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Mix countryside and culture in Belgium. Touring the medieval farm town of Damme and using it as a homebase to enjoy the hip city of Bruges makes the perfect Belgian family holiday.

Flanders was on our family's must-see list during a summer 2009 trip to Belgium and, during the planning stages, we decided that no urban vacation would be fun without contrasting time away in the countryside. We began our trip in Brussels, a French- and Flemish-speaking city that is three capitals: of Belgium, of the European Union, and of the little known political entity known as Flanders.

After spending a few days in Brussels enjoying the sophisticated city life, we headed across the tiny country of Belgium (nearly 12,000 square-miles, or about the size of Maryland) to visit the rural heart of Flanders, or the "Land of the Flemings." Founded in 862 as a feudal fief in the west of France, the Flemish Region today comprises part of northern Belgium, divided into West Flanders and East Flanders. The main language of indpendent Flanders is Flemish, a variant on the Dutch spoken in Holland, but French, German and English are widely spoken. Before diving into the cultural sights and bustle of medieval Bruges, we paused to enjoy the picturesque 16th century town of Damme, not far from the English Channel crossing point at Zeebrugge.

Medieval Port of Damme

In medieval times, this Flemish fishing community grew into a trade outpost for the French wine from Burgundy and herring from Sweden which could no longer pass through the silted up port of Bruges. By the 17th century, Damme had become a fortified garrison town. Under Emperor Napoleon in 1811, the canal between Bruges and the Schelde River was expanded in efforts to open a route from Antwerp to Dunkirk for his troops. (Holland is only a few kilometers away.)

Now known as the Damse Vaart, Napoleon’s canal is stocked by the Damme Tourist Office for the benefit of holiday fishers in summer, and maintained for ice skaters in winter.

Families in Belgium, Holland and Germany know Damme for its rural beauty, excellent restaurants, the medieval architecture of its village and many surrounding ones, and the nearby opportunities for fishing, horseback riding, tennis, golf, and walking and bicycling. It is easily reached by train from Brussels Gare, and once there, the friendly Damme Tourist Office will rent everyone in the family a bicycle to go sightseeing with, if only for a day.

Cycling Flanders

On flat terrain, our family group ranging in age from 12 to 55 years covered 25 kms with only a few groans and complaints. The 14-kilomater-long Damse Vaart is part of a much larger canal network, including the 360-km-long international cycle route LF1 (the North Sea bike path from Den Helder in Holland to Boulogne in France), and is ideal family-friendly cycling terrain. The local bicycle paths are on top of the dikes or levees that separate each of Damme's agricultural plots from each other, and keep them from being washed away by flooding.

The wonderful car-free ride through Damme offers views of cows and canals, and an opportunity to cross one footbridge into Holland, and another to pull ourselves and the bikes on a raft across a walkway. There is also a scenic if dull boat tour, with some narration, that takes about a half-hour and runs along the main canal. When our tour group paused at a wonderful B&B for lunch, the complaints about biking so much subsided quickly.

Although we only spent a day, Damme would be an excellent base from which to tour the state of Flanders by bike or car. There are the medieval villages of Oostkerke, Hoeke and Lapscheure as well as magnificent Bruges, where families can admire a beautifully restored medieval city recognized by UNESCO. Other summer attractions in the region include golf and tennis, 10-pin bowling, and go-karting in Lapscheure's R-49 Centre.