Brugge

Brugge (or Bruges in English) is a city full of canals, beer, fries, and of course the delicious waffles. It is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. It is described as “Venice of the North” and if you catch a boat and cruise the city via the canals, you will surely understand why. The canals are a part of the city nearly as old as Brugge themselves. They were built in the 12th century in order to help carry merchandise across the city and cross through the entirety of the city center. They allow visitors to see the attractions from a different angles, as well as to view some that would otherwise remain inaccessible.

St. Walburga Church

I went on an extended day trip at the beginning of March and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. One day was the perfect amount to see the highlights of Brugge, but two days would have been ideal. I felt a bit rushed towards the end of the day and I wish I had one more day to go in more of the attractions.

City Hall

The bus dropped everyone off at the train station. From there, I headed toward the city center by crossing over Barge Bridge. This modern bridge will catch your eyes with its bright red color and unique shape.

Barge bridge

This takes you to the Lake of Love, which is surrounded by a park and has a terrace facing the lake for the perfect view.

Lake of love

Near the lake is the Beguinage. This complex was a home to Beguines, women of a Christian spiritual movement of the 13th century. These women decided to devote their lives to Christ, live in poverty, and take care of the sick and poor. It is the only preserved beguinage in Brugge. Since 1927, it serves as a convent of Benedictine nuns.

The beguinage

After taking a stroll through the gardens, I made my way to Saint Salvator’s Cathedral. Along the way, I passed De Halve Maan Brewery, the only family brewery left in Brugge.

Brewery De Halve maan

After seeing the inside of Saint Salvator (free admission), I walked toward the Church of Our Lady. On the way, I stopped in a shopping square to have breakfast. I quickly realized that Brugge was quite expensive.

The Church of our Lady

When I reached the Church of Our Lady, I was amazed at its colossal height. The church tower stands at 115 meters and is the second biggest brick tower in the world and also the biggest building in the the city of Brugge. The church possess a marble sculpture of the Madonna and Child by Michaelangelo, various paintings and wooden carvings, and even tombs of Mary of Burgundy and Charles the Bold. You can visit the main part of the church for free, but if you wish to see the museum and artworks, you will need to purchase a ticket. Make sure to go around the back of the church to get a different perspective.

Down the street from the church along the canal is where the city’s market is, which is supposedly there most days. Opposite the market is Groeninge Museum, if you are interested in an art museum. I walked through the market and noticed a brewery on the other side of the canal called Bourgonge des Frandres. It was a great time to stop and have a drink on the outside patio as I watched the boats pass by.

Terrace near the Bourgogne of Flanders brewery

Next, I walked around the Quai of the Rosary, which a starting point of many boat trips. This place offers one of the most spectacular views in all of Brugge. I loved the atmosphere of this area.

Quai of the rosary

One drink wasn’t enough, so next on the agenda was the Bar named 2BE which was also a beershop. As soon as you walk in, you will notice the very long beer wall. This work of wall art features a large display of beer bottles and glasses. This bar is an awesome place to try different kinds of local beers. The shop also has a wide selection of beers to take home with you. I came back at the end of the day to get a suitcase full of a variety of local beers.

Bar: 2BE

A little ways down the street is House of Waffles, which is a fantastic place to stop for all of your waffle cravings. You can get waffles all over Brugge, but this place stuck out to me because of the large selection of toppings. You can order at the window or go inside to sit down. You will have an option between Brussels or Liege waffles and Liege are way better in my opinion. I topped mine with vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and bananas. Mmm Mmmm Mmmmm.

Don't get hungry ;)

My next stop was the astounding City Hall, which is located in Burg Square on the grounds of a former castle. It was built in 1376, making it one of the oldest city halls in Belgium. This is where the ruling over the country took place for some 600 years. Nowadays, it houses a city museum.

City hall

Not far from City Hall is Market Square, the very center of the historical heart of the city. The square is lined with wonderful sights, like the Bell tower and the Provincial Court. There are various restaurants, pubs, and stores around the square.

Market square

Belfry is an 83 meter high bell tower. If you climb all the way to the top on a sunny day, you can see the entirety of the city below you. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time for this as the line was long and I didn’t want to miss seeing the rest of the city. When visiting, do not miss the chance to admire the Belfry’s 47-bell clarion. The bells are made to ring by hand every day at 11 o’clock. Keep in mind that there is no elevator at the Belfry, so it is not wheelchair accessible. It takes 366 stairs to reach the top of the tower and the stairs get narrower and steeper the higher one gets, so it may be quite difficult for small children to reach the top.

Belfry

Easily recognizable by its multiple decorative spires, Provincial Court is one of the most beautiful examples of the Gothic Revival style in Brugge, both on the outside and inside. Originally a government meeting hall, it stopped serving its previous purpose in 1999 and turned into a purely ceremonial building.

Provincial court

Behind Market Square, I indulged in French Fries at a restaurant called Best Frit. Due to the name, I though I had to try it. You can choose from a selection of sauces. I chose a spicy one, which was quite tasty. As I ate my fries, I strolled toward St. James’s Church and then along the canals to the Friet Museum.

St. James Church

St. James’s Church is a splendid Early Gothic church, founded in 1240. The interior is decorated with 16th to 18th century paintings. The Friet Museum is devoted to the history of potatoes and the production of Belgian fries. I chose not to explore the museum due to time limitations.

Friet museum

The next museum along the route was Chico-Story – The Chocolate Museum. Throughout the museum, you will learn how chocolate is made and at the end, visitors can watch chocolate being made and have free samples after the demonstration.

Chico-story

The last two churches worth seeing quickly are St. Walburga Church and St. Anne’s Church. To end my route around the city, I walked the Groenerei Promenade, passing the Palace of the Liberty of Bruges.

St. Anne’s Church

I took a quick stroll through Koningin Astrid Park on the way to Gent Gate to end the trip. It is one of the four gates that served as an entry point to the city in the Middle Ages.

Ghent gate

This concluded my day trip to Brugge. As you can see, I was able to see quite a bit in a short amount of time. I didn’t even have a proper lunch or dinner because I was so full on beer, waffles, and French Fries. I would love to go back and go in some of the places that I didn’t have time for.

Flea market

About me

I am a Belgian youngster who joined the Hive community in December 2021. I discovered Hive through the cardgame of Splinterlands. Since than I am slowly learning more every day about crypto, the hive community and Splinterlands.

Since I was a child I liked to write stories. So this community is really awesome for me since I actually have a platform to share my blogposts. I first started to write guides about the Splinterlands game but a few weeks ago I discovered the other communities. So one day I stumbled upon this #haveyoubeenhere community. After reading quite some interesting blogposts, which took me from America over Africa through Asia to Austriala, I decided I wanted to give back some of the beautifull parts Belgium has to offer.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I really hope you enjoyed reading it! Will continue to write some articles about (hidden) places of Belgium if people enjoy reading it.