straightforward.)

ELLX
 

I often fly into Luxembourg if anyone want help with a trip contact me

Pete
07976 262833

The town of Deauville is itself well worth a visit, not just Honfleur. There are bus services from the airport but they are infrequent out of peak times and adherence to the timetable seems poor. Taxis are readily available though they are not cheap and it's easy to be ripped off.

If you go to Antwerp be sure to go to the museum on the field. Most people don't even know its there.

This one: Stampe & Vertongen Museum

What about Rotterdam? If you have to go to the Netherlands, its cheaper than Schipol. Train links are superb if you insist in going to Amsterdam, plus they are cheap...well alot cheaper than UK.

Thanks everyone - certainly got lots of places on the 'to do' list now! Just need to decide now, but the Lille suggestion seems good. A nice city, a fairly short flight...