Belgium- what is open on Mondays in Bruges or Ghent?

Mystic Lamb is 7 days, pre-booking necessary.

Antwerp is so much bigger that it has more things to do on a Monday. I would rather wake up in Antwerp-opinion. Many believe that Bruges is a must sleep. I'm not among them.

Edit: I have been to Ghent twice on a Monday, because the walking is so nice. But I missed the art museum as a result. It appeared to me that (years ago) many (but not all) retailers chose to close on Monday.

Mondays with so many attraction closures are the bane of my itinerary planning!

In Antwerp on a Monday this past April, The Royal Museum of Fine Art (KMSKA) and the Antwerp Zoo were both open. The recently remodeled KMSKA had a nice, broad collection. The lovely little zoo by the train station is one of the oldest in the world. We enjoyed both.

Edited to revise my assessment of KMSKA and remove my comment that the collection was “not deep”.

In Belgium most shops are open from monday to saturday. On sunday a lot of shops are closed unless on a "shopping sunday". In Bruges this is the first sunday of the month.

Next to that, a lot of museums/attractions are closed on monday. However in Bruges you can visit Belfort, Stadhuis and Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk 7 days a week. Private museums such as Historium and Choco story are also open on mondays. If you like beer then you can also visit the city brewery (Halve Maan) on monday.

Sorry to quibble, but KMSKA is an important medium-sized museum, with huge numbers of locals Peter Paul Rubens and Rik Wouters, not to mention Goya and moderns.

No quibbles Tim, you are correct. I will revise what I said about KMSKA. They have a very broad collection and I enjoyed it very much, especially the Rik Wouters.

Thank you so much for the great suggestions! I will look into these. It sounds like there will be enough to do for a relaxing Monday.

Sometimes it's also pleasant to break up your sightseeing with something different. How about a relaxing seaside day at Ostend? It's only about 15-20 minutes by train from Bruges. If the weather is nice, see a couple of the sights in Bruges in the morning, then take the train to Ostend. The station there is right by the sea.

Exit the front of the station, cross the little foot bridge, and turn right. That street leading down to the sea is lined with stalls serving fresh fish. Sea snail soup perhaps?😁 Well, I don't eat that (my father did), but you may be more adventurous, or there are more conventional offerings. Stroll along the beach then eat at one of the restaurants overlooking the waterfront. They have plexiglas to protect you from the wind.

Also, if you exit the station and turn left, you will see the Coast Tram (Kusttram) station. This runs up and down the length of the Belgian coast and stops in all of the little towns along the way. De Haan is especially lovely. It also stops at some of the protected dunes areas that are popular with hikers. See this website for some of the stops.
https://europeforvisitors.com/europe/articles/flemish_coast.htm

A bit of fresh air and some sea views will get you ready for your next round of museums!

If you're just talking about major sights, then yes maybe a lot of them may be closed on Monday. But cities and towns are 'open' on Mondays and there's always something to do - walking tours, seeking out lesser known sights, day trip to another town or the countryside nearby, etc. Ghent particularly is a college town so there's always plenty to do any day of the week. And Bruges will always have the canal boats, the parks, the churches.