We will be checking out of our hotel in Paris on our way to Amsterdam but will have 3 days before we'll be checking in. I'm looking at staying in Bruges or Ghent for those 3 days. Is there enough to see if we stay in either town for the full 3 days, or should we plan on 1 day in one town and 2 days in the other? Thanks.
I think that 2 days is plenty for Brugges, so I would spend the extra day elsewhere. Others here may have other opinions.
one night Brugge - two nights Ghent?
It's kind of an endless debate here and other trip sites. Since it's just as much on the train line, consider Antwerp, which has much more to do, and which has access to Ghent for a day-trip, as well as other towns that might interest you. But there's plenty in Antwerp for 3 nights alone. (I agree you can't pass up Bruges and Ghent.) Because the biggest art museum in Antwerp is closed, the best place for world-changing paintings is Brussels.
Stay in one and visit the other. They are very, very close.
Both deserve 2 nights each at least (I recently spent 5 nights in Bruges and 3 in Ghent for my honeymoon). But I guess you could do 2 in Bruges, 1 in Ghent. I love Ghent and its bigger than Bruges but deep down inside, Bruges stole my heart a bit more than Ghent, just a little bit.
Thank you everyone. This will help with planning.
I would make Brugge your base. You can take daytrips to Ghent and Antwerp from Brugge very easily. No problem using up 3 days. Antwerp is very nice also.
Yes, Bruges and Gent are sufficiently close to each other that there's absolutely no reason to stay the night in both.