We are considering a family trip to Belgium over Christmas, and are excited to explore the Christmas markets since many in Belgium are open until early January. We plan to make a “home base” in Brussels or Antwerp and then do day trips to Bruges and Ghent and others to avoid changing hotels frequently, and having some consistency for our daughter who has not yet traveled overseas.
However, I don’t have a good feel for what to expect will be open or closed around the holidays. Are stores and restaurants likely to be closed or will we find things open as usual? I should note I’m mostly asking for the larger cities here - I realize things will vary widely in smaller towns.