Bruges, Ghent or Brussels?
 

We are taking a Baltic cruise from Amsterdam next year and would like to spend a few days in Belgium beforehand. We spent a couple of days in Bruges in 2011 but my sister and husband who will be travelling with us have never been. I have heard that Ghent is also a very pretty town. The other alternative is to base ourselves in Brussels and do day trips although that is not my favourite thing to do. We will be using public transport. I would not mind a few days in Bruges again as I loved our stay there but maybe Ghent would be just as nice and maybe not as crowded at the beginning of June. Any suggestions Fodor's friends?

For your friends' sake stay in Bruges - Gent is nice but is a fairly large busy city- vest-pockets of Bruges-like areas but not nearly so dreamy-day trip to Gent and return to magical Bruges at night when day trippers have gone.

Definitely Bruges.

Another vote for beautiful Bruges.

I was sorry I went to Bruges the minute I arrived and I don't know how I would have felt if the decision had been made for me. I had only myself to blame for choosing it! If my friends had booked it without asking me, I would have appreciated, I'm sure, being located within walking distance of the train station so I could take day trips out, even if they didn't care to join me. I'd especially appreciate that if they'd been told that many people don't like Bruges (it comes up frequently on this and other forums, are opinions are quite divided on the town.)

I really my visit to Ghent and think Brussels makes a nice day trip, but Antwerp is my favourite Belgian city to stay.

Meant to write: "I really liked my visit to Ghent"... etc

I loved Bruges too and would like to go back again myself. Ghent is lovely also. Brussels is OK, probably wouldn't want to spend a few nights there but some people do love it.

I'd especially appreciate that if they'd been told that many people don't like Bruges>

Nothing could be further from the truth IME.

The average tourist from the New World will love Bruges a lot more than Brussels or Gent- basing this on leading over 1,000 Americans thru Belgium - all almost were floored by Bruges and some even went back after the tour was over.

Crowds stick to the main belfry square area and lace shops -yet there is a lot of medeival Bruges few get to- and there are paths on the old ramparts that still partly circle the old town for lovely walks with few others.

I can see jaded tourists not liking Bruges because of the mobs in the center- too bad these veteran travelers cannot put themselves into the shoes of the average novice traveler - which they once were and probably once would have loved Bruges - mobs and all.

Gent is neat but in many ways a much larger city with vest-pocket areas of Bruges-like ambience-kind of - the reason most American tourists at least love Bruges:

https://www.google.com/search?q=brug...w=1920&bih=974

If you can hold off I will be traveling from BRU by train to Brugge as I succumbed to the comments about it being especially lovely after the day trippers have gone. Will go to Gent for a day trip from there. So after 3 nights in Brugge will do a day transit trip to Antwerp on the way to Brussels where I will spend another 3 nights.

Will be able to comment directly in October after my trip.

Just FYI: I virtually always use booking.com so there is no deposit and make my reservations a year in advance, you might want to check out hotel rates as well.

I'd do Antwerp - a really neat if not ancient-looking city - as a day trip from Brussels or Bruges to do it justice.

I have been to Bruges a number of times and have no desire to set foot there again, though there is something to be said for being there at night and in the off-season.

I'm a fan of Brussels, big fan, especially for the food, but most people aren't. I've been to Ghent once and thought it very nice but wasn't there long enough to really get to know a lot about it.

But I would go to Antwerp.

Like StCirq, I enjoyed a week in Brussels. I spent a day in Bruges and have no desire to return. Bruges is a place that people either love or not. I'm definitely in the "or not" category. For me it felt too artificial.

Remember, the OP has already been to Bruges and liked it...

Thank you all so much for your comments. Jan47ete, we are only going in June next year so look forward to your comments after your trip in October. I also always use booking.com as it is so easy to reserve accommodation and then cancel if you change your mind. I agree about Bruges in the evening when all the day trippers have gone - we really enjoyed it. We also walked around the small quiet back streets where there were not lots of tourists so will do that again if we go. Who is the OP Andrew?

Thanks also for the pics of Bruges PalenqQ. I am a passionate photographer and for me Bruges gives me such amazing photo opportunities. Looking at those pics now really makes me want to go back again.

buzzcolin, you are the Original Poster (OP). :-)

I think you'll find great photo ops in Ghent too - it is not exactly the same as Bruges, but it also has quaint canals, etc. Even if you just day trip there from Bruges, I recommend stopping in - easy to do by train. You can see some pics from my 2013 trip report (click on my name to find it). mr_go just posted some very recent pictures from Ghent from his recent trip - I recommend digging up his post and pictures.

"OP" means original poster -- that is, you.

No one is questioning "OP" liking Bruges. OP is asking for a friend -- or in this case, a relative -- about whether it is the right choice. As this thread underscores, people's spontaneous & honest reactions to Bruges are divided. Nobody was more surprised than me once I got there to find out I'd made a mistake booking myself into Bruges for 3 nights.

Obviously there is no way of knowing in advance how these relatives will react, especially if they aren't asked. But Bruges is a small town, and the train station is either walkable or a short taxi ride away from almost any hotel -- and hopefully they will feel free to daytrip if they aren't all that taken with Bruges or with walking the back streets or waiting until nighttime to go out.

Andrew and I were typing at the same time.

If you go to Ghent, seeing the Adoration of Mystic Lamb in St Bavo's is one of the most thrilling of art experiences to be had in Europe even if you are only slightly interested in art. Ghent is a tremendously lovely town to stroll around and soak up the atmosphere etc, but the Ghent Altarpiece is incredibly impressive to most people, even those who ordinarily don't travel to see paintings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent_Altarpiece

As this thread underscores, people's spontaneous & honest reactions to Bruges are divided>

This thread does not represent average travelers - especially Americans - the common non-jaded traveler will mostly be blown away with Bruges - especially at night and out of the busy season - June is still not the most hectic time - July and August are.

OP is asking for a friend -- or in this case, a relative -- about whether it is the right choice - as this thread underscores, people's spontaneous & honest reactions to Bruges are divided. >

They will likely fall into the category of novice tourists who will love Bruges just as OP (original poster) did.

Stay in Gent and day trip to Bruges they may have wished they had stayed in Bruges - rarely the other way around - again I'm on a about average American tourists like the overwhelming majority of folks on my trips who overwhelmingly loved it.

That said I can see understand why some veteran travlers may not and appreciate their takes - just talking about typical American tourists.

Thanks again and by the way I am a (much travelled)South African so not the typical American tourist. I think at this stage I would prefer Bruges with a day trip to Ghent but who knows by next year we could have changed our minds. Thanks also for the OP explanation. I do not post that often so did not know that. I love this Forum - one always gets such a diverse range of advice. Many thanks.

I don't think it's a mistake to base in either Ghent or Bruges. In Ghent, you'll probably want to take a tram from the train station to the center of town, which is what I did. Not a big deal, but be prepared for that. In Bruges, you could have a pretty walk from the train station to the center if you were day tripping - less practical if you have luggage. I don't think the walk from Ghent's train station to the center would be so interesting as I recall.

Thanks again Andrew. Think we will probably stay on the edge of the old town in Bruges with only 10 minutes walk from the station. Then the walk into the centre will be without luggage.

t'Zand near where you are staying is a hoipping nightlife area for young adults in Bruges.

Thanks again and by the way I am a (much travelled)South African>

curious - you speak Afrikaners? If so can you understand Dutch?

Thanks PalenQ re the t'Zand area. I am now looking at apartments from Home & Away and have seen some great ones in some good central areas. All with 5 star reviews. Anyway I will wait a while now and do my bookings towards the end of the year. Yes I can speak Afrikaans but it in not my home language - that is English. Afrikaans is more like Flemish than Dutch but it does help us to understand in both those countries.

Gent is a real city and imo the most beautiful of Belgium.

Brugge is a medieval preserved town turned into some kind of Disney tourist trap. Beautiful but not representative of my country at all. And full of not nice people by belgian standards.

Bruxelles is great but takes some effort to like : some places are superb, some are ugly, albeit it tends to get better again with time. I never tired of Bruxelles. Visited the grand place hundreds of times, love the place sainte-catherine, love the sablon, the galeries; I recently found some very nice places in Anderlecht, I dislike the area around gare du nord and gare du midi, I like Ixelles hate the atomium know too well some hospitals etc etc.

Trains when not on strike are working very well so basing yourself in Gent would be ideal logistically speaking.

Afrikaner is considered here as a lot worse than Flemish - it derives from what the first Boers (farmers) spoke when arriving in SA - not the nicest of the language since most of these guys were barely educated (farmers at the time !) quite litterally starving and fleeing the Netherlands. Akin to Australia ;-)

Afrikaans is not a pretty language whereas I think Dutch and Flemish are. I especially like their accents when speaking English. We always follow the big cycle races on TV and just love to listen to the Flemish and Dutch guys being interviewed. Thanks for the info Whathello.

Just got back last night and as promised my take on Brugge, Gent, Antwerp and Brussels:

Brugge: loved it. If you took all the 20th century clothing off people (let me finish) and dressed them in period garb--that is Brugge! Extremely crowded during the day as a small area for lots of tourists to see the same sights. I was glad I stayed there and then took a day trip to

Ghent: larger city than Brugge, loved the canals and very easy to get to. Again, crowds everywhere.

Antwerp was on my way to Brussels, drizzling so not that og a great first impression. Seems to me a lot more modern structures interspersed with the old which for me detracted from the charm of a Brugge.

Brussels: very big, huge number of tourists, the small quaint, narrow streets of Lower Town and then the big, wide open blvds of Upper Town made it seem like two different cities.

I also hit Mechlen, Leuven and Lier on a day trip. I wouldn't recommend using as a base but Leuven is a university town and really hopping with a great Old Town and University Library that is beautiful having Flanders oldest university. Little Lier is charming as it circled by a canal which is really its claim to fame.

We are planning our trip for the end of April, so hoping the masses of tourists will not taint our hope of a quiet time in Brugges and then heading off to see more historic sights of Flanders. Any recommendations for a hotel/B&B in Brugges? We are driving to Brugges, but hope to stay very close to central squares and walk a lot. Thanks

I might point out that you are a tourist and thus contributing to taint the hopes of locals to have quiet in their city.

April is ok however. But the weather can be awful - check the week before and think in layers.

Last : it is Brugge in Flemish translated into Bruges in French and English. Not a mix of both spellings !

Can't help fir B&b I ssleep one hour away.

We loved Bruges, and especially loved the very special apartment where we stayed. Here is the link (great location, Jacuzzi, Sauna, and the coolest coffee machine in the world, with six choices including matching drinkware):

https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-re...071055#summary

Did not like our hotel in Brugge called Martin's Relais.

Thoroughly recommend the B & B in Gent-Snooz Inn

-http://www.snoozinn.be/