We spent the weekend in Bruges in West Flanders, Belgium.We drove down to Folkstone and got the Eurotunnel and from Calais continued to Bruges. The whole journey only took about 4 hours.
Bruges is a wonderfully little city, full of narrow cobbled streets and long canals encircled by a walkways and cycle paths. There is a mix of old and new architecture and you rarely see two similar buildings side by side and there’s over 40 canal bridges to walk over while exploring the city streets.
Jan Brito
We stayed at the Jan Brito hotel. I strongly recommend staying there. It’s a small hotel with huge rooms situated not far from the Astridpark. We booked a suite on the ground floor, this comprised of a large bedroom and a separate bedroom for James. There was also a well equipped bathroom. The decor was 18th century. The ceiling had to be about 12ft high with massive coving detail and a great big chandelier in the middle of the room. Buffet breakfast was included. Cereals, Toast, Breads, Fruits, Deli, Eggs & Bacon, Tea, Coffee etc. The experience was very good.
Belgian Waffles and Hot Chocolate
We browsed the shops selling tourist stuff. There is a excellent assortment of shops selling chocolate and other sweets in Bruges. After buying our souvenirs and hours of walking around the city, we rested in one of the countless cafes watching the tourists go by. It seemed like every other shop in Bruges was selling chocolate in some form or another. We ordered hot chocolate, coffees and Belgian waffles with chocolate sauce.
Canals
Bruges has some lovely waterways in the city. It has the feel of Amsterdam with the tour boats appearing like buses. We took a canal boat tour on the Sunday when it was quiet. The driver/tour guide was very informative and the 30 minute tour was well worth the money.
View the rest of my photos on my Bruges ’09 folder.