Bruges, Belgium

Enjoying some of the numerous local brews
see all photos »

The first leg of our journey began with flying London to Brussels and catching the 1 hour train up to Brugge. We also had some friends from London (Nicole, Steeve and Bryan) with us for the first few days.

Got straight into the famous Belgian beer, even strict wine drinker Imelda enjoyed the Leffe Blonde and may be converted! Belgian beer is a religion in this country, so many varieties and all of it worth trying.

narrow cobbled streets and amazing architecture

View over Bruges from the top of the belfry in the central Markt
see all photos »

Saturday morning began at 7am with very loud dance music coming from somewhere below our room. After a European breakfast, half of which was coffee (far better than the English stuff), the four of us headed out to explore Brugge. First stop was the diamond museum and shop. Naturally the girls were quite excited by all the ice on show and the guys kept nervously looking at their watches while eyeing the astronomical price tags. Enough said.

Next was the chocolate museum, including a great demonstration of praline creation. Quite an education, apparently chocolate fights tooth cavities and does not make you put on weight! More ammo for girls and their chocolate binges. Must say though, the Belgians definitely deserve the title of best chocolatiers.

All of the town's buildings were floodlit at night
see all photos »

Bruges is a very compact city, with narrow cobbled streets and amazing architecture around every corner. You can easily walk right around the centre in an hour. We all climbed the 350 odd steps to the top of the belfry in the central Markt, just in time for the 40 huge bells to start pealing. Scared the life out of us! Great views though.

One of the other great features of Brugge is the canal system, with tiny walled gardens and ancient bridges. We took one of the many boat tours around the waterways and picked up lots of the local history. The cathedrals and the buildings around the canals are floodlit at night which is even better to see.

Beatiful time to wander the streets
see all photos »

The city centre was quite touristy with lots of school groups and horse drawn carriages, and not even the peak summer season yet. The carriage ride was something we didn't try since it was about 60 euros for a half hour! Also tried a few of the local restaurants and beer houses, one of which boasted over 300 different beers.

All in all, a safe, relaxing place with plenty to see day and night.