9 Bruges tips for your weekend in the Venice of the North

📝 About the Author: Matthias

Matthias is an experienced travel expert and founder of travel-du.de. He has been exploring various countries around the world for 20 years and shares many valuable tips from his travels here, accompanied by authentic pictures and videos based on personal experience and thorough research.

Bruges not only has great sights to offer, but also lots of culinary highlights. A city trip to Bruges is therefore not just for adventurers, but also for connoisseurs and gourmets.

Before you read through the tips in this article, let the following video get you in the mood for a city trip to Bruges:

1. Take a boat tour along the canals

A boat trip along the canals of Bruges is a must when visiting the city. There are ticket booths all along the waterfront where you can buy a ticket for €15 per adult. The easiest place to find the stands is at Rozenhoedkaai.

A ride takes about 45 minutes and you’ll get lots of interesting information about the city and its history.

The trips are only offered from March to mid-November, daily from 10:00 to 18:00. However, depending on the weather and local demand, the shipping companies sometimes deviate from these times.

2. Eat crispy Belgian waffles at the House of Waffles

One of the best places to try the typical Belgian waffles is the House of Waffles.

There are all kinds of delicious combinations of homemade waffles with powdered sugar or extra ingredients, such as chocolate, strawberries, cherries, etc.

By the way, there are 2 different types of waffle, which you can also choose beforehand:

• Brussels waffles: Consist of a soft sponge dough.
• Liège waffles: Are made from a thick yeast dough, with lots of butter and sugar.

3. Try Belgian beers

Belgium is famous for its brewing culture. That’s why you can’t just visit Bruges without tasting your way through one of the beer cellars.

Adherents of the German Purity Law will not be happy here, however. Because Belgium has everything when it comes to beer – from chocolate and cherry beer to 20% strong beer stored in former whiskey barrels.

A visit to the so-called Beerwall is also on the agenda of many tourists. Here you walk through a side corridor where you can admire a wide variety of beer bottles on the walls. In total, there are 1,835 different beers plus matching beer glasses. At the end, a pub awaits you with a large selection and a beautiful roof terrace.

I can also recommend the beer cellar “Le Trapiste”. You can choose one of more than 20 individual draught beers here, but better is a beer tasting for €20, with 6 different types of beer to choose from.

In addition, there are beer bottle stores all over the old town where you can take a few bottles home with you as a souvenir.

4. Visit the beach in Ostende or Westende

Only 20 minutes by train to Ostende, a small town right on the North Sea. Here you can fortify yourself in one of the many restaurants, check out some of the sights, such as the harbor, and of course chill out on the beach.

A little further away but no less beautiful is Westende. The beaches here are wide and very long. You can reach Westende by streetcar 69 from Ostende station. The journey takes around 30 minutes.

5. Stroll through Bruges’ old town

Bruges’ old town is a very special gem with its old facades, lively squares, canals and church towers. Due to the unchanged buildings in the historic medieval city center and the still original street network, it was even named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

If you have enough time, take a walk around the city yourself. You should definitely see:

• The market with its Belfried (bell tower). You can also climb the 366 steps of the tower and enjoy the view over Bruges from the top (€15 entrance fee).
• The castle with the old chancery and the Basilica of the Holy Blood
• The Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady Museum) (admission: €8)
• The foundation houses, with their white-painted façades and idyllic gardens in front of them.
• The Rozenhoedkaai
• The Hanseviertel

I can also recommend one of the many guided tours through Bruges. These often take place with local guides and you will always learn some interesting facts about the city. These tours might be something for you:

• Guided Riksha tour through Bruges
• Bruges: boat tour and walking tour with guide
• Bruegge: Private food tour with 10 tastings

6. Fill up on Belgian fries

Soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. That’s how Belgian fries should be. The original, which is made with beef kidney fat, is of course only available in Belgium. I can recommend the Potato Bar in Bruges. As well as fries, they also serve burgers and homemade sauces.

If you want to find out more about fries, visit the world’s first fries museum called Friet Museum in the north of the old town. Here you can learn all about the potato, potato cultivation and the production of Belgian fries

7. Watch the swans on Wijngaardplein

The swans near the viewpoint on Wijngaardplein are a special sight in Bruges. There are around 120 of them, making themselves at home in the city’s canals.

The swans originate from a city legend, according to which Pieter Lanckhals, advisor to the Austrian Emperor Maximilian, was executed in the 15th century. As revenge Maximilan later forced the inhabitants of Bruges to look after the swans (or “long-necks”) on their canals.

8. Belgian chocolate treat

Bruges is a chocolate city, perhaps even the most famous in Europe. In addition to more than 50 stores selling mainly chocolates, there is even a chocolate festival here once a year – Bruges in Choc (usually in February).

Ask in the stores for the “Brugsche Swaentje” – the city praline named after the famous swans.

For €14, you can find out more about the history of cocoa and Belgian chocolate at the Chocolate Museum Choco-Story.

If you can’t get enough of chocolate, book a chocolate workshop where you’ll learn how to make your own sweet treats, along with an entry ticket to the Chocolate Museum.

A rather strange combination is chocolate and beer. But not in Bruges. That’s why you can also book a 3-hour private beer and chocolate tour in Bruges.

9. Overnight stay in a special hotel in Bruges

A successful city trip also includes a great hotel.

I particularly liked the Bed&Breakfast Cote Canal Deluxe. It is located in the middle of the old town in a quiet side street. The hotel garden is located directly on the canal.

You should book your room here quickly, however, as there are only 4 rooms in total with their own living area. Some of them even have an open fireplace for cozy hours by the fire. All suites also offer a view of the canal.

More cool Bruges sights

If you want to stay longer than a weekend in Bruges, you’ll find lots more Bruges tips here:

• Bruges is known worldwide for the manufacture of lace. You can find out more at the Kantmuseum (lace museum). They even offer courses where you can learn how to make lace yourself
• Without being able to avoid it, you will get to know Bruges’ bridges after just a few minutes of wandering around the old town. One of the most photogenic is the famous Bonifazius Bridge. There are more than 80 bridges here in total. How many will you discover during your visit to Bruges?
• In the Brewery Der Halve Maan you can taste the Brugse Zot beer, which is only produced in Bruges. You can also book guided brewery tours here
• The Sint-Janshuismill is the oldest windmill in Bruges. It was built in 1770 and is still active. You can find it north-east of the old town on a small hill in Park Kruisvest.
• The first stock exchange in the world was founded in Bruges back in 1409 in the house of a man called Van der Beurze, where goods and commodities were traded. You can still admire this historic place today at the Ter Beurse House (Huis Ter Beurze)
• The Arentshofs (Arentshuis), right next to the Bonifazius Bridge, is an elegant 18th-century manor house and museum with an exhibition by Bruges artist Frank Brangwyn. He was a painter, but also a designer of carpets, furniture, ceramics and jewelry.

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As you can see, there is a lot to discover in Belgium, both architecturally and culinary, in one weekend. Do you know any other Bruges tips? Then write me a comment.