LF 2 City Route - Part Flanders

The LF 2 Cities Route connects various Dutch and Flemish cities. You cycle from Amsterdam to Brussels in 337 km. The culture, architecture and pleasant bustle of the large Dutch and Flemish cities are alternated in this international route with the tranquility of typical Dutch and Flemish landscapes. The cities can be visited very well by bike. You have full mobility, do not have to be stuck in traffic anywhere and can 'park' anywhere. This sporty tour is therefore an absolute must for lovers of city trips. The LF 2 Cities Route through Flanders (+/- 150 km) creates a connection between the northern (LF 5) and the southern (LF 6) branch of the Flanders Cycle Route and therefore offers the possibility of cycling smaller loops in Flanders. Lovers of historical cities can reach Ghent and Bruges via the connection to the Flanders cycle route, but also Lier, Maaseik and Tongeren. Take a cycling trip from centuries-old village chapels and farms to Gothic cathedrals and 19th-century city palaces. From north to south: The route starts in the heart of Amsterdam and runs through the Green Heart of Holland southwards to Rotterdam, or via the alternative route to Gouda. After Roosendaal you cross the Dutch-Belgian border in Huybergen. Through the State Nature Reserve Kalmthoutse Heide you cycle towards Antwerp. The route takes you along the Scheldt quays to the historical-tourist heart of the city. In the Rupelstreek old brickworks and useless chimneys are the silent witnesses of a harsh industrial past. Mechelen is cycled into along the Dijle bank towards the city centre to under the tower of St. Rumbold's Cathedral. At the Plankendael animal park along the Leuvense Vaart you can catch sight of storks. Via the Dijlekanaal you go to Leuven. Hopefully, you have not calculated this stage too generously, just like all the others on the Cities Route. It would be a shame not to be able to stop at the University Hall and the late Gothic town hall and St. Peter's Church. Then it goes over the Brabant hills and through the vast Sonian Forest to the centre of Brussels. Given the short distances between the cities and the proximity of stations along the route, a combination of train and bike is easy to realise. For example, if you leave the Mechelen station at the back, you will immediately enter the Cities Route. The signage on the soil of the Brussels Region is not permitted for the time being. For this reason, depending on your direction of travel, the signage of the LF 2 Cities Route on Flemish soil starts or ends in the vicinity of the Vossemvijver to the (north)east of Tervuren. Linked routes The junction with the Dutch part of the LF 2 Cities Route is located on the Belgian-Dutch border in the vicinity of Essen. Between Merksem and the Sint Annatunnel (Antwerp) the LF 2 Cities Route overlaps with the LF 51 Kempen Route. Between Schelle and Boom there is an overlap with the LF 5, northern branch of the Flanders Cycle Route. And between Heverlee and Leefdal, south of Leuven, with the LF 6, southern branch of the Flanders Cycle Route. Between Antwerp and Mechelen and at the end point in Brussels there is a connection with the Van Gogh Route. In Mechelen there is a connection with the Sint Jacobs Route.