Bruges in French or Brugge in Flemish – this charming Belgian town is a treat by any name. It’s perfect for a weekend rambling through the cobbled streets, dabbling in culture and indulging in good food and drink.
1. Accessibility
It’s in the heart of Europe, just one hour on the train from Brussels, the Belgian and European Union capital. It is easily accessible from France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, making it a viable weekend destination. A Eurostar train ticket to Brussels from London, South-East England or France offers free onward travel to any Belgian city. Make the most of this by spending an afternoon in Brussels on the way back.
2. Architecture
Bruges is a well preserved medieval town, with cobbled streets opening on to a series of town squares lined with grand gothic buildings. Arched stone bridges criss-cross the canals and many of the older houses have canal-front entrances. The town is human scale so you can walk everywhere and see just about everything within the weekend.
You can walk nearly everywhere in Bruges. There are also boat rides along the canals and horse and carriage rides through the streets, a bit touristy but a nice option.
3. Art and history
Bruges had a population of 45,000 in the Middle Ages, which was enormous for the time. There are several excellent museums, such as the Groeninge Museum, which offers a good collection of art by Flemish masters, including Jan Van Eyck. I recommend the St Johns Hospital complex, the site of a former medieval hospital. Surgery in the Middle Ages was performed by barbers – such as in this painting of a child undergoing eye surgery. The display also includes some rather bizarre looking surgical implements and a lot of religious paraphernalia. Paupers were apparently buried in straw and there was a charitable foundation to pay the priests to say masses for the poor several times a year.
Also nearby the St John’s Hospital Complex is the lovely Cathedral of Our Lady, which boasts historic artworks, including paintings by Caravaggio and beautiful Michelangelo sculpture of the Madonna and Child, one of the few outside Italy.
4. Belfrys and windmills
Climb the 12th century belfry in the central square. It has over 300 steps but it’s worth it if you can. The bells themselves are quite fascinating with giant clockwork contraptions to ring the bells. The views are superb, giving a grand overview of Bruges architecture, with the vista extending all the way to the outskirts of town, where you can see the giant modern windmills that power the town. Wind power is a long tradition in Belgium, as it is throughout the Lowlands. If you take a walk around the edge of Bruges Old Town, you might stumble across the old style windmills that have now been decommissioned, by removing the slats.
5. Food
If nothing else, I can guarantee that you will eat well in Bruges – or at least, you would have to work hard not to. There are quite a few nice restaurants – take a recommendation from your hotel or guide book or simply take a walk and see what looks good. Seafood is a particular specialty, especially the traditional dish of a pot of mussels (moules in French or mosselen in Flemish) in a broth such as cream and white wine, served with fries. Other traditional dishes on the menu include Flemish Rabbit, which is cooked with prunes. Other cuisines, such as Greek, are available but Belgian food is the real star.
Chocolate (and waffles)
Technically this counts as food but surely, chocolate is worth its own entry? There is a reason that Belgian chocolate is renowned the world over and the inhabitants of Bruges capitalise on this relentlessly – it’s no exaggeration to say that in some areas every third shop is a chocolatier. Waffles are also a Belgian invention and you can get freshly made waffles in the market. This is exactly how waffles should be – hot and dipped in cinnamon and sugar with a crunchy outside and chewy middle. You can even combine the two, with a chocolate waffle.
7. Beer
If Belgium is not the land of chocolate then perhaps it’s the land of beer, though it’s true that Germany gives it a run for its money on both counts. My favourites were Kriek, a cherry-flavoured beer that was subtle and not too sweet, and a creamy house beer in one of the pubs. Pubs in Bruges are cosy and characterful – like the English notion of a pub before the menace of the chain pub. It gets mighty cold in Bruges in winter so a nice warm pub is a great place to while away a few hours in the afternoon or evening, while many of the pubs have terraces and beer gardens so in summer you can sit outside.
Thank you for the informative post. Bruges is one of the most enchanting destinations in Europe with its rich history and beautiful canals. The city has something for everyone