Husband and I were really itching to travel since our last real trip was in October for opening day of Munich’s Oktoberfest, so we decided to take advantage of the 3 day weekend and head to somewhere we’ve been waiting to go: Bruges, Belgium! The more I travel Europe, the more I fall in love with it. I’m a sucker for a quaint European town. Big cities are nice and everything, but I’m happiest sitting outside a cafe sipping a cappuccino and people watching. Prague (Old Town), Kilkenny, and Stratford Upon-Avon all top my charts of favorite places like this, and now a new guy has joined the club: Bruges.
Bruges has everything you could possibly hope for in a quaint European town: it’s surrounded by a moat, has a canal that runs through it with boat tours, cobblestone streets, itty bitty cafes, outdoor markets, and just about everyone gets around by bicycle.
There is something special about walking the same streets people walked 600 years ago. Feeling the uneven cobblestone beneath your feet, touching the mismatched mortar still holding up buildings older than your family name…it’s almost magical. But maybe it’s just the writer in me.
When we travel we try to look for apartments or houses to rent instead of hotel rooms, mainly out of convenience, but also for the price. We my husband found this adorable apartment though Air BnB that was the equivalent of what we would’ve spent on a hotel room. With 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, a full kitchen and spacious living room, we had more than enough space, which is important when you have an extremely active toddler. It is actually owned by a guy from LA who has been living in Bruges for 18 years. When asked ‘Why Bruges?’, he simply replied, “Because I love it.” I get it, guy from LA. I do.
We caught this view out our window after we arrived! You can’t really tell, but it was a double!
We were only about a 5 minute walk from the main center of Bruges. To get into the medieval center you drive over the original moat across a small drawbridge and through one of 4 remaining original city gates. The outer circle is made of up of strips of residential homes/apartments, while the center is filled with restaurants, museums and shopping.
The Markt and The Burg
Church of the Holy Blood
Bruges Lace
Chocolate!
Hands down, one of my favorite parts of Bruges! There is a chocolate museum you can visit (which we did not make it to), but we were more interested in inhaling it. Chocolate is everywhere in Bruges. Proof:
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It looks like such a great place to explore! Thanks for all the detail on things like the lace and chocolate and canals and places to see… it really does sound like a fun place to visit!