Advice on Belgium / Amsterdam Trip

Amsterdam. I would skip the Red Light District, though. If not, how about Antwerp instead of Brussels?
Three stops in six nights seems like A LOT. Maybe do Ghent as a day trip from Bruges? In fact, why not stay the whole time in Bruges and add some day trips, including one out to the coast to see the Atlantikwall Museum?

Solo Female traveler here as well....

I'll start by asking where you can fly in to from your home airport? From Green Bay would you go via MSP or ORD? Delta out of MSP gets you directly to Amsterdam so if that is the case, I'd spend the last few nights in AMS to position ourself for your flight back home. I'm not familiar with the flights out of Chicago but is there something out of there direct to Brussels?

Brussels is not my favorite city although I visited it quite a bit in the long-ago days when my Dad was posted there. For myself Amsterdam is more interesting. There are some excellent museums in Brussels as well as the Grand Place which is so darn picturesque.

I'd also do 2 nights in Ghent although if you are just coming from Bruges if you get away early you would have almost a full day there.

Six nights is pretty short so you may be in danger of trying to go to too many cities!

Crossposting with G3rryCee and will add that I agree about skipping the Red Light District in Amsterdam unless you are just walking thru to get from one place to another. Rijksmuseum always is good for another visit. Any interest in the excellent Van Gogh museum there?

Keukenhof, the incredible flower and tulip garden, opens March 19. We found it a fantastic experience. Are you interested in visiting?
Have a great trip!

Are you flying from the US for six days?

If you use the search box, you will find that lot of posters here find Brussels not as rewarding as the smaller cities in the area. While it is not necessary to switch hotels (you can take unreserved, cheap trains for daytrips from a hotel you like ... ), you might consider whether Antwerp, Leuven, Lier might be of interest. I personally would not spend three nights in Bruges, but multiple posters here consider it the most beautiful and romantic place in the world. I do not.

Check March weather:
Bruges March 49° / 41° 10 days rain

Antwerp is much bigger than Ghent or Bruges, and has a major art museum that recently did a major renovation, KMSKA. There are several other fine museums, and lots of interesting architecture to see. Think about special plans for Sunday and Monday, due to museum closures and a small number of Sunday-only sights, like (for example) the interior of the Antwerp or Leuven city halls, or the abandoned village by the new, major Antwerp commercial port.

I agree that the Resistance Museum (and adjacent deportation theater) are must-sees in Amsterdam. The unified Ancient/Modern art museum in Brussels can not really be seen in one full day, and has a massive amount of important art. Two examples: The Death of Marat, and The Fall of Icarus. Keukenhof is a must-see if your dates include it. It does not really take a full day, and there are special bus services from Amsterdam and Leiden, if not even more places. When you visited Amsterdam, did you make any daytrips, like to Delft, Den Haag, Leiden, Utrecht, Alkmaar, Amersfoort, or others. Again, cheap unreserved local trains.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/belgium/day-trips-from-brussels-768c7c85-75b9-4374-ad13-ae36967bc521

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/belgium/day-trips-from-brussels-besides-bruges-and-ghent

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/netherlands/day-trips-from-delft

Thank you everyone! I was thinking I might have been too ambitious, so appreciate the insights.

G3rryCee –Love the suggestion of doing Ghent as a day trip as well as the Atlantikwall Museum. I was thinking of that as an option, so thanks for reinforcing that.

Pat and Pam – I apologize, but I should have mentioned that I did see the Van Gogh museum and Keukenhof on my last visit (as well as Anne Frank House). But I will most likely go in/out of MSP so your suggestion of spending the last few nights in AMS to position myself for my flight home is great one!

Tim - Thank you so much for your suggestions! I will look into the links and the suggestions you made.

Appreciate all of your help!

We all like different things. I will defend Brussels - there is a lot to see and do there, and the Grand' Place should not be missed. You should see it by day and once by night as well as the buildings are lit up and there is sometimes a light show. Also the Royal Museums of Fine Arts and the Musical Instruments Museum are excellent. If you go to the top of the MIM there is a great café with Belgian specialities and a view of the city. And you should definitely do a chocolate-making workshop while there. I don't have one to recommend but there are several. I like Art Nouveau and it is possible to do Art Nouveau tours of the city if you are there at the right time - ARAU runs them, but you can also get a brochure so you can do them on your own. There is also a comic art walk you can do through the city; likewise you need a map. The tourist information bureau is in the Grand' Place. If you like chocolate there is the Galeries Royales de St.-Hubert, the world's first shopping arcade, which is really beautiful. It is packed with chocolate shops, elegant fashion and lovely cafés. Of course there are beer and waffles to try - a sit down Brussels waffle in Maison Dandoy is the experience. Beer is almost everywhere - as a solo traveller you might not want to hang out in beer cafés but a beer in Roy d'Espagne on the Grand' Place, maybe a kriek, which is a cherry beer and not very alcoholic, might be nice to try. And if you like antiques, the very elegant Place du Grand Sablon has antique shops and a lovely little church. Hotels: anywhere near Grand' Place, Bruxelles-Central station or the NH at Place du Grand Sablon. Phew! Probably more than you can manage in your limited time but you can pick and choose your experiences :)

Lavandula

With the limited time you have, I agree that Brussels or Antwerp would be better options. I personally enjoyed Brussels more than Antwerp. I noticed in your itinerary that you plan to stay in both Bruges and Ghent? Those two cities are very close, and it probably doesn't make sense to haul your luggage between the two when you can easily do a day trip to Ghent from Bruges. Unless of course you have a specific reason for wanting to stay in both cities.

Updated info for Brussels:

• Two parts of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts are currently closed. The old masters collection and the Magritte Museum remain open.

• The restaurant in the musical-instrument museum is has been closed for some time.

I've just spent 13 nights in Brussels. I extended my stay twice, so I obviously liked the city. However, a lot of that time was devoted to seeing Art Nouveau architecture, of which I am uncommonly fond. That would be a crazy amount of time for almost anyone else.

The Art Nouveau-rich districts are not in the center of town. I'd caution folks interested in the Grand Place but not the museums or Art Nouveau houses that the Grand Place was overrun every time I passed through it.

Three nights in Bruges seems like rather a lot. I'm here for 4 nights because I was trying to combine Bruges and Ghent during a single hotel stay and wanted to avoid the crazy hotel prices in Ghent during the festival that ended yesterday. It wasn't a total surprise that I saw most of the Bruges sights I was targeting in a single day, whereas Ghent looks as if it will require two day trips from Bruges as well as a separate two-night stay. (Again, there's Art Nouveau time included.)

Although I prefer Antwerp to Brussels, I am pleased to post a "gift" link (without paywall) to the recent "36 Hours In Brussels" from the New York Times. Note that this covers NEW and less-known attractions. It does not pretend to be a guidebook chapter for long-existing sights in Brussels.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/07/10/travel/things-to-do-brussels.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z08.cuW5.0h2sLCISXgCO&smid=url-share

"But I will most likely go in/out of MSP so your suggestion of spending the last few nights in AMS to position myself for my flight home is great one!"

Another thing you might consider if you find something of interest there is overnighting in Leiden before you fly out if you are not sold on Amsterdam. I've got a couple of forum friends who have done this in the last year or two as Leiden is just a 15 minute train ride to Schiphol Airport. I have not done this myself so no personal experience but I've given it thought when booking flights.

If you are planning to see the Van Eyck Altarpiece in the cathedral in Ghent, be sure to look at their website ahead of time. You'll want to book a timed entry for this and be sure to include the Augmented Reality program given in the crypt before you go upstairs to view it. This is one of my favorite pieces on the planet. Now this is going to sound silly BUT if you are taking binoculars with you, be sure to have them with you so you can look closely at some of the details (flowers, hands, etc).

Totally agree with Pam's comments above.
We stayed in both Leiden and Haarlem, and when I return, I'm not sure which charming town I'd pick for a repeat visit, as I loved then both.
Safe Travels!

The NY Times article implies the old masters museum and the Magritte Museum are co-ticketed. While there is a very well-priced combo ticket available, there are also tickets sold to the individual museums. Only the combo ticket gets you into both museums. Unfortunately, that ticket is only good for one day. Seeing the two museums back-to-back would take a large chunk of the day. I'd recommend zn early start if you want to see both museums in the combo ticket.