Bruges (Brugge? Bruge?) Bruges!

Bruges is a beautiful historic city in Flanders, Belgium, known for their well-maintained Medieval architecture and great food: the Big 4 (Waffles, Chocolate, Fries, and Beer!).

I was lucky to spend ~3 days in Bruges, Belgium with one of my best friends recently, and I can’t recommend it enough! Many people treat Bruges like a day trip (often from Brussels or other larger European cities), but I absolutely think it’s worth being your main destination for 2-3 days (though any amount of time you can spend there is a plus).

Getting To Bruges (By Train)

The train from Brussels or Antwerp is the easiest way to get to Bruges. If you’re not flying into Brussels and connecting from there, you may need to grab a train from another European city (for us it was Rotterdam).

To get from Brussels to Bruges, take a Belgian Railways train through SNCB. These trains don’t lock you into a specific departure time (or reserve a seat) so feel free to get your ticket at the station or on your phone, and leave your timing flexible. (This is also true if you’re coming from other large Belgian cities like Antwerp, Ghent, etc.)

Getting Around Bruges (De Lijn Public Transportation)

It’s a 15-25 minute walk from the train station into the city center, depending on where you choose to stay. It’s a really lovely walk so, unless it’s bad weather, I’d recommend walking to get your first views of the city. There are some buses that could take you into the city center though, that pick up right outside the train station.

The Belgian Public transportation system is called De Lijn. You can purchase tickets on your phone, and they’re valid for 60 minutes once you activate them (rather than being for a specific stop or route). Unlike the Dutch system, at least in 2025, you can’t just tap your credit card onboard.

Where To Stay

The Bruges city center isn’t too large, and most of the “sights” to see are located in the old town, so location wise, it’s tough to go wrong. As long as your lodging is about a 15 minutes walk or less from the Belfry, you’re extremely centrally located. If you’re looking for a quieter neighborhood, (note – by this I just mean less foot traffic during the day, lots of tourists clear out around 5 or so, so even the busy city center is quieter at night), consider Sint Anna Quarter. We stayed at Hotel Navarra and it was very nice (I suspect we may have gotten their off-season pricing because it was fairly affordable at the time).

Eating the Main Belgian Food Groups: Waffles, Fries, Chocolate, and Beer

Trying a range of all these food groups is a noble activity in itself. Most of our days were oriented around how to try as many of these as possible without making ourselves sick.

Waffles:

There are two kinds of waffles: Liege and Brussels. Liege were my favorite (aka the only ones we ate). Liege waffles are made with a thicker batter and have pearl sugar mixed in. They also are richer and chewier and have uneven edges. Brussels waffles are more rectangular and have clear edges – with a lighter crispier batter.

Don’t get too wrapped up in “finding the best waffle” – having it be hot off the waffle iron makes the biggest difference, and in my opinion, there’s no such thing as a bad waffle! If you’re looking for some suggestions to try though, check these out:

• Oyya (my favorite of our time here) – great for adding ice cream on your waffle.
• Otto’s Waffle Atelier – the most Instagram-able waffle we had (they put cute little flowers on top!). These waffles are actually gluten-free and tasted very good. They were a little less sweet than others, though.
• Chez Hari – looks horribly touristy from the outside (the branding is all very pink) but the waffle was delicious and hot, and they had a great range of toppings!

• Other commonly mentioned places we didn’t get to try:
  • House of Waffles – if you sit down inside, they have some savory options!
  • Flavourrs
  • Chez Albert – one of the more crowded stops (stays open till late at night), but I have to believe that if you can get a waffle fresh from here, it would still taste delicious
  • Lizzie’s – some of the largest waffles (it was a no for us, larger waffles means we got to try fewer places!)
  • Venice Corn – family owned sandwich shop that also sells waffles, very reasonably priced!

I wish I could comment on every waffle shop in Bruges, but our stomachs only allowed so much.

Fries:

Belgian fries are delicious and I don’t think you have to go on a hunt to find the “best” fries. Order some with your dinner, grab a cone from a stand in the square (but that probably will be a bit of a rip off cost-wise), or go to a fast food fry place – if they’re warm, they’re delicious!

If you are looking for a specific recommendation, I’d suggest Friituur De Gentpoorte. It’s a fast food place that specializes in fries (and many delicious sauces) on the outskirts of the city center. We paid 9 Euro for the largest container of fries I’ve ever seen (more food than two of us could eat for our entire dinner) and three sauces. Mayonnaise and Curry Ketchup are the classics, but throw a few other ones in to mix it up!

Chocolate:

I’ll admit – we did not do our chocolate research or try a wide range of chocolates, but I can recommend Dumon! Our walking tour stopped here for some chocolate and it happened to also be where all the chocolate in our hotel was from! We went back later and got a tasting box and they all rocked my world.

Beer:

We absolutely DID do our beer research , so below are some thoughts on our favorite beers, and our favorite places to drink them!

Watering Holes:

• De Garre – Pub style bar that’s located in an alley way (it’s a bit hard to spot if you don’t know what you’re looking for). Be prepared to share a table with some new friends (or offer yours to share), it’s not a large place. Their house beer is the “Tripel van de Garre” (beware it’s 11%) and comes served with a side of cubed cheese (which obviously was a huge perk to me). They also have a well-curated selection of other Belgian and Trappist beers. We drank two beers here – their blond and their tripel. Both were a hit!
• 2BE – Known famously as the “beer wall.” I was a bit worried that it would be too crowded with tourists, and while that’s not completely untrue, it’s still absolutely worth the visit. They have a great range of beers from Bruges and Belgium beyond, and have a beautiful terrace right on the canal.
  • Favorite beers we tried here:
    • Tarwebier – (Witbier from De Halve Maan)
    • Brugse Zot – (Golden Blonde from De Halve Maan)
    • Rodenbach Alexander (Red-Brown Ale, with a Cherry Twist)
    • Kasteel Rubus – (Raspberry Beer)

Breweries:

There’s only two “breweries” (but lots of bars) in Bruges, but they both have a great selection.

• De Halve Maan
  • As you saw from 2BE – a lot of our favorite beers were De Halve Maan beers, one of two breweries in the city! (The Tarwebier and the Brugse Zot).
  • We also loved the Rose beer on the menu!
  • The Dubbel and Tripel are also supposed to be delicious, just not necessarily our style! (We prefer to be able to walk straight after drinking two beers).
  • Bonus – they sell standard bar food here so you can stay and drink longer on the patio without fear!

• Flanders Bourgogne
  • Consider getting the flight to try lots of their beers.
  • Our favorite was their house beer – the Bourgogne des Flandres.
  • While the beer here wasn’t as good as De Halve Maan (in our opinion), they have a beautiful patio right on the water.

Other Places to Eat

• Vlissinghe
  • This is the oldest pub in Bruges, but somehow doesn’t get too crowded. Inside there’s a very “homey inn” inside and there’s a lovely courtyard out back. They offer a nice combination of toasties, regular fare, and some good Belgian classics (stoverij, meatballs in beer sauce, etc.).
• I’d also suggest looking at other restaurants in the by Sint Anna area or Tom’s Diner (all looked great and a little less tourist heavy – just didn’t get to try during our time there!)
• Please just don’t eat on the square by the Belfry. These restaurants are often are the most expensive in city centers, while also having very “average” food.
• For breakfast or lunch, I’d recommend Sanseveria Bagelsalon. Great bagel sandwiches and yogurt bowls (we went there twice!) Just a short walk from the main square.
• Shouldn’t need too many more restaurant recommendations, because you need to focus your time on consuming the maximum number of waffles and beer (some breweries also have food to keep you alive while drinking – I noted them above!)

What to Do (Besides Eating and Drinking)

• City center walking tour to see the Stadhuis, Markt Square, Burg Square, etc.
  • I’d recommend doing a walking tour if you have time. There’s some cool history about each of the main buildings, and it’s a fun way to get your bearings (I think most are honestly pretty similar, so just go off online reviews).
• Take a boat ride on the canals
  • Only one company is allowed to operate the boat on the canals, so you only have one option here. The ride is about 30 minutes and costs 15 Euro for adults.
    • If you see walking tours or other tours with a boat ride, it’s still these boats.
• Rosary Quay
  • Famous picture taking spot – gets you a cool view of the Belfry, the canals, etc.
• The Belfry and Museums / Churches to your heart’s content
  • There’s a slew of monuments and museums that you have to pay to get into. If you want to do a couple of them, I’d get the “Musea Brugge” ticket that covers them all.
    • Part of that ticket includes access to the Belfry.
      • This is the only one of the “Musea Brugge” activities that we did, and I highly recommend it! You climb the tower yourself and get a great view of the city / square. You also get to see / hear the actual bells that ring every 15 minutes (at the top of the hour they play Somewhere Over the Rainbow!) We purchased a separate ticket for this (15 Euro per person) rather than get the full Musea Brugge ticket.
    • Other included items are the Stadhuis (City Hall), the old hospital, most of the churches, etc.
• Historium
  • This will come up on a lot of tourist lists. My view is to skip it (although we didn’t do it so maybe it’s secretly awesome). It’s an old beautiful building that is turned into a VR medieval history museum.
• Take a Day Trip to Ghent! (hopefully more of a full post coming about Ghent)
  • See the Castle of the Counts, do a boat tour, etc.
• Walk or rent a bike on the outskirts of town
  • There’s a beautiful walking / biking path that goes all the way around the city (8km).
  • This walking path will also take you past Minnewater Park (also known as the Lake of Love Park). It’s a small but lovely city park that can serve as a city break from the packed Markt Square.