Bruges: some tips and photos to inspire you.
It’s been a while since we arrived back home from our weekend trip to Bruges, the capital of West Flanders in northwest Belgium distinguished by its picturesque canals, romantic streets, and fairy tale medieval buildings. And it is finally time to write something about one of the best romantic destinations in Europe. I truly mean it! The beauty and the romance of Bruges will really inspire you.
We landed in Brussels and caught the shuttle bus to Bruges.
Bruges is just a stone’s throw away from the capital city of Brussels and the bus connections from the Charleroi airport are so easy that in more or less an hour and a half we reached Bruges via Ghent. Shuttle busses, right at the entrance of the airport in fact, provide services all day long. The one way tickets from Brussels to Bruges are sold at the right corner of the airport exit for 21 euros per person.
Bus tickets to Bruges can be bought online for a cheaper price. I mean, if purchased online we would have spent 17 euros per person so we could have saved up to 4 euros each, but sadly we didn’t know that ahead of time.
If you forget to buy the tickets online before your departure, you can do it upon your arrival in Brussels by connecting your mobile to the free Wi-Fi offered by the airport.
Upon arriving in Bruges, the bus left us at the back side of the new bus terminal. From there, we just walked through the terminal and reached the main entrance and then we walked for about ten minutes to reach the old city centre.
Compared to many other canal cities we have been to, Bruges has that something more that can’t be described in words. And in one simple twist of fate, we were there in June, which was the most perfect month that we could ever have chosen to visit the city. Not only did we avoid the rush of tourists, but we also caught excellent weather conditions which can’t be over-emphasized when talking about Belgium. Moreover, hotels in Bruges are cheaper in June, not less than € 100.00 per night (double room) anyways.
On the other hand, we made a big mistake to believe that two days were enough to visit Bruges. Obviously, better than nothing; don’t get me wrong!!! But I want to make it clear that there are plenty of things to do in Bruges, so two days are not enough at all.
There are sights and treats for everybody of every age: canal trips, photogenic square and houses, beer factories, old churches, windmills, chocolate shops, museums, and getting lost in the city itself is just something marvellous.
We rented bicycles to make it faster but we still couldn’t see everything. So we had to choose, leaving out some tourist attractions, which wasn’t so easy for us.
Maybe this shortage could be a good reason to return one day, perhaps during the Christmas season to see the magic of Christmas in Bruges. Who knows!?!
So, in conclusion what you really need to know:
- Flibco busses run regularly from Brussels Charleroi airport to Bruges.
- Bus tickets from Brussels to Bruges are cheaper if bought online.
- The journey between Brussels and Bruges by train is 57 minutes, with around 74 trains per day but still if you are landing in Brussels Charleroi airport, bus is the best option.
- When you reach Bruges, the bus will leave you on the back side of the terminal. If you don’t have big bags, there is no need to take a taxi from there, you just have to cross through the terminal to get to the main entrance. From there it takes about 10 minutes to walk to reach the old city center
- All the activities close at 5pm. And most of them close also for lunch break from 12.30 to 2.30 pm.
- Avoid visiting the Holy Blood Church during the mass. They only allow you to stay close to the main entrance so you can’t see anything.
- For longer stays I suggest that you find an apartment because you can occasionally cook fast meals without always eating at the restaurant.
- Know that potatoes are served for lunch and dinner everywhere.
- Like Burano in Venice, Bruges is famous for its lace making. It crafts some of the most luxurious lace in the world.
- There are more than 80 bridges in Bruges.
Want to do more while in Bruges? Check out “Fun things to do in Damme” by Sarah. Damme is a picturesque village located only 5KM away from Bruges and you can even travel from Bruges to Damme by Bicycle.
