8 Things To Do in Bruges
If you’ve made it to Brussels, it wouldn’t make sense to skip Bruges. A train ride costs 14.70€ and you’re there in no time. (Purchase your ticket with trainline.eu instead of goeuro.com) Use this Bruges city guide on how to spend a full day in this cosy town lined with pretty shops everywhere you go! All attractions featured are reachable by foot, making this the easiest walking tour ever.
Bruges Walking Tour Itinerary
Bruges in A Glance:
- Lunch at Vismarkt
- Bruges Markt Plaza
- Belfry of Bruges
- Canals of Bruges
- Groeninge Museum
- Chocolate Line
- Blinde Ezelstraat
- Dinner at Den Huzaar
Accommodation
I highly recommend Monsieur Maurice Hotel. Perfect location, super chic, clean AF, ideal for solo traveler, plus helpful receptionists is always a bonus.
Cost: 53€ / night
1. Lunch: at Restaurant De Visscherie, Vismarkt
This seafood restaurant of 40 years is meant to be very good but it’s a shame they close on Mondays and Tuesdays (I happened to arrive on a Tuesday). Make sure to try it when you’re there!
Restaurant De VisscherieAddress: Vismarkt 8, 8000 Brugge, BelgiumPhone:+32 50 33 02 12Hours: Everyday from 12 – 2 p.m. and 7 – 10 p.m. EXCEPT Mondays and Tuesdays.
2. Visit: Bruges Markt Plaza
You can’t miss this row of colourful old buildings at this picturesque marketplace – regardless the season or weather it remains just as vibrant. It is also the centre of Bruges.
3. See: the Belfry of Bruges
Although this is not the most amazing building I’ve ever seen, it has an interesting history every tourist ought to know. Keep an eye out for the information board at the market place instead of getting a tour guide. Keen tourists may go all the way up to the bell tower.
4. Photograph: the canals
Bruge’s canals have a different kind of charm from Amsterdam‘s – a tough competition!
5. Visit: Groeninge Museum
Unlike most museums, this one only takes about 1.5 hours to complete; requiring a very small commitment for those who are not huge fan of paintings. Photography is not allowed so here’s a random photograph of me.
Cost: 8€
6. Shop: at Chocolate Line
5-minute walk away from the museum is a unique chocolate shop that might just be Willy Wonka’s (you never know) – from bacon to wasabi cocoa, options are almost endless.
Cost: 4.75€
7. Stroll: through Blinde Ezelstraat (Blind Donkey Street)
This happens to be my favourite part of Bruges. Gold statues, romantic European streets, mysterious city gates . . . you get the picture.
8. Dine: at Den Huzaar
A sip of a beer here sent me nodding yes. The taste of juicy cherries; dark and mysterious, took over me.
Truth is, I popped by Den Huzaar for their best-selling foie gras. But since it wasn’t in season, I left, leaving a humble goodbye. I roamed around the little town – everything looked or sounded too touristic for my liking. Fellow Asians perched by a window of the 10th restaurant selling moules (mussels).
“Should I turn back, or risk trying any of these restaurants? I’m only here once. That said, there’s no way I should make a stupid decision, that’s for sure!” So I made a U-turn passed the canals, belfry, and pushed open the heavy old wooden door again. A tall old man head full of curly white hair a.k.a. my waiter for the day, looked at me confused.
“You come back?”
“I’m dining here after all”, I said with a smile.
My first bite of Flanders stew sent my soul and taste buds flying to heaven. It was arguably the best meat stew I ever had; exactly what I needed to battle the cold weather. It was almost like medallions, but NOT. They were pieces of meat; soft and tender.
I’d recommend eating it out of the black pot like you would a Korean jiggae. That way you take in every chunk of meat with a generous spoonful of gravy instead of wasting the best part at the end.
P.S. Have the Flanders stew with Bourgogne des Flandres dark beer because let’s not kid ourselves – what drink can go better with a hearty stew if not beer.
Restaurant Den HuzaarAddress: Vlamingstraat 36, 8000 Brugge, BelgiumPhone: +32 50 33 37 97Hours: 11.30 a.m. – 10.30 p.m. daily
Cost: 24€
The next morning I packed my bags; with a train ticket in my hand ready to embark on another new adventure that is beautiful Amsterdam.
Cost – taxi from hotel to Bruges station: 8€
Total cost: 113€