Woohoow, the first blogpost on this website about guided tours and travel in Belgium! So what better to write about than the most prominent question travelers ask us? Check out which cities of Belgium are the most popular: Bruges, Ghent or Brussels.
We get it: Belgium is a small country on the big map of Europe. We don't have an Eiffel tower or Louvre, we don't have windmills, and we definitely do not have a tropical beach. So when people make their road trip through Europe, visiting Belgium is often just a stop between Paris and Amsterdam. So if you only have one day, where do you go?
Because this is a blogpost and not a book, we're keeping the question limited to the most popular towns of Belgium: Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. Of course there are more options, but these are undeniably the most important ones - the ones that usually give you that first impression that makes you come back for more.
Bruges: the fairytale, or is it?
About 2 million people per year spend at least one night in Bruges. About 8 million visitors per year spend just one day in this town. With a population of 20.000 people in the town center it's easy to see; this town is very, very popular among travelers. This means that every day there's as many visitors pouring into this city as there's inhabitants. And most of the visitors tend to stay in just one area of the town, where you find most of the historical monuments concentrated.
Of course it's still beautiful: I'll duel the fool that claims Bruges isn't "nice", be it with a longsword or rapier. And it's definitely still enjoyable: who cares about the other 19.999 travelers, as long as you and your friends still get a beer, food and can fit into a museum? It's this concentrated but quaint nature that makes Bruges so popular and loved - a good balance between the "bombastic" side of Brussels, and the "quirky but outstretched" feeling of Ghent.
So there is no reason to evade Bruges. But the real question here is: will it be exceptional? Will visiting this town for one day bring you enough joy to make this a core memory? Will it make you come back with more friends?
To make most of your time in Bruges, you can try a few strategies to improve your general experience.
Check for a pub with locals - it's great meeting those weird an shy Belgians. Once we've had some beer, we are happy to tell you about the places to get good food and where you can get a view that nobody else will.
Get out of the tourist zone. Walking that zone between station and market square is a great start to get your first impression. Once you reach the market square, that is where your playtime really begins. Did you know our guided tour shows a combination of the "popular" zones and the "secret" zones?
Go inside the museums and churches. Really, so many people miss out on the breath-taking sight of our cathedral's pillars, the splendid woodwork of the St. John's Hospital roof, or the treasures inside the Gruuthuse palace. Get yourself a ticket into any museum, and I guarantee you will be seeing things that most of the other visitors just miss out on.
Ghent, home of the students (and kind of home of the Beardbarian)
The presence of about 60.000 students each year on a population of about 270.000 makes this town a powder keg of creativity. While you might enjoy Bruges for being quiet in the evening as you stroll its romantic streets, Ghent breathes differently. At any time of the day, you will find pubs and restaurants. Good ones, because the Ghent students need quality in their mouths.
While Bruges remained a quiet town for a very long time, Ghent's history left its face much more diversified: medieval buildings stand shoulder to shoulder with baroque palaces and industrial mansions. Finally, the preparations for the world exhibition of 1913 made sure the town was cleaned up and organised into an easy-to-navigate city.
Today Ghent still makes a very fine mix between a place full of quaint corners where one view after the other surprises you, and a modern town with all comforts needed to live a good life.
So how do you make most of Ghent?
Stay long enough! If you only have one day in Belgium, you could stretch that day in Ghent pretty long - because it has its very own "light plan". That means that deep into the night, the center is gorgeously illuminated.
Rent a bike. It offers you all of the views that you would get on foot, not rushing by anything unseen. But it will also allow you to cover more ground than you would by just walking. The town is very bike-friendly, and has almost no cars in the center.
Arrive at Ghent-Saint-Peter's station. If you start there and move towards the town center, you get an immediate overview of the entire history of the place. Student area, modern town and historical neighbourhoods all follow in succession.
Compared to Bruges, Ghent is a lot more stretched out and doesn't have a clear "tourist zone". This means that to fully enjoy this town, you might need a bit more pre-planning to not feel like you "missed" something.
Brussels, the capital
Well, Brussels is even more popular than Bruges in numbers. But since the town is also a lot bigger, it tends to feel less crowded.
The atmosphere, however, is a bit specific. You see almost no shops tending to people's everyday needs: every corner is just selling waffles, chocolates or fries. This can make it feel very touristic. Another element that might make this town feel rather "unauthentic" are the many beggars or people trying to scam you.
But that doesn't mean Brussels isn't worth your time: once you're aware of the flaws, you can easily evade them and find the true power of this town! And that is the royal neighbourhood. Leopold II (a king we don't like very much) spent a lot of his blood money making this town more impressive - and it shows. From the royal palace to the royal museums, you can lose yourself in amazing parks and boulevards. For a lot of people, visiting Brussels seems to be the ideal "summary" of a visit to Belgium, and the museums definitely help to reinforce that idea. The collections unite some of the best and unique finds from all over the country, and information is given of the different cultures from the different parts of Belgium.
But since it's mostly in museums, it seems to lack "body" for travelers who really want to dig into the lives of the locals. But if you're a bit of an introvert and like museums, this town will definitely satisfy your need for informational input.
After this description you might think we don't like Brussels very much. But you'd be guessing wrong: our guides that work in Brussels love the town for all of it flaws tell you the tale of what is good AND bad in Belgium. So how do you enjoy your day of Brussels?
Accept that the town is touristic. Revel in it. There is no place where Belgian culture is made so easily digestable and recogniseable as in Brussels. So feast on that sweet waffle, drink that crisp Stella Artois. How else will you make a photo that says "ah, Belgium"if not with a "pintje" (small beer) on the Grand Market Square of Brussels?
Go to the Royal Palace. Not only does this hill offer you an amazing view of the skyline of Brussels, it also has an underground medieval palace you can visit! Almost nobody knows this place!
Get into Belgian comic books. Belgium has created world-famous comic book series like "Tintin" and "The Smurfs", and this culture has left a lot of traces in the city of Brussels. There's comic book wall paintings, a comic book museum and a lot of shops. So if it becomes a bit much, you can get yourself a real Belgian comic and read it in a quiet corner of the city.
"Why just one?"
Then there's the matter of trying to combine multiple towns in one day. While this is definitely possible (especially with the help of a good guide), it's not a course I'd reccommend. Traffic in Belgium can be terrible. Not just "oh, every country has its issues"-terrible. No, Belgium-terrible. The Dutch don't joke for nothing about "being able to feel when you drive over the Belgian-Dutch border". Our roads are pretty bad. Good news is: we're finally doing something about that. Bad news is: that takes time. So traffic jams are pretty bad right now (2024). So do you really want to spend 4 or 6 of your drives in traffic, instead of just 1 or 2?
On top of that, these cities are pretty intense: it's one historical monument after the other. Ghent has about 12 museums. Churches and chapels in Bruges: 37. Historical buildings in Brussels? Too many to count. One day won't even allow you to fully dive into the culture and past of one such city - so why divide your attention? Immerse yourself completely in the here and now of either Bruges, Ghent or Brussels.
So what do I do now? So, there you have it – three cities, three distinct vibes, and one shared truth: Belgium is bursting with stories, sights, and surprises. Why rush through a whirlwind of museums, waffles, and historic facades when you can dive deep into one city and truly feel its heartbeat? Whether you're hunting for hidden alleyways in Bruges, sipping a pint in Ghent's lively student bars, or soaking up the grandeur of Brussels' royal past, there's a guided tour waiting to show you the side of Belgium most visitors miss. Don’t just pass by – take the time to let these towns leave a mark on you, and who knows? You might find yourself booking that return trip before you've even left!
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