One Weekend in Brussels - where should I go (stay in Belgium or travel outside)?
 

I have a two-week work trip to Brussels, arriving the morning of June 18th and leaving June 30th. I have the one weekend in between the two working weeks to explore - should I spend the entire weekend in Belgium exploring its other cities (Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges, etc.) or should I do a quick trip to Amsterdam or another, nearby European city? One thing to note is that I will be back in Europe (in Madrid specifically) for several months for an exchange program in the fall so that should also provide additional opportunities to explore the continent.

Paris is less than 90 minutes away. Bruges is incredible though. Lots of great options.

Do Bruges for the two days - it's a highly preserved medieval city. However, it is mad with tourists and if you find it a bit too much over the weekend, hop a train to nearby Ghent - almost as good but without the same level of tourism.

I am sure you will get to see Brussels in the evenings - do make sure you take a trip to see the Grand' Place at night when it's lit up, it's a very impressive sight.

Save the rest of Europe for your longer trip, you will easily occupy yourself with Bruges and maybe Ghent.

Lavandula

If you want a change from cities rent a car and go to the Ardennes.
Don't attempt getting to the coast if it is at all sunny, by train or car.
Less well known but equally interesting are places like Leuven and Mechelen.Certainly they will be less crowded than Brugge.

Would you recommend going to Bruges and Ghent independently of a tour? It seems like you're advocating spending as much time in each as possible, at least a full day in each if not more. However, there are one-day tours that cover both and would be more convenient I suppose.

Stick to Be;gium. It takes time to orient yourself in large cities such as Amsterdam or Paris.

You could definitely even spend a full weekend just in Bruges or even longer, depending on how you sightsee. And yes, a full day in Ghent to give it what it is worth. I think one of those zoom tours that does both in a day won't let you get lost down the little alleyways or really even do any of the sights that make Bruges what it is - definitely short-changing it. I agree with Michael, save Paris or Amsterdam for another time. You will lose time travelling there and also in orienting yourself. I would not do them with less than 3 days at my disposal if not longer, especially Paris.

Lavandula

Thanks for the help everyone! I land at around 7 am the morning of June 18 in Brussels. If not too exhausted (perhaps I’ll be able to sleep on the plane), I was thinking of going off to Ghent and spending the day there as it’s the closest (Antwerp could be an option too I suppose) before coming back to Brussels for the night. Then spending one full day of the following weekend visiting Bruges and another for Namur?

On one occasion I have paid for an extra night but checked in in the morning.
On subsequent trips we asked for a 10;00 o"clock check-in at the Marriott and were always accomodated.

Namur is a good idea, completely different to the Flemish cities. I think your Ghent plan could work, if you are not worried about burning the candle at both ends. I usually conk out by 4pm. The time you sleep on the plane doesn't matter that much, it's the time difference and the trip itself. But since you are not operating heavy machinery I think you could just judge how you feel on that first morning and go for it if you feel OK. You can just come back if you feel a bit frazzled, it's really close to Brussels.

If you can get it, early check-in like cdnyul mentions would be fabulous, but you might be able to drop your bags at the hotel if they won't let you check in. Or like he says, just pay for the extra night. We do that sometimes on return layovers back to Australia knowing how much that extra time means; we always find jetlag is much worse in that direction.

Lavandula