I will have a Thursday, Friday and Saturday in Belgium. I am, defintely, staying in Brussels.

After reading a lot and thinking about how I want us to spend our time, I have decided on:

Thursday - Brussels all day and into the evening.

Friday - Bruges starting at 8:00 and ending in the late afternoon or early evening. The rest of the evening we'll go back to Brussels and just walk around the squares and streets.

Saturday - Ghent starting early in the morning. Then...?

I'm thinking Ghent certainly could take an entire day but that we may have time to go to Antwerp. My preference is to see Ghent for sure and then see another city if there is time.

If we get to Ghent at 8:00 it looks like I could still have half a day or so to get a taste of Antwerp.

Or I could go back to Brussels and find more things to see there.

Any input from folks that have experience in Belgium?

I suppose it's do-able to visit both Ghent and Antwerp in one day. It'll just be a very long day for you.

I'd say that Bruges and Ghent are more similar whereas Antwerp is more different.

Just FYI, the Belgian railways offer 50% off tickets for r/t tix on weekends So you may want to save the most expensive train trips for the w/e.

Brugge and Ghent and very beautiful and as the previous poster has mentioned, can be tackled in a long day.

If you happen to be a history buff, you could spend some time seeing World War One sights like Ypres or the Somme with a tour like this www.salienttours.com

I have a fondness for Antwerp and would encourage you to make time for it, especially if you are into fashion, design, and architecture and the like. The Modemusuem (fashion museum) is unique and the contemporary art gallery and photography gallery are both good too).

If you don't have much time on your hands and would like to see another Belgian town, Leuven is a small and near to Brussels option. It has a very nice main square, some nice architecture, a Saturday morning market in the main streets, and a UNESCO site; the very cute Begijnhof
http://www.cs.kuleuven.ac.be/~maarte...gijnhofleuven/

While enjoyed Ghent especially its castle, I liked Antwerp even better.
It has the Rubens House where he lived and worked and gives one a good picture of the life of the wealthy of the times. I recall the Museum had a good collection of his works, though it was a celebration of his birth year, so there might have been more than usual on display.

I spent a whole day in both Ghent and Antwerp and enjoyed them thoroughly. Have returned several times because I was fortunate enough to have a friend working in Belgium in the 70's and 80's. My opinions may be dated.

Gent and Antwerpen in one day? Yes, you can do that but 1) from Brussels both are in opposite directions so you will lose quite a bit of time on the train, 2) what do you think you can see in a few hours time? Not much!
Your whole trip sounds like whirlwind tour to me. You will have been in a lot of places but I doubt that you will have seen a lot. If that is the purpose of your visit, go ahead!

Suggestion for the day in Brugge: stay until as late as you can. You will experience a different city than during the day.

We enjoyed five nights in Belgium, basing ourselves in Brussels.

We took daytrips to Brugge, Ghent and Antwerp. We only had a half day in Ghent and felt that wasn't enough (our own fault). We went to Antwerp mostly because my great-grandfather came from there, but a whole day there wasn't necessary for us. In hindsight, I would've spent a whole day in Ghent, half in Antwerp. But, it's really a personal decision. We really enjoyed Belgium and Brussels had a lot to offer to. (I'm sure you'll be headed to Grand Place, yes?)

mdtravel--my thoughts about the Saturday options:

I have been to Ghent, not to Antwerp.
Ghent is easily worth a whole day. I am currently researching Antwerp for a trip to Belgium I hope to take this fall, and I plan to spend a full day there. I would also like to see Mechelen, which is between Brussels and Antwerp, but I think I will do this on a separate day trip. (I will be staying with friends in Brussels)
I think trying to combine Ghent and Antwerp in one day would be too much especially since they are in different directions from Brussels. Since your higher priority seems to be Ghent I would start there and go back to Brussels for more sightseeing there if you feel you don't need the whole day in Ghent.

I would put Ghent and Bruges, as they are much closer to eachother,in the same day and do Antwerp in another. I live in Leuven (my house in the Begijnhof is pictured in the photo link posted above) and think it would be a great day or half day trip from Brussels. It's a great town to stroll around.

Might like to stretch the trip out to the trappist breweries or Luxembourg city

I second the advice to stay in Brugge (come on - it's in Flanders - let's use the local version of the name) as late as you possible can.

Have dinner then walk alomg as much of the canal length south of the Markt as you can.

&lt;&lt;Brugge (come on - it's in Flanders - let's use the <b>local version</b> of the name)&gt;&gt;
It's not the local version, it's the only official version!