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Bruges Canal
K-Rae Nelson © 2008
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The
mystique of Venice is such that countries all over the world boast of their own
“Venices”. To aspire to the title of “Venice”
a city should be fairly small, historic, with a high charm quotient, and be
built around waterways. This makes Bruges, the Venice of Belgium, the clear
winner among the northern contenders which include Amsterdam and St.
Petersburg.
The
Venices of the world invite lovers, and Bruges, known locally by its Flemish
name, Brugge, is no exception. With its
well preserved city center dating from the 16th and 17th
centuries, its swirl of misty canals, windmills, horse-drawn carriages,
bicycles and restricted car access, Bruges’ reputation as a romantic getaway is
firmly established. These very
attributes also make it the perfect playground for families with children, or
backpacking students.
An hour from Brussels and two
and a half hours from Paris by train, Bruges is a common day-tripper
destination, and the closest “Venice” to Paris.
As charming as Bruges is as a day outing, its beauty is even more appreciable
over a longer period. During a stay of
two or three days you can connect with the atmosphere of Bruges, its language
and rhythms. The fairy tale quality
clinging to the cobbled streets and gabled houses is palpable during an early
morning or quiet evening stroll in the city center. With the luxury of time, the various facets
of Bruges can be explored on foot, by boat, in a horse-drawn carriage, and on bike. Tooling along on a bicycle, away from the
swarming tourists, it’s hard not to succumb to the spell of Bruges. Find a real
Belgian waffle, the chewy caramelized leavened gauffre
liégeoise made with pearl sugar and life is very good indeed.
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Gauffres Liégeoises
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Staying in Bruges for a night or two also allows for time to visit the city and its surrounding from multiple angles. A canal boat ride is of course the prerequisite for every "Venice" trip and a nice way to begin your visit, especially if you've just elbowed your way through the throngs of tourists in the central Grote Markt square.
After an initial walkabout of the town, consider a tour of the city by carriage. Although the wait for
carriage rides can be upwards of an hour, once seated in your rig, you'll be won over by the view. The coachwomen and men provide commentary and are generally happy to offer suggestions for the rest of your stay. You'll quickly become familiar with the layout of the town recognizing landmarks and streets visited on foot or by bike, and still others from your boat ride. Lulled by the clip-clop of the horses, you can well imagine life in Bruges centuries in the past.
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Grote Markt
bonbeer.wordpress.com ©
2010
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It is always enjoyable to visit a city from the water, and I have a soft spot for horse-drawn travel, but it is the freedom of the bicycles, easily rented around town, that I find key to the success of a Bruges stay. Going from place to place on bikes is much more entertaining than on foot and soon you'll feel like you fit right in. A park with bike paths (and windmills) rings the small city center, making Bruges ideal for cyclists. With a bicycle you can explore all of the nooks and crannies that make up this medieval UNESCO World Heritage city, and follow the canals, inhaling their water scent and enjoying the breeze.
If the weather's nice, head out of town. I ended one Bruges stay with a 20-mile, perfectly flat, country bike ramble. My daughter and I rode through the village of Damme and on to the Dutch border, had lunch in the Netherlands and then biked back to Belgium. Along the canal we spotted windmills, wet-suited canal swimmers, and a Noah's Ark menagerie of barnyard animals. We also got caught in a bit of drizzle, but by that time we had accepted the intermittent showers as part of the Bruges experience.
We
entertained the Flemish and the Dutch with our attempts to pronounce their language,
reminiscent of German with the addition of scratchy throaty sounds. After mangling the name of the Dutch border
town (mistakenly assuming Sluis might be pronounced “sluice”), we
obediently tried to reproduce their "Sloooooyse" and were met with
good-natured uproarious laughter.
Food
in Bruges is as child-friendly as the boat, bike and carriage rides. Our
weekend carb fests began with hearty breakfasts of bread with butter and
chocolate sprinkles, followed by bread slathered with Nutella and washed down
with hot cocoa which would tide us over until the first "French" fry break of the day. Les frites are a national fixation. The fry stand was in the central Grote Markt where they are offered with your choice of - yes, we counted - 18 sauces. We stuck with ketchup and curry ketchup, although mayonnaise with onions seems to be a local favorite. Indigenous queuing customs in front of the wooden carts involved lining up to place your order and then going to the back of a second line to wait. This caused no small amount of confusion among the non-natives.
There are many casual and more upscale dining options in Bruges, although popular restaurants are often fully booked in the evenings. To avoid a frustration rain-soaked hunt on an empty stomach, reserve for your evening meal.
Getting there: Round trip train fare from
Paris to Bruges with a connection in Brussels begins at 100€ ($130). Tickets
can be purchased online through the Belgian Rail international
site. You can also purchase the high-speed rail Paris-Brussels tickets on the
French Thalys site and then purchase
the Brussels to Bruges tickets at Belgian
Rail, or at the Brussels station when you arrive.
Where to Stay
B
& B Kwalito, Ezelstraat 44, Tel.
+32 (0) 50 34 23 26, Fax +32 (0) 50 34 63 33. www.bedandbreakfast-kwalito.com,
70
€($94) for two, including breakfast. Each
room has a kitchenette with coffee maker and microwave.
Jacobs Hotel, Baliestraat 1
Tel.
+32 (0) 50 33 98 31, Fax +32 (0) 50 33 56 94. 89€ ($116) for a budget room for
2 with breakfast to 109€ ($142) for a superior double with breakfast. All rooms
have toilets and showers in the room, TV and free wifi. Buffet breakfast and
use of large umbrellas included.
Die Swaene Hotel,
Steenhouwersdijk 1
The
ultimate romantic hotel overlooking the Groenerei Canal. Part of the Small
Luxury Hotels of the World Group. Tel. +32
(0) 50 34 27 98, Fax +32 (0) 50 33 66 74.
Doubles
from 185€ ($240).
Trattoria Trium, Academiestraat 23, Tel. +32 (0) 50 33 30 60. Inexpensive Italian. 15-20€ ($20-25)
Taverne Oud Handbogenhof,
Baliestraat 6, Tel. +32 (0) 50 78 25 50
Moderate.
Traditional, old fashioned interior, mussels and fries. 27€ and 32€ ($35 and $42) menus,
beverages not included. Down the street from Jacob Hotel.
Expensive.
Excellent and innovative beer cuisine. Three-course lunch menu for 24€ ($31). Two-course dinner for 32€ ($41), three courses for 35€ ($46) and four courses for 42€ ($55),
beverages not included.
And Also…(Keeping the priorities straight)
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Duchesse de Bourgogne
bonbeer.wordpress.com ©
2010
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De Biertempel, just off of the Grote Markt
square at Philipstockstraat 7, mind-boggling selection of Belgian beers, including my favorite, Duchesse de Bourgogne which you can buy in California, but not France.
Note:
For information on Belgian beer (and beer in general), I’ve enjoyed reading The Beer Stocked Refrigerator blog.
Chocolatier Dumon, Eiermarkt 6, Tel. +32 (0) 50
34 62 82.
Chocolate dipped orangettes and mendiants.
Museums
Groeninge Museum, Dijver 12. 8€ ($11) for
adults, 6€ ($8) for 13-26 & over 60, free under 13. Closed Monday. Paintings
by artists active in Bruges from the 15th century on. I love Jan Van Eyck’s Madonna with Canon
Van de Paele (1436) for the vivid colors and the astonishingly meticulous
detail on the fabric of the robes.
Volkskundemuseum (Municipal
Folklore Museum), Balstraat 43. 4€ ($5), 3€ ($4) 13-26 & over 60 years, free under
12. Closed Monday.
Housed in a row of tiny, whitewashed 17th century almshouses, each room of the Folklore Museum, built to house a family, represents a different aspect of 19th century Bruges life: a model schoolroom, general store, candy shop, pharmacy, cobbler, haberdashery and tailor.
Bike Rental
Koffieboontje, Hallestraat 4,
Tel. +32 (0) 50 33 80 27; 12€ ($15.60) per day, 9€ ($11.70) with a Brugge City
Card), 8€ ($10) for four hours, and 4€ ($5) per hour.
Bauhaus Bike Rental,
Langestraat 145, Tel. +32 (0) 50 33 31 33; 6€ ($8)/day with Brugge City Card.
Carriage Rides
Grote Markt, 39€ ($51) for up to 5
persons per carriage.
Canal Rides
Embarkation
points are clustered together behind the Belfy Tower, Burg (City Hall) and near
the Church of Our Lady at Wollestraat 32, Huidenvettersplein 13, Rozenhoedkaai,
Nieuwstraat 11, Katelijnestraat 44. Cost: 7.60€ ($10) for adults, 3.40€ ($4.50)
for children 4-12. Tours from 10 am -
6pm, March - November.
Bruges Tourist Office,
Burg 11, Tel. +32 (0) 50 44 86 86.
Money Matters
While
it is generally very easy to locate ATMS in Europe, I found only 2 ATMs where I
was able to withdraw cash in Bruges.
There was always a line at the ATM outside the main post office on the Grote
Markt. Other ATM locations in Central Bruges are the ING at Markt 18,
Kbc Bank at Steenstraat 38 and Europabank at Vlamingstraat 13 and Fortis Bank
at Vlamingstraat 78.
Brugge City Card
If
you’re staying overnight in Bruges, it may be worth your while to invest in a Brugge City Card, available at the
train station. At 38€ ($50) for 24 hours and 43€ ($56) for 48 hours, less 3€
($4) for those under 26, it’s pretty easy to recoup your investment since the
card includes a free canal ride, entrance to the Belfry with its panoramic view,
the 14th century Gothic City Hall, Gruuthuse Museum, the Memling
Hospital Musuem, the Koelewei and Sint-Janshuis Windmills, and the Belgian
Fries Museum as well has deep discounts on bus and tram (6€ for a three-day
pass instead of 12€), and up to 40% off on bike rental at
DON’T FORGET: Your umbrella!
