Bruges vs Brussels
 

4 nights in Belgium
I have read that Brussels could be seen on the way to Bruges from Paris in a couple of hours. Is it worth staying in Brussels a couple of days or is Bruges better worth our time? I was thinking of staying a night in Antwerp as recommended by a friend but not sure if it would be better spending the 4 nights in one spot. Tia

Read a good guide instead of relying on info from here or there including friends.

You will find a lot of people here on this forum saying Bruxelles can be visited in some hours and that it is not worth it.

I completely disagree, but since I'm Belgian and living 20 kms from Bruxelles, I guess my opinion is suspect.

So in a nutshell :
- Bruges is beautiful and quite worth a visit, but I'd spend one night there, minimum one day, maybe 2 days.

- Bruxelles : you can spend several days, if you want to do it in a speedy way, be sure to visit
la Grand'place
le Sablon (close)
you can skip Mannekenpis, but it is an icon of Bxl
you can skip atomium, if you go, don't go inside unless you want to have the view from it.
go to Saint Michel church and wander throught the old quartier 'les marolles'
if you have time visit some museums (be sure to visit la porte de Halle

- Bruges :
a small old medieval town. completely touristic.

- Antwerpen : (you'd write Antwerp)
a busy city, be sure to see the trainstation, which is fabulous. Very nice city.

- Gent : (you'd write Ghent)
smaller than Antwerpen but quite thriving.
lots of canals, lots of old houses.
for me even more interesting than Antwerpen.

- other cities
lots of other nice cities but you don't have time.
Leuven would be my rec after the abovementioned cities
if you want to see a smaller town, Lier is great too.

So in summary : spend one night in Bruges at least, then either the rest in Gent and travel from there (max 1 hour of train to any other city - more like 30-40 min) or split your nigths.

Can't recommend hotels in Gent, never slept there, neither in Antwerpen, i slept in military barracks there...
In Bruxelles, I rec 'Novotel de la tour noire' nice and well situated. Never slept myself but put several friends.

Enjoy Belgium, don't forget to eat chocolate and drink beer.

mfg

Although opinions on Brussels differ wildly - some love it, some hate it - it has its attractions.
If you stay in Gent, you're half an hour from both Brugge and Brussels, and one hour from Antwerpen. Gent is a lively city worth a stay on its own sake.

Brugge is a picture-postcard cute historical town. Kind of everybody's darling. Two days are enough to see everything their.

Brussel is a metropolis and capital of the European Union. The grand market is spectacular, and there is an Old Town and quite a few sights (as written above). Many American seem not to like Brussel because it is a big city with traffic and high-rise buildings in the European districts. But it certainly has its charme.

I agree that Gent is a fine city with an impressive castle and a beautiful Old Town. Also quite picturesque.

Antwerpen is also a fine city, but given your limited time, I would recommend to see Brussel, Brugge and Gent.

Bruges is for followers.

Bruxelles is for independent thinkers.

Mark

I also like Bruxelles .been several times...Magritte Museum is my favorite.

Bruges is very lovely and very touristy.

Bruges can be seen in a day. Brussels requires a few more. Compromise: base yourself in Ghent and take day trips to Bruges and Brussels.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...6715/show?rb=1

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...9007/show?rb=1

We stayed in Brussels (lots to see and do there, IMO) and took a day trip to Bruges. We found a day was more than we needed in this charming tourist town. But there are people who love Bruges. You will need to do enough research to see whether you would find it charming or boring.

I just don't think you can get some easy answer, do this, not that. These are just two completely different places so they aren't directly comparable, they are very different.

Having said that, I would never ever spend 4 nights in Bruges, I'd go mad, it's not that big nor interesting.

I love Brussels and I would stay there. I think it is a matter of personal preference and your experience. I stayed with locals and I have friends there, so I have very fond memories of Brussels and I was impressed by the museums, architecture, and sights, notwithstanding the weather in November.

" a day trip to Bruges. We found a day was more than we needed in this charming tourist town"

Some time ago several posters suggested the same....someone immediately
called it ridiculous, he/ she found 4 days in Bruges full of exciting things to do.

À chacun son goût

Different strokes for different folks... I spent 2 nights in Brussels upon arrival in Belgium (read jet lag) and saw everything I wanted in that time. I spent 3 nights in Bruges and could have used an additional night or 2!

Loved Bruges, Brussels not so much.

Loved Brussels ,Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent.

Look..they are different places and it is what you want to see.

Is stayed 3 full days in Brussels and had a list of 72 places I wanted to see.

Saw them all and much more.
Had a private guide for one of the days to get me to more distant places.

Then the guide took us to Waterloo for about
5 hours and really showed us around.

You and I might not like the same things....so try to decide what is more important to you.

Thank you everyone for your advice :)

Percy
I wanted to ask more about your experience of Waterloo
I live there and love it and take my occasional foreign friends around.
What did you see and what did you prefer ?

pariswat...I, for one, put Waterloo on top of my list when I was last in Belgium. While wife was shopping around Brussels, I took a bus and taxi to the Waterloo sites Worked out very well. I was pretty well alone..no one around until I was leaving. For me, the whole vision of Wellington, Napoleon at Waterloo, one of history's most notable battles, did it..of course being a writer and historian it meant a lot to me to stroll the perimeter, see the Butte di Lion monument and visualize the battle, as I had read about it over the years.

Followed with a nice evening at the Hungarian gypsy- Balkan-Russian-Slavic restaurant, Le Grand Mayeur in Sablon...very lively folk music and excellent menu offerings...reasonable enough.

interesting side note: We went to Services at the 1875 Grand Synagogue which remained standing after the Queen insisted that the occupying Nazis leave it in tact! Gutsy lady!

I'm also a fan of Brugge, having made several visits...but I found Antwerp and Brussels equally interesting in a few different trips. Did some interviewing in Antwerp based on its part as a major port during the massive western migrations of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Hey <b>Percy</b>..hope you're doing well way up in the Canadian north these days.
stu

Thanks tower.
I love cycling the battlefield.

Did you read bernard cornwell book in Waterloo + of course the sharpe book on Waterloo too.

mvg

We went to Ypres and toured a few of the WWI battlefields. Quite interesting.

Brugge is a victim of own charm. It is not a manufactured attraction like Disneyland but one that is well-persevered as a quirk of European history and warfare. We did spend two nights and that was more sufficient.

Gent is a scruffy, a more practical Brugge, thus to me more interesting.

Brussels is somewhat interesting, but it is not the first or seventh on my list of favorites European capitols.

I can't imagine what on earth you'd need more than 2 days in Bruges for. I struggled to even fill one day. It's a beautiful place, but it's tiny. Brussels has a lot more to 'do'. Bear in mind people tend to either love it or hate it - I love it and hate it at the same time. It's surprisingly run down for a European capital and headquarters of the EU, but some neighbourhoods (Ixelles) are very beautiful and charming.