Hello Everyone,

Need help ! Did last minute booking to Brussels. I will be leaving on Aug 20th from London to Brussels and coming back from Brussels to London on Aug 27th. As you see, my trip is short but I would love to make the most of it. I am hoping to keep 2 days to visit Amsterdam and 1 day for Bruges. Please advice on how I should plan my trip. Which is the cheapest mode of transport to visit Amsterdam and Bruges ? How many days to you feel I should divide between these 3 cities ? Am I missing out on any other place that I should see instead? I know lots of questions ! Thank you so much for your help !

Train is cheap. Amsterdam is worth at least 3 days and Bruges/Ghent 2 between them. One is plenty for Brussels IMHO.

This station will likely help

http://www.seat61.com/international-...m#.U9f-HmK9KSM

We recently returned from a trip which included these places. Yes, the trains are inexpensive and highly reliable. I think one day in Brugge is sufficient, Gent is not as pretty but much more interesting. If you do stay in Gent please consider B&B Snooz Inn, not only is highly rated but the owner and his family are exceptional innkeepers and people. I describe Brussels as almost interesting and do not forgot to stuff your face with chocolates, they are world class. We spent a week in Amsterdam and it is a great city for museums and walking.

http://www.booking.com/hotel/be/snoo...ighlight_room=

Are you flying into Brussels from London or taking the train via Paris?
for such a short trip I would only stay in 2 places. I would do 3 nights in Amsterdam and 3 nights in Brussels. You can take a day trip by train from Brussels to Bruges and also visit Gent.

You might want to consider taking the train from Brussels to Amsterdam on the day you arrive.

I have just been to these three places a few months ago.

In each place it all depends how much you want to see.

Do you have a list of places you want to see in Brussels and Bruges and Amsterdam.?

I spent three days in Brussels, one day for walking around BUT I knew where almost everything was.

I had a list of 72 places I wanted to see in Brussels and saw them all BUT with a private guide for two days, which also included a side trip to Waterloo which was fantastic.

My guide was so terrific that I hated leaving Brussels.

Bruges has two main squares...The Market Square and the Bruges Square and most of your time will be centred here.

But you really should take the Canal Tour to really get a good view of Bruges.
The Canal Tours begins just back of the Church of Our Lady, which you cannot miss because of the tall steeple.

So what you have to decide is how much you want to see in Brussels and Amsterdam .

Percy--I knew you were looking for a guide for your trip and am glad you found a good one. We also have enjoyed our time in Brussels and consider it worth more than a 1 day stop.

for any of the three cities I would recommend having along a guide book or section of a guide book with good suggested walking tours. this web site has some information on out of the way places of interest (maybe including some of Percy's 72 must see's)
http://www.mysecretbrussels.com/index.html

I'd try to change your return air ticket from Brussels to London to Amsterdam to London. Or scratch Gent, Bruges, in favour of Brussels as suggested and do day trips (although Bruges is much, much nicer after the day trip hordes have left.)

Vttraveler, love the website you posted - lots of food for thought. Especially liked Stromae's song 'Formidable'.

Lavandula