How to Spend A Day in Bruges

I had fond memories of Bruges. My mum and I visited the town when I was only 15 years old and I remember loving it.

I had been working in Ghent for about a week when I woke up one morning and discovered I had the day off. My boss at the time, Bart, told me that the hostel would be pretty quiet and that I could take a break and explore around. So, without hesitating, I ran to the train station and catch the first train to Bruges.

Travelling from Ghent to Bruges

Travelling from Ghent to Bruges is not complicated at all. Actually, most of the travelling I did around Belgium was quite accessible. I usually checked the schedules and prices in the train line website and I could even book online and just hop on the train of my choice.

I did struggle a little bit with the language, because, as I said on my last Ghent post, Dutch is the main language in that part of Belgium. And, even though most of the people speak English, that is not the case with the train megaphones… Thankfully, I took a couple of German classes back in Mexico and the languages were similar enough for me to understand at which platform I had to transfer. And, unlike the first time I visited Belgium, I didn’t end up in any unknown part of the world with two unknown French teachers (do not ask).

I’d strongly recommend to learn some numbers in the language of the city you are visiting. It saved my life. It doesn’t matter if you use Duolinguo or the advice of Count Von Count, just learn the first 20 numbers!

Walking around its historical centre

Since I didn’t have enough time to plan an itinerary, I decided to do what I do best while I’m doing last-minute travelling: walk around the town centre.

I guess it was to be expected, but I found Bruges completely different from the tiny, little charming town I had visited ten years ago. It was still charming, of course, but it appears that its popularity grew considerably and now it was a tourist town.

A guy from the hostel in Ghent told me that it was mainly due to the release of the film In Bruges, which turn the city into a very attractive destination. So that meant that I spent my day cursing Colin Farrell every time I had to pay for an overpriced cup of tea.

However, even though it was considerably crowded and kind of expensive, I still enjoyed getting to know the town again. The buildings are gorgeous, as most Belgian constructions are, and the cobbled streets and old houses just give you that medieval flare, although it does get somewhat lost among all of the fancy shopping stores and attractions.

The Best place to eat chocolate

So I am in Bruges, I am hungry and I want a snack and that only means one thing: chocolate. While I visited the place with my mum back in 2007, we had the best chocolate in town inside this small, crowded shop near the Basilica of the Holy Blood. I wasn’t sure if it existed yet or if I could find the place. Nevertheless, I gave it a go and guess what? I did it!

The place is called Chocolaterie de Burg and it is right next to the church. They have a huge variety of chocolates and sweets. You can even make your own package full of your favourite treats. The owner was very nice and she seemed happy when I explained that 15-year-old me had been in her shop long time ago. She let me snap some shots of her product and even added an extra truffle to my chocolate box.

Bruges’ churches

Ok, so one of the things that bothered me the most of my most recent trip to Bruges, was the insane amount of fees that you had to pay to get into its churches. That wasn’t the case during my last visit so I was quite shocked.

I completely understand that you have to pay some fees to help maintain some popular buildings in the city. The Sagrada Familia, for example, is still under construction and some especial exhibitions, like The Adoration of the Sacred Lamb, are worth paying for. However, overcharging to visit a religious place seems somewhat wrong to me. In any case, the churches are so beautiful that I decided to pick one and have a look.

I went with the Basilica of the Holy Blood, since I was already in the area and I had fond memories. Additionally, the price is not to expensive (€2,50 for an adult ticket). You are not allowed to take pictures inside. And since it’s a very small church I didn’t want to risk snapping a shot in the name of art. But the stained glass windows and the altar ornaments are breath-taking.

I’d also recommend visiting the Church of Our Lady. It displays the Madonna and Child sculpture by Michelangelo. It is a larger church and it exhibits plenty of paintings and art pieces.

Where to stay

Since I took a day trip and I was living half an hour ago from the city, I didn’t really need to book accommodation. However, last time I visited Bruges I stayed at Hotel Azalea and absolutely loved it!

The staff was so kind and willing to help and the building was gorgeous. It didn’t seem like much from the outside, but just the dinning room area made me feel like a Downton Abbey character. Breakfast is included and it is quite tasty, since they bake their own bread there. The location is also very convenient, because, even though Bruges is a small, walkable city, Azalea Hotel guarantees that you won’t have to walk more than 10 minutes to the main attractions.

The tourist traps

Ok, so one of the risks of visiting such a popular city are the tourist traps. Bruges is full of them and it was quite a challenge to avoid them.

If you want to book a boat ride, let me tell you in advance that it is going to be more expensive than in other Belgian cities. Bruges is, after all, the Venice of the north. While places like Ghent offer rides from €6.00 euros, Bruges’ fees are around €8.00 to €10.00. However, I saw some excentric prices while I was wondering around the main spots in the city. Just make sure you don’t end paying up double digits for your tour and you’ll be all right.

Also, getting some food can be an expensive business. Some of the prices in the main square were just ridiculous. Therefore I had to walk into a more residential area to get a more reasonable price for a bowl of soup.

The Gulliver Tree may not have a lot of options, but it is surely both, charming and affordable. It is not so far from the city centre and the desserts are a must as well.

Additionally, there are plenty of souvenir shops. They sell everything from home ornaments to cuckoo’s clocks and everything is expensive an overcrowded. However, browsing is free and you can manage to snap a few pictures before someone tells you that it is against the shop policy.

Anyways, make sure to let me know your favourite things to do in Belgium in the comments.

I guess I’ll see you on the road.

Love,