Sunday in Belgium

You could easily daytrip to Brussels from Gent, saving some packing/unpacking. I think Paris will give you more opportunities for things to do on a asunday than the smaller cities in Belgium.

Sounds like a great trip!

Since you don't mention museums, I guess the most common closure day of Monday is not a big factor for you. You also don't mention Antwerp, which might be a little livelier on a Sunday than big-business and governmental Brussels. Have you priced "Any Belgian Station" for your train leg to Belgium? It can be tricky to get the limited number of tickets at the TI, but some cities, like Antwerp and Leuven have one tour of the otherwise secured City Halls on Sunday afternoon.

As it happens, I visited Ghent on a Monday not too many years ago. I knew the art museum would be closed, and that the church with the 'Ghent Altarpiece' would be open. I was surprised to find that many of the smaller shops in the tourist area were closed too. (It's not clear when you wrote "shops will be closed" whether you meant 'chocolate shops' or more generalized retail or draft beer facilities.) My point is that Gent is a very nice walking city, once you take the bus from the train station to the medieval center. There are beautiful exteriors to be seen, even if much is closed on Monday. I'm not a big beer guy so I can't help with that.

Note that some prominent chocolate companies in Belgium, like Leonidas, are not precisely "Belgian".

Yea I was talking retail in general. Chocolate, beer stuff, other retail establishments. Beer is the main focus in Brussels. Museums not high on the priority list for this part. Beer, food, chocolate, and city walking would be what we are looking for out of Belgium!

Thanks for the replies!

some prominent chocolate companies in Belgium, like Leonidas, are not precisely "Belgian".

Fairly Belgian. Married a Belgian, made the choccies in Brussels, the choccies are still made in or near Brussels, and although relatively cheap are reasonably tasty Belgian choccies.

My favourite choccies, though, are hand made in Gent just around the corner from the Altarpiece of the Mystic Lamb.

Chocolatier L. Van Hoorebeke?

That's the one...

Thanks for the tip, the TI in Ghent has been moved to the renovated “Oude Vismijn” (near the castle) btw.

So I decided to train from Paris to Bruges and spend Sunday day there, spend both nights in Ghent and day trip to Brussels on Monday. Hopefully it works out!

Note that some prominent chocolate companies in Belgium, like Leonidas, are not precisely "Belgian".

What, precisely, are they then? Their headquarters is in Brussels, all their products sold in Belgium are made there, the first shop opened in Gent, there's at least one store in practically every city and large town in Belgium, and their presence is sporadic to non-existent in the rest of Europe.

Sunday is market day in Ghent. Good day for what you are looking for.