Bruges

Likes & Dislikes

Likes

Bruges - Krista photo

1. The whole city has been preserved as it was centuries ago – a fabulous time travel experience. My favorite is the area around Begijnhof

2. The old town illuminated in the evening, and the labyrinth of canals

3. The many charming little chocolate shops, sweet shops, bars, bistros, and pretty art galleries

4. Buying a warming cup of hot chocolate on a cold day

5. Boating on the canals

6. The practicality of the Bruges city card, which is also good value for money (€38)

7. The churches are spectacular

8. Easy to get around the city on foot, but it’s also possible to bike out to the windmills

9. The pommes-frites (French fry) museum

10. Every street has something unique and special

Dislikes

Bruges - Overtourism - Krista photo

1. It’s nice to sit in a restaurant on the main square, but the prices are astronomical

2. The restaurants and bars all close by 9-10 at night, and after that there’s almost nothing open

3. There’s no opportunity for any nightlife – not long after dinner, say by half ten or so, there’s really nowhere to go except back to your hotel

4. It’s easy to get lost, though if you’re not in a hurry, who cares?

5. There are too many tourists at the weekend, when the train tickets are half price

6. Tough to stick to a diet in a place with this many chocolate shops

7. The raspberry and apricot flavored beers are worth trying, but only once

8. One day isn’t enough, you need at least two to see everything

9. The tourist menus in restaurants are poor value for money, and every restaurant has the same boring range of options

10. If you don’t bring a thick-soled pair of shoes you’ll get blisters from the cobbled streets

11. The locals are mostly unfriendly and don’t even disguise that they hate the tourists.

Opinions

Bruges - main square - z.f. photo

“Bruges really is as pretty as in the pictures – if not more so! I’ve never been anywhere quite so clean, though I go abroad five or six times a year. I have photos showing them vacuuming the sidewalks, with a regular home vacuum cleaner. It’s a shock to come across a chip packet or some waste paper because the city’s so thoroughly clean and tidy. I suppose the place that comes closest is Klagenfurt, Austria, but the buildings there are all from the nineteenth century, while those in Bruges are mostly from the sixteenth or seventeenth centuries.

Almost all the streets of the old town are cobbled from wall to wall, so whatever you don’t come here in high heels (unless you’re a masochist!)

There were a French fry museum and a beer museum (among countless other museums) but we were pressed for time and didn’t visit them. You can take a boat trip on the canals, and in good weather, I’d highly recommend it. At €8 for 30 minutes, it’s worth it for the views!

You can rent bikes from several places, but the cobblestones make them difficult to use.

On the edge of the old town, you can also admire the old windmills, which are an excellent (and free) photo subject. The old town itself is easy to get around on foot – maybe 30 minutes’ walk from end to end. (Kristian, 2017)

“Bruges is the sort of city where it’s worth exploring every single street. One day is probably enough to see almost every lane and alley. And remember to look up! Firstly because it’s worth admiring the facades of the houses in detail, but also because Bruges is a city of towers. The Belfry towers over the main square, but even it is dwarfed by the steeples of two nearby churches.” (2019)

Practicals