My wife and I arrive in Paris on Day 1 (morning) fly out of Brussels (evening) on the 7th day.
We've thrown around some ideas and would love to stay in Paris for two days then visit Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent and Brussels.
We're also staying in Poland for nearly a month after the first week so we will be lugging around some baggage. Does anyone have any suggestions for setting an itinerary - can't miss destinations, day trips vs must stay locations?
Thank you all in advance!
Hiya, I am guessing that you have been to Paris many times? If 5 cities in 7 nights even though the Belgian cities are close together it seems like a lot of scrambling around. If you have never been to Paris I suggest a minimum of 3 nights before you move on. Antwerp is beautiful, and well your flight is from Brussels, but I would not recommend much time there. I always skip it when traveling from Amsterdam to Paris. If Paris is not a place you wish to spend more time, then hit up Belgium! enjoy
Day
01. Arrive Paris (3N)
02.03. Paris
04. Train to Ghent (3N)
05. Day to Bruges
06. Day to Antwerp
07. Store luggage at Brussels station. Explore Brussels before taking your evening flight
My wife and I spent 6 days in Belgium in 2015, two nights each in Bruges, Ghent, and Brussels. Bruges was typical for a UNESCO World Heritage City...easily explored on foot in the time allocated and a bit underwhelming. I liked Ghent, and would recommend the Museum Dr. Guislain for something off the beaten path. The history of psychiatry was great, but the outsider art is what set it apart. Brussels is awesome. In addition to the the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, I'd add a visit the Musée Meunier Museum. We had it to ourselves which ranks favorably to having 10 minutes alone with Monet's waterlilies at closing at the Orangerie in Paris. The Musical Instrument Museum is also a must. If you're a beer enthusiast, we also enjoyed the self guided tour of the Cantillon Brewery, though I didn't care much for their Gueuze.
This is really helpful. Yeah, I think we want to avoid scrambling around especially when we know having a homebase hotel to store all our luggage would be nice.
Also my wife has been to Paris multiple times so we'll probably be good with 2 nights there.
Yes, the Belgian cities are sufficiently close together that I would stay in one and make day trips instead of moving between them.
For two of you it is worth getting the Belgian Rail Pass, which is not a "pass" as such, but allows you to make ten one-way journeys within Belgium for 77 euros. You can share it between the two of you (so one out-and-back day trip will take up four of your journeys). Note that it cannot be used for Thalys trains between Brussels and Antwerp.
