I'm arriving at Brussels airport early in the morning and going immediately to Ghent for two nights. I know most people here advise spending about a day there at the most. Since it's my first destination I was thinking of staying until the middle of the third day to get over jetlag. Is this too much time? It seems like there's enough to do, especially if I take it a relaxing pace.

You might be interested in the first part of my trip report:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34444403

Very interesting report, Michael. Having been to Bruges about 25 years ago, I'm going to Ghent for much the same reason you did. Interesting what you said about the meals since I keep reading about how good the food is in Belgium. I'm also going to some of the same places you did in France.

Thanks.

We may have been unlucky with meals. On the other hand, we quickly discovered that the commercial section of Ghent has great sandwich shops for lunch. If you decide on the B&B we stayed at, keep in mind that they only take cash.

I have a reservation at the Astoria, which has very mixed reviews on TripAdvisor, mainly due to its location next to the station. So far I'm not deterred.

The train station is some distance from the core of the city, although nothing is very far. The B&amp;B was 5 minutes from all the main sites. But <i>de gustibus non disputantum</i>.