I finally got to visit Bruges, Belgium for a long weekend toward the end of March. Bruges has been on my list of places to visit for awhile, so I finally got to go. It was a quick visit over a long weekend, but the weather was clear and sunny for the majority of it. In the end, I had about a day in a half in Bruges. This post has photographs of my trip, including some of the places to visit and things to do in Bruges.
The Befort (Bell Tower): First up, we have the bell tower. I have previously covered this here: A Morning Climb Up Bruges' Bell Tower. I recommend visiting early in the morning and on a weekday to avoid the long queues of other visitors. On the way up are bells and information about the mechanics of the bells. The highlight is the amazing view from the top.
Chocolate, souvinirs, and lace: Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it attracts many tourists. Because of this, there are many shops selling souvinirs and chocolate. Lace is another popular item for sale, and it can be found in some specialist shops as well as tourist shops. Chocolate shops are virtually everywhere in Bruges, but many of them are not too great. A few of them are chains, such as Neuhaus and Godiva. Neuhaus mass produces chocolates, and these are also sold at the airport. The best shops that I found for really good chocolate are "The Chocolate Line" and "Dumon". Both of these chocolate shops are located in Simon Stevin square to the west of the main market square. "The Chocolate Line" has a little factory where you can see chocolate-making products and chocolates being taken out of moulds. I tried some of the other chocolate from other shops, but it did not live up to expectations.
Cuberdons are jelly triangular items, which you can see the multiple colours of in the foreground of one of the below photographs. They are traditionally a Ghent product, but many of the sweet shops in Bruges sell them. The traditional flavour is raspberry, but there are many other flavours. They do not last long, but they are very much like an American gumdrop (which I am sure was inspired by them or made by Belgians who moved to America) but fresher/sweeter and not as chewy.
Speculoos are a type of biscuit or cookie that tastes similar to gingerbread. It is similar to shortbread but sweeter and can be sandwiched with cream. They are also popular in the Netherlands. A good shop selling cookies or biscuits is "Juliette Biscuit Shop" on Wollestraat, the road that runs south from the south-eastern part of the main market square.
Burg Square, Town Hall and courthouse: Burg square is a picturesque square just to the east of the main market square. There are a few notable buildings here, along with the Alleyway of the Blind Donkey, which leads to the fishmarket under the archway underneath the medieval buildings. The Church of the Sacred Blood is also on this square in the corner. All are worth a visit.
The Town Hall is a beautiful building with a large room upstairs that can be visited. This massive room is decorated beautifully with stained glass windows, wall paintings, wood carvings and tiles. Visitors can pick up an information page about the different artwork on the walls and read it.
Next door, the building on the left of the square, is the courthouse. The courthouse has a beautiful room with a marble fireplace and wooden carvings.
The Church of the Sacred Blood is a beautiful but rather small church. Its claim to fame is the relic that holds what is claimed to be the blood of Jesus from when he died on the cross. People come from all over to see the relic, and they have it out on display at certain times. One of these times was when I happened to visit the church. A priest was guarding the relic, which contained what looked like blood encased in glass.
The Fishmarket: The fishmarket is a covered market with granite tables that used to hold fish for sale. A few of these tables now have tourist goods for sale, but there is only one fish seller who remains to sell fresh fish.
Church of Our Lady Bruges: The large cathedral was under renovation when I visited, so I did not get to go inside. However, it is an imposing structure that I managed to get a couple of nice photographs of. Inside the church is a sculpture of Modonna and child by Micheangelo. However, I did not get to see this as the cathedral is under renovations.
Market Square: The main market square is probably the most photographed and busiest place in Bruges. The Belfort (bell tower) dominates the skyline around the area, so there are several great photographs from the side streets leading to the market square. It is easy to take so many photographs.
One of the other monuments in the square is the statue in the middle.
Historium: The Historium Bruges is one of the museums to visit in the city. It transports you back in time during the medieval ages in Bruges. In this building, you can see a view of the market square also also have a drink in the bar on the first floor while enjoying the view.
Horses: The market square is also the place where visitors can hire a horse and cart to take them around the city of Bruges. The tour by horse and cart is guided with the guide giving out some information about the city during a half-hour dash around with a stop half-way to allow the horse a snack and a drink and a photograph opportunity.
Ice Cream: If you do fancy an ice cream, try Da Vinci ice cream in Bruges. It's not as good as what you can get in Italy, but it was a decent ice cream. I had pistachio.
Waffles: Waffles are a Belgian treat, and you can buy waffles-on-a-stick with a variety of toppings to be made fresh or pre-made to take away in a small box. These are made to be taken home as souvinirs. Also, a lot of street vendors sell waffles, and I got one of these from a kiosk in front of the train station in Bruges. It was delicious. I dislike the "waffles" they have in the UK, and the ones in Belgian were a little closer to what I am used to in the USA instead of being too sugary/sweet. I also visited Lizzie's Waffles (Lizzie's Wafels (Lizzie's Waffles) in Bruges, Belgium).
Minnewaterpark: A lovely park and viewpoint just south of the city is Minnewaterpark. It has a lake and the canals running through it ans a lot of swans.
Jan van Eyck statue: A statue for the artist and famous Bruges resident Jan van Eyck is located near the canal in the northeastern part of Bruges.
Canal Boat Rides: The canal boats can be boarded at five places along the canal in the centre of the city, and they all cover the same parts of the canal. For more information, see my post here: A Canal Boat Tour of Bruges.
Lover's Bridge: Bruges' smallest bridge is certainly a place for tourists to get photographs, as I found out. It is located not too far from the Groeingemuseum (art gallery).
Groeingemuseum: This art museum contains paintings by Flemish artists, such as Jan Van Eyck. The below is one of the famous paintings by the artist in the gallery. It's a small gallery packed with quite a few nice pieces of artwork.
Small Streets: Also, visiting any city is worth just getting lost down side streets and seeing what can be discovered behind the corners. Sometimes you find a nice shop or a nice view.
What I ate in Bruges (besides what I've covered already): I did not have a bad meal in Belgium. Due to flight delays, I arrived in the evening and in time for dinner. We were given recommendations. The first place we went to was Mojo, south of the Fishmarket. This was a restaurant in a pub. I had red wine chicken, followed by chocolate mousse. Smoked leek and cod soup was provided on the house as a starter. On the first night in Bruges, we went to Poules Moules, which specialises in mussels. I had the soup to start, followed by roast chicken, which had a delicious flavour. I also tried the chocolate mousse, and it was better here than the previous night. Late on one other evening, I went to Ellis Gourmet Burger. I ordered a chicken burger, and again, it has a great flavour and the bread was light and tasted fresh. For desserts, ice cream is also a specialty, and one sundae is common on a lot of the members and translates to "White Lady". It is a vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.
That concludes my day and a half in Bruges. I hope that you have found it useful. Let me know if I have missed anything that you experienced that you really enjoyed when you visited the city.
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