Trip to Belgium

Tracy,

welcome.

On my way thru Belgium i was in Brussels for 2.5 days and was able to see most of what i wanted. I did miss on a couple thing since i wanted some more me chill time but i think i will go back for them at a later date. I Didnt take any side trips either. But depending on what you want to do/see, i would think 3 days is a good start. When i was in the train station i was playing with the ticket kiosks to see how much ticket prices were to either Antwerp or Ghent, i forget which, but the price and travel time wasnt that bad for day trip.

just so you know, i dont fill my day with to do things but to spend about 6 hours doing touristy things and then the rest my time.

happy trails.

Three days are too much for Brugge, but local trains are cheap and frequent. It is essential to visit Ghent and Antwerp. I personally would allocate one day to Ghent and two days to Antwerp. I found one day enough for Brugge, although it is very pretty. But if you want to see cathedrals and museums, you have to see the other medieval cities too. You didn't mention beguinages? If you are not interested in contemporary European politics or phony attractions like the Atomium, two days are enough in Brussels.

"phony attractions like the Atomium,"

What, is it a mirage or something?

As the others mentioned, these cities are very close to each other. The longest rail trip you would encounter between the four is less than an hour. Gent and Brugge lay within line-of-sight of each other. You could conceivably use one city as a base to visit all the others, and thus avoid the trouble of changing hotels. Everyone has their own opinion of each, but here's the pros and cons of each according to me:

Brussels: Pros- largest city, most museums, most ececlectic mix of architectural styles (including the world's only Art Deco cathedral), best restaurants. Cons- Takes a little more effort for the city to open up to you. Some districts are kind of dirty.

Brugge: Pros- most immediately attractive, several musuems (few of which are all that interesting, however), most manageable on foot. Very close to the coast. Cons- Kind of dead in the evening. A little too touristy at times.

Antwerpen: Pros- large city, lots of grand architecture (including Europe's most under-rated Gothic cathedral, in my opinion) ,a pretty good zoo, the Reubenshuis museum, one of Belgium's center of high fashion, if you're into that sort of thing. A stunning Grote Markt. Cons- The city is rather gritty. More of a the kind of place you visit to conduct business or shop rather than to tour or vacation.

Gent: My favorite of the four. Pros- Large historical district that hasn't been swallowed up by the tourism industry. Hosts a large university so has a pretty thriving nightlife. The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb Cons- Not as immediately attractive as Brugge. A relatively unattractive modern city surrounds the historical core.

I like what Tom has to say about the cities in Belgium.

I have been to Belgium twice. I take 3-4 hours to give Brussels' museum a look-see, walk around a bit, then I am off to Bruges. Last time I was there, I spent 5 nights and loved every minute of those 5 nights; it was xmas market season so there was plenty to see and do. We also spent 3 nights in Ghent, well worth a visit. Both Bruges and Ghent need a minimum of 2 nights. If you are really curious about Brussels, and you don't have a extra day to spare to make a total of 7 nights (2 in Bruges, 2 in Ghent,3 in Brussels with maybe a sidetrip to Antwerp), you could get away with 2 nights in each Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. The train commute between each city is not that bad,maybe no longer than an hour to Bruges from Brussels, a 1/2 hour from Ghent to either. It doesn't take long to get aquainted to either Bruges or Ghent; or I would not recommend 2 nights in each. I would fly into Brussels and immediately get on a train for either Bruges or Ghent; finish up in Brussels. We did Antwerp as a sidetrip from our 5 night stay in Bruges; we left after 3 hours as it was rainy, gritty, dirty, nothing was open as it was sunday, and Rubins isn't our thing.

I just returned from my first visit to Belgium, I would go back tomorrow. I flew into Brussels and immediately took the train to Brugge, spent four nights there and two in Ghent. I preferred Brugge, but Ghent was worth the visit (you can do it as a day trip from Brugge easily). Then I spent two nights in Antwerp, which I loved, and three nights in Brussels. It's fun to get off the train and immediately smell chocolate and caramelized sugar from waffle batter. You could make two bases, perhaps Brussels and Brugge, and daytrip to other cities. Trains are frequent and distances are short. I loved all four cities I visited.

First, is that a full 6 days you plan to spend between Brussels & Bruges, or are you arriving to Brussels on that first day straight off an international flight which might mean you are going to be jet lagged?

Bruges is lovely and quaint. It's small enough that you can see the main tourist highlights in a day trip. If you want quiet, you will definitely get it in the evening in Bruges after the day-tripping tourists leave. As noted above, it's not that exciting in the evening, but it is nice to walk around at night and enjoy the peace. On my first visit, I planned multiple nights in Bruges as a place to just go and relax in between Paris and London. At about Day 2.5 I had pretty much completed all the touristy sights and I spent the next few days walking further out from the central tourist area, trying out different beers, or reading books over near the windmills as I had run out of "must sees".

Brussels I only saw briefly and wished I had been able to stay there at least 3 nights. The MIM (Musical Instruments Museum) in Brussels was terrific. Not sure what was fake about seeing a bunch of antique musical instruments and getting to use the audio guide as a companion to actually hear what the instruments sound like when played. I have zero musical ability, yet I found this museum interesting enough that I spent a good 3 hours walking around inside and only dragged myself out of there because I wanted to see the display of Mannequin Pis costumes at the Town Hall (yeah, that one exhibit is not exactly high culture - but it's also good, kitschy fun and the building the costumes are in is actually quite beautiful and does have a nice collection of "not fake" art).

Antwerp's cathedral is amazing and there are many other museums besides Rubenshuis. Parts of it are somewhat gritty, but that's to be expected in any large city. I much preferred Antwerp's dining, shopping and nightlife to Bruges.

Given the easy, frequent and inexpensive train service between these cities, I would either pick one as a hotel base and take day trips to some of the others, or I would split my overnight stays in between the larger cities (Brussels & Antwerp) and then pick either Bruges or Ghent for a day trip.

As you are learning, opinions about the "big four" of Belgian tourist cities are very varied, and there is no consensus. For myself, I loved Antwerp, liked Bruges a lot (but agree that 1-2 days is enough), didn't like Ghent initially but warmed to it by the end of my day there, and never warmed to Brussels - at all.

However, one thing I loved in Brussels was the Art Nouveau tour given by ARAU (link here). The tour takes you among districts (the Art Nouveau is spread out) and gets you into buildings closed to the general public, so you get value you can't duplicate on your own. Do check their schedule carefully, to see what's going to be on in English when you are in town.

If you are looking for a less visited city, I took a day trip from Brussels to Tournai, and enjoyed it. However, little English was spoken, so it may not be as much fun for someone without at least survival level French.

"If you are looking for a less visited city, I took a day trip from Brussels to Tournai,"

Yes, Tournai really surprised me as well. It could use a little spring cleaning, though. If they ever finish the repairs on the main cathedral, that could become one of the premier churches in the Low Countries.