Are you thinking of spending a few days in Belgium, but don't know how to organize it? Surely you have been told that you should visit Bruges, Ghent o Brussels and perhaps Antwerp o Leuven But do you know in which city is better to sleep? how many days to spend in each one? which are the best neighborhoods or the best accommodations? Keep reading because we tell you everything according to our experience in our recent trip.
Ghent: the best city to stay in Belgium
If you plan to make a long route through Belgium and visit several cities our recommendation is that you stay in Ghent. This city is located one hour or less of major Belgian cities such as Bruges, Antwerp, or Brussels. It is also a city that is generally less expensive than Brussels, which makes it the perfect base for your trip.
We recently did a seven-day tour of Belgium and decided to stay in this beautiful city. We loved coming back every night to dine at some of its restaurantsor have a drink in one of its breweries. The only important thing to keep in mind is that the restaurant kitchens close quite early, so if you try to have dinner during Spanish hours, you may have to resort to a Kebab or french fries. One night we had to have salami and cheese for dinner in a beer garden.
If you have already decided on Ghent and you want to know which are the best areas to stay we recommend you to visit our dedicated post, as we stayed there and had time to explore the city:
For a quick glance here we recommend some of the most important best hotels to stay in Ghent, and if you have any questions regarding how to get around BelgiumSee our article.
- Curious hotel located on a ship near the train station (Dampoort) and the historic center: The Boatel Hotel
- Hotel located near the Sint Pieters train station: Hotel Astoria Gent
- Accommodation in the center of Ghent very well valued: Maison Margo
- If you have no luck booking with these hotels, you can try our selection of hotels in Ghent.
Brussels: the most atmospheric city to sleep in Belgium
Brussels As the capital of Belgium, it is a city with an incredible hotel and restaurant offer. According to our experience in the route that we made through Belgium, we recommend you to spend at least one or two nights in this city. What we did was to stay first in Ghent and spend the last two nights in Brussels, so we could see the city and take the plane the last day from there.
There are plenty of things to visit in Brussels, such as the European Parliament the Atomium or the Manneken-Pis. It is well worth spending a couple of days in this city. In this case, you will not have a problem with the restaurant schedules, since being a much larger and touristy city, they have longer opening hours.
As for the best area to stay in Brussels, there are several options. We decided to stay in the center, as we were only going to spend a few days there and did not want to waste a lot of time getting around. However, there are other more economical options such as the neighborhood European or the neighborhood of Ixelles. Visit our dedicated post to choose which area of Brussels suits you best if you have already decided on this city:
- Recommended hotel in the center of Brussels: Grand Place Apartment o Boutique Hotel Saint-Géry
- Recommended lodging in the European district: Aparthotel Adagio Access Bruxelles Europe Aparthotel
- Best hotels near Brussels station: Midi Residence Aparthotel
- If you do not find availability in any of the above you can check this one selection of hotels in Brussels
✈ Watch out!
Take a close look at which airport in Brussels your flight lands. The most common is the airport of Zaventem which is half an hour away from the city, but there is another airport south of Brussels, the one in Charleroi which is a little farther away.
Bruges: the most charming city to sleep in Belgium
If in addition to visiting it, you would like to stay at the most charming city in Belgium we recommend you to reserve a couple of days to sleep at Bruges.
You can also establish your base point here but, in most cases, hotels will be more expensive than in other Belgian cities. The strength of this option is that you will be able to enjoy Bruges when there are fewer tourists visiting, early in the morning and late in the day. Most travelers usually make a one-day express visit, taking the trains back to their city at dinner time.
The best area to stay in Bruges is the historical center. There you will be close to most of the places to visit in Bruges and also close to the best places to eat in Bruges. The historical center of Bruges is the area where there is the largest hotel offer, but you should also keep in mind that it is the most expensive area to stay. There are other more economical options for accommodation, such as near the train station if you are going to visit several cities.
If you are staying for a couple of days, we recommend staying in the historic center to make the most of your vacation.
- Very good value for money hotel in the center of Bruges: Martin's Brugge
- Hotel very close to Bruges train station: Radisson Blu Hotel
- If you don't find a space, you can try to check the selection of hotels in Bruges.
Leuven: the cheapest city to stay in Belgium
Leuven is known as the university city of Belgium. As a result, you will find the cheapest hotels and apartments of all Belgium, as well as some of the cheapest typical restaurants in the area.
The famous Stella Artois originates from this small city, so you will find it in every bar. This makes Leuven one of the best places to drink cheap beer in Belgium.
Leuven is a city with a lot of student atmosphere, but it does not seem to us to be as good a base as other cities, since it is more remote if you want to make a route through Belgium. Even so, if your idea is to spend the minimum budget you can use Leuven as a base point for your trip, since you will be able to save enough money for accommodation. In addition, if you have YOUTH CARD the public transportation you will get much more cheap.
- Hotel super well located in the station of Leuven: Mille Colonnes
- Hotel in the middle of the historic center: The fourth - Tafelrond
- Here are some other accommodation options in Leuven: View selection of hotels in Leuven
Antwerp: to stay in the Belgian diamond capital
Antwerp is known for being the Belgian capital of diamonds and for its incredible port, one of the largest in Europe. Although it is a city with a beautiful historic center and a lot of things to see, we would only recommend staying in Antwerp if you are planning to visit the city sleeping in all the cities of your route through Belgium.
Not that Antwerp has anything wrong with it, but Ghent is better located, Brussels is a must, Bruges is more beautiful and Leuven is much cheaper. We do not see the advantage of staying in Antwerp unless you plan to change accommodation in each of the cities you visit.
- Hotel located in the center of the city: P6 Antwerp
- Chain of apartments at very good prices near the station: Luxury Suites Central
- You can also see this selection of hotels in Antwerp
FAQs on where to sleep in Belgium
Which is cheaper Brussels or Bruges?
Brussels is a much larger city than Bruges, so you will probably find a much larger wider range of hotels with more variety and options for all budgets. The more economical areas The most important attractions in Brussels are those that are farther away from the historic center, such as the Sablon or the European Parliament.
Anyway, neither Brussels nor Bruges are the cheapest cities to stay in Belgium. If you are looking for the cheapest place to sleep in Belgium, it is best to look for options at Ghent one of the most highly recommended places to stay in Belgium, or in Leuven the university city par excellence, which is cheaper.
You can review our hotel and lodging recommendations in this article.
- See selection of hotels in Brussels.
- See selection of hotels in Ghent.
- See selection of hotels in Leuven.
Staying in Brussels or Bruges?
From our point of view both cities are a must on a multi-day tour of Belgium. If you have little time or you prefer to establish your base point in only one city, our recommendation is to sleep in Brussels. Brussels is a much larger city with more public transport connections, both trains and buses, which will allow you to reach other cities in no time.
In addition, being the capital of Belgium, there are many more tourist attractions such as the European Parliament, the Manneken-Pis, the Delirium brewery, the Atomium or the Grand Place. The hotel offer here is also wider, so you will surely find a wide range of hotels best prices.
Another of Brussels' strong points is its large number of variety of restaurants and bars The timetables of the same, since being a European capital will allow you to have lunch and dinner at any time, unlike in Bruges that you will be more limited by the Belgian schedule.
If you still you are looking forward to staying in Bruges you will have the privilege of enjoy the city in a more exclusive since most people make a one-day visit to Bruges and return to their home city. As Bruges is so overcrowded, it seems to us a very important point in its favor.
If you want to read other articles ideal for your trip that complement Where to stay in Belgium you can visit our posts about Belgium.
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