Chocolates and Beers in Bruges!

Bruges, located in northwestern Belgium, is the biggest tourist attraction in the country and also considered to be one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Europe. Knowing all that, it was impossible to stay away and not explore its charming streets.

Our day started in Brussels where we had a nice traditional breakfast (coffee, orange juice, croissants, bread etc.) before exploring a along a local market where we spontaneously decided to make a day trip to Bruges.

Normally, this would only take around an hour or so to travel, however we got some heavy rain and then got stuck in traffic on the highway. Anyway, after an annoying 45-minute delay, we finally arrived in Bruges, quickly found a parking spot, as the town is not made for driving, and is very easy to see whilst on foot (also at this stage, the weather had cleared up and we had moments of sunshine during our day).

Bruges offers a lot to see and do, depending on what you’re into, as it has something for everyone, whether you’d like shopping, sightseeing, museums, chocolates, lace, breweries, beer, churches, canals, carriage rides, town squares and so much more. 

We decided to just enjoy a day relaxing and just wandering about the city centre, enjoying the charm of the town. Bruges is a great town for walking and you can cover a lot in a day without getting overwhelmed.

Our walk led us across numerous bridges as the whole town is surrounded by the river and has been called the Venice of the north. We eventually reached the “Grote Markt”, the grand square in Bruges where we observed the famous Belfort tower situated atop the Cloth Hall. There are 366 steps to the top where you can get a wonderful view of the city and although my initial plan was to climb the tower, our beer break caused us to miss the last entry as I was paying attention to the closing hours and not to the hour for last entrance.

A little disappointed, but what can you do… we continued our walk, did some shopping (I got myself a Delirium Tremens shirt) and tried a few chocolate pralines. There are literally chocolate stores everywhere and around every corner. Prices a different from store to store but we found a reasonably priced option where we grabbed some treats to take with us (beers and chocolate, now that is something I can get behind).

Later that afternoon, we got back to our car and drove towards the coast where we had a quick visit to Blankenberge, walking along the “Belgium Pier”, enjoying the fresh sea breeze before starting our trip back to Brussels. We finished that night at a small and cozy restaurant named “La Ferme De Grambais”, away from the tourist crowds and a perfect way to end our day.

Bruges was a great surprise and I really enjoyed my time here, walking along narrow streets, past beautiful buildings. If you have limited time in Belgium, I wouldn’t spend too much time in Brussels as Bruges is so much better. There is enough to do here to keep you busy for a couple of days, with plenty of beautiful places to sit down, relax and have a beer or two (and of course lots of chocolates as well, we’re in Belgium after all).