A Long Weekend in Bruges, Belgium

Our perfect long weekend in Bruges, Belgium with top sights, local food, canal tours, and hidden gems which made the most of our European getaway.

As part of a very long vacation, Hubby and I went to England, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

A Long Weekend in Bruges, Belgium

This was part of an extended trip for Hubby and me. We went to England, Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Netherlands, and Belgium on this trip. The first portion of the trip was with my mother and aunt, some time in England and then Scandinavia. In Scandinavia we went to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.

After Hubby and I finished our cruise and time in London with my mother and aunt, they flew home and we had two weeks before our next cruise out of Southampton. We spent some time trying to decide where to go. I favored Edinburgh. Hubby was not opposed, but then I started to wonder if 11-12 days in the area was too much (hint: it would not have been).

In the end, we took the chunnel to Amsterdam where we spent a week, and then went to Bruges for four days before traveling to Calais (by car) and taking the ferry to Dover.

Bruges. Was. Awesome. Go! Go! Go!

Hubby was looking for a place for us to just hang out and chill for a long weekend, and Bruges, Belgium fit the bill!

We ate, we saw some sights, we drank, we walked about, we ate and drank, we shopped, we ate and drank… well, you get the idea. It was a perfect four days in a quaint and charming little city.

This was an extremely charming little town. We took a car from Amsterdam. We originally has a reservation on a Eurostar train, but they cancelled our reservation as the train was down for maintenance during that period. Since we were given several months advance notice, we mapped out local trains versus taking a car. The vehicle was our choice.

There are several private car services available: daytrip and gettransfer are just two. You submit where you would like to go, and several bids come back to you. You then choose the bid and vehicle that best suits your needs.

Our driver took us in through the Kruispoort gate! The gates date back 500+ years. It was a fun experience.

Sonny-boy told me he and his wife were going to Amsterdam a month after we were there. I suggested Bruges instead as Hubby and I liked it that much. Sony-boy poo-pooed me, so I told him about the breweries and the beer, and then I told his wife about the 62 chocolate shops in Bruges!

SIXTY-TWO CHOCOLATE SHOPS!!

That alone makes it a top European destination in my book. Belgium chocolate is superb!

Ok, so what did we do? As I said, mostly ate, drank, shopped, and walked around.

We did a few food tours that took us to the local places.

We went to the Old Chocolate House and made our own hot chocolate. We were served a very warm cup of milk, and some chocolate bits. I plunked all of the bits into the milk and made a very rich hot chocolate for myself. Truly I put too many in *gasp* but it was a fun experience.

We visited the two breweries in Bruges.

The De Halve Mann brewery is very interesting. They brew the beer two miles outside of town at Lieven Bauwensstraat and pipe it in to the brewery.

That is the pipeline to get the beer to the restaurant! It is on the side of the glass of beer we ordered.

The other brewery, Brewery Bourgogne des Flandres, is on a canal and very picturesque. You got your beer at the counter and then took it to sit at a table (indoors or outdoors). We were on a tour, and decided to go downstairs to overlook the canal. Maneuvering the steep stairs with a flight of beer was less than optimal, but I was not the one carrying it down.

We did not do a canal tour (we would have if we had not just done several on the other parts of our trip) and noticed a lot of swans going on as the boats went under the bridges.

The town squares and town center were very charming. There were horse and buggies that went throughout Bruges.

Bruges is now a “port stop” (about 20 or so miles out) for cruise ships so two of our four days there were fairly crowded, but at night it emptied out and we were able to get into some nice dining establishments.

Including this one (Restaurant Diligence). Apparently, it was in the movie In Bruges. We walked in not realizing that reservations would be necessary. The movie makes people curious, the food has them coming back. We were fortunate enough to snag one of the last tables for two that didn’t have a reservation attached. I had Dover Sole there and it was phenomenal. One of the best fish dinners I have ever eaten. The waiter was kind enough to show me how to easily debone my fish (use a spoon and wiggle it off), and we also enjoyed more local beer.

Something interesting about the local beers was how the glasses were provided by the brewery and matched the brewery logo – when the beer was from the tap or from a bottle!

Belgium is also known for its lace. I wish I had somewhere to use it. When we moved to Florida I downsized a lot, and I did not see where I could use a lace- anything in the new house. I still think about it though, and quasi regret not buying something.

All-in-all we went into Bruges with no expectations and had a fabulous time. Will we go back? If in the area, most certainly. I would also tell anyone traveling in the area to spend a few days there. It was charming and laid back, and I highly recommend going there at least once.

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