Overnight in Ghent worthwhile?

You do have another option, because the unreserved local trains are so frequent and cheap, you could visit Ghent from Brussels, and avoid an extra hotel stay. Perhaps it depends on your "list" for Brussels. The three "long" visits in Ghent are the Mystic Lamb paintings, the Castle of the Counts, and the art museum. You can't do all three in 5 hours, and the Mystic Lamb requires a timed reservation. It's a nice old-town visit, but most people think Bruges is even more attractive. Note that the train station is (?) 3/4 mile from the "old town". Walk or take the bus.

I have the feeling that taking five hours in Ghent without a second ticket to Brussels may be a ticket violation. Not sure.

I personally like Antwerp better than Brussels. I think it is fair to say there is more art in Antwerp than Ghent, but the Mystic Lamb is pretty important. The swell architecture is more dispersed in Antwerp, and more concentrated in Ghent. Antwerp is much bigger place than Ghent, with more to do - if not as large as Brussels. But more interesting than Brussels.

I think Ghent was my favorite of the four Belgian cities I visited (Bruges, Antwerp, and Brussels being the other three). And while the Ghent Altarpiece is probably the most important thing to see there, my favorite thing in Ghent was just wandering the streets, especially at night when it is delightfully lit up. I thought the Castle of the Counts was far more interesting from the outside than from the inside, so you could save time by skipping that. The Museum of Fine Arts is definitely worth a visit.

If you can stay overnight, you won't regret it. To quote Rick Steves, "Ghent is the kind of town that you visit for a few hours…and find yourself wishing you had a few days."

But if you only have five hours, you could certainly enjoy your time there and leave wishing for more. It's really just a question of how much you would detest the two one-night stays versus a two-night stay in Brussels.

I feel Ghent is worth an overnight. With only backpacks changing hotels isn’t a big deal.

I agree with everything Lane said.

Thanks Don!

I failed to point out that it's technically simple and reasonable to stay in one place in this area, and daytrip by train to the cities that interest you. Those who love Bruges like to enjoy the city before and after the daytrippers, which is a different issue. But wherever you sleep, it's easy to go somewhere else for the day. I personally don't like switching hotels, and the walk to the train station is almost a bonus, additional walking of an interesting city.

Bruges is a little far from Brussels, so that's another argument for Antwerp to sleep, but you didn't express any interest in Antwerp in your OP. The point I was trying to make earlier is that for a capital city, Brussels is not as glamorous or interesting as many other capital cities. The unified ancient and modern art museums in Brussels have a host of important works, but few posters here prioritize that over "atmosphere." I think it's fair to say that Antwerp has more cheap sleeps than Bruges, and far more museums.

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

Besides going to Brussels for your flight, are you at all interested in seeing Brussels? Or will already have seen Brussels? If so Antwerp works just as well for your last night. Most overlook the fact that the time from Antwerp station to the Brussels airport (30 to 45 minutes) is the same as the time from your hotel in Brussels to Brussels airport. Antwerp is much more relaxing an old world city than Brussels. You could still stop in Ghent, I would suggest an overnight, then last night in Amntwerp.

Thanks all for the great replies! Love the variety of takes. We will do the overnight in Ghent, staying in the old city, and doing most of what's in RS's guide. I do want to spend our last day in Brussels to walk the city and hit some beer spots, but we can easily consolidate that to Friday afternoon. I appreciate all the Antwerp comments, I will dive back to my RS book and see if there's room to add in any time here Friday morning. The spark for all of this was getting out of Bruges on Ascension day, but still having two full days to hit all the sights there. We originally had breaks in Antwerp on way from Delft to Bruges and in Ghent on way from Bruges to Brussels. However, we had to shrink the timeline coming in from Delft to give more time in Bruges. Bonus points for anyone offering their favorite, must hit Ghent beer spots (planning on Artevelde and Gruut) or Brussels beer spots (planning on Nuetnigenough, Moeder Lambic Fontainas, Delirium/Little).

For beer spots in Brussels you hit some of the better ones, but do check out Cantillon https://www.cantillon.be/?lang=en They are an old fashioned brewer for Gueuze and Lambic, they only brew in the winter, but other months you do a self guided tour and try some of the product.

Another Bar I like is just across from the Mannekin Pis statue, the Poechenellekelder. Just a neat old bar, great beer selection, and a nice assortment of snacks, meats and cheeses.

In Ghent, a great beer bar is Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant, right on the river, great selection of beer.

Favorite beer spots: Yo's on Oudburg in Gent; DeHalve Maan Brewery in Bruges