TOPIC:

looks like I will be going to belguim on a stag in july... flying into Charleroi. Is there any other towns worth a visit by a stag group in the general area as the same group was in brussels for a stag 3yrs ago....

Antwerp is a great town with great pubs and food.
It's a couple of hours onthe train from Charloi but well worth the trip.

I had a couple of hours to kill last year and looked for a place with decent beer in Charleroi itself. My conclusion is to avoid the city.
You could always go to Bruges (Brugge). Not sure what you mean by "stag party"! Might not be the quest for quality beer, more like quantity beer <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->
Check out my notes here on ICB:
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You will note from the article that if you fly to Charleroi, you can purchase an inclusive rail ticket to any destination in Belgium at discount price. This ticket includes the bus to Charleroi train station.

I was in Ghent about two years ago, going to watch the football, there was a big group of lads and lots of beer so I'd imagine it would be a similar to a stag.

There was plenty of drinking done, I personally attempted to try one of everything on the menu, I think I only stopped for the game itself. And I was surprisingly hang-over free, although there was few "scenes deleted" from the latter part of the evening. The kriek seemed to be a big hit with the normal Bud/Heineken crowd.

There was also a fair bit o' culture there too, cathedrals and canals seemed to be what Ghent is all about.

And if you see Domernack Foley or George Leekens there tell them I said they're a pair of wankers.

I also like Bruges, but it's the only place I've been to in Belgium so I can't compare. As DrJohn said, getting to anywhere on the train system is really cheap!

The only thing about Bruges is that I felt it's more a place for couples than big stag nights. Having said that, with us it was four lads off on a beer tasting long weekend, and it was pretty good <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

What about Brussels? It's not as pretty as Bruges or Ghent but there is no shortage of Cafés and Restaurants with good beer lists.

These days I fly Aerlingus rather than Ryanair, as the price is similar, but Aerlingus fly to Brussels, not Charleroi.