A weekend in Bruges

Nicola Benson on 02 July 2010
Bruges is the perfect weekend destination. We travelled from London St Pancras by Eurostar to Brussels, with a connecting train to Bruges. The journey took approx 3 hours.

It is a beautiful city that is easily explored by foot over 2 days. The historic centre of Bruges has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000 and Bruges' most famous landmark is The Belfry on the main square. We climbed the 366 steps to the top & the views were well worth it! We rewarded ourselves with hot chocolate and a Belgium waffle which I have to say was the best I have tasted anywhere! Belgium is also renowned for its lace, beer and chocolate.

There are a number of ways to see the city, horse drawn carriage, by bike or a boat trip along the many canals.

The restaurants offer a great choice of local traditional dishes as well as European. The main square restaurants tend to be a bit more pricey, however it is a great place to people watch. There are many back street restaurants and bars, some have terraces overlooking the canals.

On our return journey we stopped off in Brussels for a few hours and did an open top bus tour before travelling back on the Eurostar. Brussels is a vibrant city and the Grand Place was simply stunning.

Bruges is a gem of a find and I will definitely return.