This was our 2nd walking tour with Sandemans, and it did not disappoint. Tom, the guide, was…read moreknowledgeable, easy to hear and understand, and very entertaining. We plan to do this again when available in other cities.

A very positive experience today with my free walking tour. Sandemans does a very good job with…read moretheir tour guides and having done this in several cities (Edinburgh, Prague, Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona), this is one of the best. My tour guide today was Maggie. Maggie is a Brussels native and very cheery. Clearly excited to show people her city, she was positive and outgoing. The tour lasted 2.5 hours, taking us past the highlights of the old city including the famous Mannekin Pis, the Galleries de la Reine, up the Mont des Arts and more. Only one downer in the tour, Maggie spent a good ten minutes addressing the atrocities of the Belgian Congo, a topic that she is clearly passionate about. And yes, the tour is free with the tour guide paid in tips. The solicitation was modest and not too much. Maggie also invited us to the beer tour that night which she would be running. A good time with Sandemans. I'll continue to use their tours in other European cities.

When you are planning to visit Maastricht then "City Sight Maastricht's - F(r)ee City Tour" is an…read moreactivity to go for! On Sunday the 6th of December, the founder of this company Ivo Hermans guided us around and through the center of Maastricht, during a 2 hours walk. The combination of his knowledge on - and affection for Maastricht offers you an excellent insight on the city's (recent) past. A voyage through History: from the Romans, with "stops" at Medieval times, The Spanish occupation and subsequently Dutch rebellion, The French occupation until the Treaty of Maastricht in the 20th Century, but also stories about nowadays life in this city is being told in a lively and humorous manner. Gastronomical, Social-Economical and Cultural aspects are other ingredients of this tour. Another fascinating detail is the way how Ivo shows that history still has his influences in (for example) Architecture and Environmental Planning. After the walk, when you return at your starting point, you will be reminded about the meaning of the name of this activity: The F(r)ee Tour. Not in a pushing manner the guide points at the customer's freedom to give a fee, including the amount. Of course, everybody has his/her own taste, but not everybody has an equal level of historical knowledge. As this is a hobby of my, I'm able to have some judgement mattering this subject and can assure you that he doesn't tell nonsense. Please be aware, Maastricht has a rich history and the 2 hours are high efficiently spend. A side-affect of the 2 hour walking is that you get familiar with the inner city, Afterwards, this - together with a good map will be a guarantee not to get lost when you go for a dinner and/or bar in the evening as long as you stay near or in the center. Putting everything together I want to recommend everybody to start a visit to Maastricht with joining this tour. To finish my review here: you will be surprised as well. For more details, visit: citysightsmaastricht.com (there's a link to their Facebook page too)

From the owner: City Sights Maastricht is raised by Ivo Hermans. He is Tour Guide in Maastricht since 1991, so he…read moreknows his city inside out! Let you guide by Ivo during one of the F(r)ee Tours or book a private tour for groups from 1 to 22 persons. We offer also culinairy, tapas, wine tours. The private tours can be given in the languages: Nederlands, English, Deutsch.

Loved loved loved the Chocolate Walking Tour with Beni! Beni was so down to earth and casual, she…read moremade the tour fun with her own personal witty comments and insights. You start at the Grand Place and end on the other side. During our tour, we went to a handful of local chocolatiers and learned what makes each shop unique. We then had the opportunity to select 2 chocolates per store. The tour also consisted of a chocolate making workshop, but nothing special here as you can replicate this at home. PRO TIP: Wear comfy shoes and bring a water bottle!

This is a review of the Brussels Lunch Walking Food Tour…read more When visiting London, we decided to take a day-trip to Brussels for the sole purpose of enjoying this well-rated walking food tour experience. We found the amazing reviews on Yelp and TripAdvisor which made our decision a no-brainer. TLDR: - If you think you're going to have a lovely time tasting food at local places, you will be disappointed. - For the first hour 90 minutes we literally walked in a circle around the meet-up point and finally had two chocolate store tastes. - You'll be told "This is a great place for beer!" "This is a great place for fries!" but will not stop to try the beer or fries. - The "Brussels Lunch" is served in a small tour-owned room (far away from everything), not a restaurant. - At 90 minutes we had to ask if there was a restroom, which there was in the tour-owned room (needs some cleaning). - Lack of checking in on guests during the tour to see who may need a restroom, or a break, or a seat or anything for that matter. - Our guide talked so fast we missed half of the valuable things he was sharing. More Details: Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable of the area and had many stories to share with us, but it was not audience centric. It became more about spewing information, dates, facts, details, regardless of anyone being engaged or interested or not. There were several examples where we would come across a business and he would tell us, "This is THE BEST PLACE to get a (beer, fries, etc.) you must come here for the best experience!" and then we'd keep walking, wondering why we weren't stopping to try these special items. Instead of being taken to a local restaurant to try the mussels, we were taken far off the beaten path to their own kitchen where there were 3 tables, tightly packed in a small room. While being told "these mussels do not smell, they're different than anything you've ever tried," we were overwhelmed by how warm the room was, and the overwhelming shellfish smell had us leave the tour immediately. We've been on many food tours across the world, and we just felt completely let down. We decided to leave before receiving their kitchen-prepared food. We are down for lots of walking, taking in sights, learning new things, however this tour was not fun, not pleasant, and just not for us.

Fen in Ghent is the best! Our tour guide Fen was incredible. Engaging, charismatic, funny and…read moresuper knowledgable. Everything you want in a tour guide and then some! The tour was super informative - since i used to fall asleep in history class it was great to learn so much about Belgium's history and Ghent specifically. The "free" tour (or pay at the end based on how much you liked it) concept is great. Keeps the tour guides interested and excited. Made our trip :) ASK FOR FEN!

Tom was amazing! He was very fun and knowledgeable. The tour was 2.5 hours and was a great intro to…read moreBrussels. Great recommendations of places to go. We had the Leige waffle later on and it was spectacular! Definitely would recommend this tour.

What better way to discover a city than stroll around without getting tired?…read moreThis is what you get with Once upon a time in Brussels! :) but instead of strolling you're actually more rolling ;) on your electric bike that is! Virginie brought this ingenious idea to Brussels nearly 2 years ago. Visiting a city by bicycle is one of the best ways of seeing the place, but with Brussels being so hilly, it wouldn't be a chilled afternoon out. This is where having electrical bicycles that give you that extra little push of help comes in very handy! :) Going around by bicycle you get to see a lot more than by foot and this way Virginie manages to take us to uncommon places a bit further than the city centre! Although, she knows to surprise you in the city centre too! :) yep, the tours of 'Once' are so well put together that they will enjoy and surprise both 1st timers in Brussels and born and bred Brusselairs! :) So, if you're hesitating how to visit Brussels, what to do, which tour is the best, don't look no further, you will find your joy with 'Once'! :D +Virginie is so nice and enthusiastic about her city, she will never hesitate to give you tips about other things to do during your stay once you finished the tour :) some notes to keep in mind: - If you get cold easily and it is not middle of summer and sunny outside, make sure you dress adequately and bring an extra layer, you never know it might come in handy ;) - if you like to be superactive and are looking for a tough physical activity, this is not it! In the end you don't cycle thaaat much, there are a lot of breaks where Virginie will explain you things about the history of Brussels and the surroundings (this is a guided tour in the end, not a bike ride). but you can of course not use the electrical assistance & then the tour will get physical ;)

Thoroughly enjoyed this biking experience. We were a group of four Americans and the only people on…read morethe tour. All different degrees of cycling experience, but everyone felt comfortable with the electric (we actually chose Once Upon a Time over the competitor because you really do need electric bikes in Brussels -- Amsterdam it is not.). Virginie was really friendly and spoke fluent English. Saw some great locations and appreciated her ability to both playfully criticize her city, but also exhibit so much pride for it. Scheduling our tour was fairly easy as she was okay with us paying cash the day of. Apparently bank transfers are a thing in Belgium, but that would have cost us $45 to do ahead of time, so she just trusted us instead. Ask her to take you to the Jean-Claude Van Damme statue.

Fun stop in Brussels! The Atomium is super cool to see up close, and the visit starts with an…read moreelevator ride straight to the top for awesome city views--you can even spot Mini‑Europe from up there. After that, you walk through the different spheres, including one with the history of the 1958 World's Fair and some fun light shows. Overall, a unique and interesting place to explore. We got the combo ticket with Mini‑Europe and the Design Museum, which made it a great little day trip.

Atomium was one of the stops on the TOOT bus tour. I didn't know what Atomium was until I saw this…read moreall silver structure so I knew I had to check it out. The complex has a small restaurant with plenty of outdoor seating and a gift shop where the ticket can be purchased. Then I went into the to primary structure. On each floor, there are photos and information on each floor. On some floors there are neon lighting, or windows overlooking the area or strobe lighting. It was actually a very interesting exhibit/structure. Definitely, check it out - so glad I did.

The peeing boy fountain sculpture is meant to promote fun and humor of the city that is Brussels…read more He's been around since 1619 when he was created by Jerome Duquesnoy, and he still stands and pees proudly today. Manneken is absolutely worth seeing whilst in Brussels. His counterpart, Jeanneke Pis is also worth visiting. Manneken has different ensembles for holidays and celebrations throughout the year.

3.5. This was my…read moresecond visit to Brussels--on my prior visit, I basically states in the Grand Place, but unbeknownst to me, was the attraction. Someone I met in Paris informed me about this place, and I had no idea, it was so popular, or why. On my final day in Brussels, I came early morning to take some photos. Many people were there and I was still equally confused as to what's the big deal but nonetheless, this place remains as one of their greatest attractions.

From the owner: Musée vivant de la bière artisanale par excellence, nous brassons encore à l'ancienne, dans des…read moreanciennes cuves en cuivre, chauffées au feu de bois. En plus de nos "classiques" (la Caracole, la Saxo, la Nostradamus et la Troublette), nous proposons une gamme bio, fruitée, originale (Forestinne).

We had the most wonderful tour with Alan upon arriving in Ghent. We love taking a private tour…read morefirst thing to keep us moving and get past the jet lag. This great walking tour combined the history and layout of a city tour with the fun of a food tour-did I mention it was a CHOCOLATE tasting tour?!!! Alan guided us around the old town explaining the history and showing us key sights interspersed with stops at 5-6 (so many I lost count) artisanal chocolate shops where we feasted of pralines (in American parlance-bon bons or filled chocolates ) ranging from caramel to chili/mango, crème brûlée and more. Most were almost too pretty to even eat and we savored every precious bite. The artistry and skill was amazing and the quality super high as Belgiums like FRESH chocolate. This is a must do on your visit!

Very entertaining and enjoyable, learned some things too. Nick is very knowledgeable and…read moreentertaining. Highly recommended.