Netherlands and Belgium Itinerary v2 October. 2025

I can't comment on most of this, but FWIW we adored Delft. We too are not into pottery, but very much enjoyed the factory/museum there. We figured we would just stop by for a short visit, but it was fascinating and we spent several hours there. The town is very nice and we found plenty of places that were not focused on pottery or blue;) We did not stay overnight as we did this as a day trip from Amsterdam, but we wished we would have stayed there.

Not a bad plan. 3 nights in Antwerp is ideal. Do some advance planning on things you want to do - Antwerp has good transport, but is a bit spread out. The two unified main museums in Brussels alone could take a full day for serious art fans, and there are several more to see. But Brussels is not as enjoyable a destination as Antwerp. There are less-visited places in Antwerp that might interest you, like the church with Rubens' tomb, the St. Anna Tunnel, the Middelheim Outdoor Sculpture Park (long trip from downtown.) Free view platform on top of the (excellent) MAS museum. Look into the easier to access historic exteriors at the Cogels-Osy Lei. I'd skip the Diamond Museum, but the Zoo is nice if you like Zoos. Watch the YouTube flashmob video at the Antwerp Centraal train station before you go.

Think about Monday and Sunday. Many museums are closed Monday (have to look at individual websites), and there are few TI tours in Belgium that are only available on Sunday, like the Antwerp or Leuven town hall interiors. I have not been to the "abandoned 20th century village" that helped to created the new (current) Port of Antwerp - Sunday only.

All the towns from Leuven to Ostend are easily daytrippable by unreserved, very frequent local trains. Many "historic centers" are NOT right at the train station, but have busses or can be walked to. You may be misunderstanding the concept of "town". Delft has a magnificent, very old historic center. But like Bruges, Antwerp, Ghent, and everywhere else, a very small historic place is utterly surrounded by reinforced-concrete postwar-urban-sprawl. Not bad mouthing it, just trying to clarify your use of the word. Dinan France is a similar example.

Delft is a special case, because it directly abuts the major city (with historic buildings and museums) of Den Haag. You can take a tram between them. And you could train from Den Haag to Leiden or Amsterdam, for example. Train stops in Delft too.

Leiden (and Utrecht) are very rich destinations that, like Antwerp, cannot be "seen" in one day. But Amsterdam train daytrips are equally practical and inexpensive.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/the-netherlands-belgium-april-2024-brought-the-rain-pants-needed-the-rain-pants

It's fun watching your trip planning evolve during the course of your previous posts. In my attached Trip Report, I have reviewed our lodgings, including Leiden. We loved this university town.

Have a wonderful trip. I hope to return to the Low Countries in the near future. safe travels!

I think all the options you are considering are good choices. A day trip to Ghent by train will be slightly closer from Bruges than from Brussels (and a little further from Antwerp) but any of the 3 would work. To me, Delft was charming but felt more tourist oriented than the university town vibe of Leiden, but again, either would work fine. I stayed in Leiden and did day trips to Delft and Den Hague. In Leiden, I stayed at the Ibis hotel very near the train station. The Ibis was very convenient for day trips and getting to the airport as well as walking to the city center, very reasonable price, comfortable but small room, helpful staff, but totally devoid of any charm (as expected).