How to Spend a Day in Bruges

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through a link, I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you. These commissions help keep this website up and running, and I thank you for your support. Read my full disclosure here.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post, I paid for this trip myself. All recommendations are my own.

We visited Bruges during our four day holiday in Belgium. We had based ourselves in Ghent, which is the perfect city in which to explore Belgium, as it is a central point for visiting the nearby cities of Bruges, Antwerp and Brussels and has excellent train connections.

Bruges is a wonderful fairy-tale medieval town, with picturesque cobbled lanes, romantic canals, and photogenic market squares lined with historic churches and buildings. This place apparently gets super busy during summer, so I think winter is the perfect time to visit, especially as you also get to enjoy the Christmas markets.

If, like me, you enjoyed watching the black crime/comedy movie In Bruges with actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, I have added an asterisk * beside each of the filming locations that you can find around Bruges.

We jumped on the train from Ghent to Bruges’ central train station, Brugge-Sint-Pieters, which only takes about half an hour. From the train station, it was about a 20 minute flat and picturesque walk into Bruges’ old town. Since we hadn’t had any breakfast yet, we decided to head to The Old Chocolate House (Mariastraat 1c), a charming chocolate shop with a small café upstairs. Located in a quaint, historic shop in the heart of Bruges, this place is popular and fills up quick. Within minutes of the café opening, the place was bustling. The hot chocolate menu was impressively extensive, offering cocoa from all over the world and a variety of flavours. We chose a mug of the Ecuador and a mug of the Belgium mix as well as some waffles smothered in chocolate.

How to Spend a Day in Bruges, Belgium — The Old Chocolate House

We were served huge mugs of steaming, creamy milk and what looked like a chocolate cupcake, but it was actually the chocolate for our drink, as it was made completely out of chocolate, even the casing was even made of chocolate. We were instructed to place these into the milk and were provided a whisk to mix it all in. This created the most luxurious hot chocolate I’ve ever drank. This place will spoil you and no hot chocolate will ever taste as good again! The waffles were also very good, light and fluffy and the chocolate sauce so rich. In the store downstairs, as well as an array of chocolate, they also sell the hot chocolate nibs used on their menu so that you can create the hot chocolates at home. So we of course purchased several bags of them.

From The Old Chocolate House, we walked down Nieuwstraat and across the canal into a small sculpture park called Arentshof* which is located behind the Church of Our Lady*. Here we also found the picturesque early 20^th century pedestrian bridge, St Bonifacius which felt like stepping back in time, I think it’s the most charming spot in Bruges as the bridge is surrounded by the grand church with a picturesque canal running through it which is lined with adorable houses.

We then walked towards Katelijnestraat, a popular shopping street lined with gorgeous chocolate and crochet shops and other tempting souvenirs. As it was starting to rain, we decided to visit Sint-Janshospitaal museum, an 11th-century hospital museum. This hospital was run by nuns and monks which cared for pilgrims, travellers and the poor. Surprisingly, the hospital was open until 1978, so it ran for an extremely long time. The museum also features paintings by the early Netherlandish painter, Hans Memling. If you visit, don’t forget to head up the small spiral staircase to see the Diksmuide attic where you can see the amazing network of wooden beams holding up the roof. The ticket also gets you into the old pharmacy/apothecary around the corner. I really enjoyed it as it was set up with the old vessels of clay, glass, and tin and beautiful old manuscripts.

In the afternoon, we headed up towards The Market*, the historical square of Bruges, and the bustling heart of the city. On our way, we strolled along Rozenhoedkaai*, a picturesque street along the river lined with historic buildings. Where the street meets Pandreitje is a very popular spot for taking photos as well as along Huidenvettersplein*.

As it was December, the The Market square was filled with Christmas markets and a small ice rink. This spot is truly beautiful, and we ended up spending quite a bit of time here just slowly walking around looking at each of the buildings and admiring the architecture. The square is filled with lots of restaurants and bars and you can also get a carriage ride from here.

We explored the area and wondered down the cobbled streets and alleys and also visited the nearby Burg square which has the majestic city hall Stadhuis, now a museum, which was built in the 1300’s and has an amazing Gothic Hall. I particularly liked the Old Civic Registry building beside it with its early Renaissance gold bling facade. There is also the 12^th century Basilica of the Holy Blood* in the corner of Burg square. Entry to the Basilica is free, but the museum and treasury has a small entrance fee.

With our remaining energy, we decided to climb the medieval Belfort bell tower* to get a panoramic view of the city. At 83 metres tall and 366 steps to the top via a small narrow stair case, I would only recommend this for those with a reasonable level of fitness. As there is not much room on the staircase, they have an electronic system that limits the number of visitors at any one time, so depending on the time of year, you may have to wait some time. Thankfully, being winter, we only had to wait about 10 minutes. On the way up, there are a number of rooms off the staircase which provide an interesting insight into the history of Bruges. I really liked the former treasury where the City archives were kept in the Middle Ages and the complex locking system that was in place to keep them safe. We also got to be in the room as the carillon, with 47 melodious bells, played (it plays a short melody every quarter and a full melody on the hour).

After a day of sightseeing, we needed a drinks break, so we headed to Café Rose Red (Cordoeaniersstraat, 16). My husband loves beer, so was keen to taste as many Belgium beers as possible during our stay. A word of warning though, the alcohol content varies greatly and they can be really strong. According to hubby, the strong ones are extremely drinkable and it’s very difficult to tell that they have high alcohol, so always check the label before indulging too much. I have to admit that I’m not really a beer fan, I’m more a wine and cocktails fan. However, I was keen to try their sweeter fruit beers, so ended up choosing a cherry one with the guidance of the friendly bar staff. The beers are usually served in their own branded glass and my one came in what looked like a small bubbly wine bottle and had its own serving basket! Although technically a beer, it really tasted more like a bubbly fruit wine.

We were actually still full from our morning chocolate overload to eat anything, so we didn’t stop to eat anywhere in Bruges. On our way back to the train station, we strolled past Minnewaterpark*, a small rectangular lake also call the Lake of Love. To be honest it wasn’t particularly picturesque in the middle of the winter, but I did find the 15^th century Poertoren Tower interesting as well as the Beguinage 13^th century UNESCO World Heritage site. A Beguinage was a community of women who follow the example set by the apostles: poverty, simplicity and preaching. They did not take binding vows, so they could leave the Beguine community at any time. These days the nuns of the Order of St. Benedict live here. You are welcome to visit, but it is a place of peace, so you need to be respectful.

* Denotes filming locations of the ‘In Bruges’ movie.

Practical Tips for Visiting Bruges

How long should I visit for? I recommend spending a least a day in Bruges.
Museum pass: If you plan to visit more than two musuems, you will save money by purchasing the museum pass.
Language: Flemish Dutch. Although everyone we came across spoke perfect English. However, do try your hand at a few Dutch words:
Yes = Ja (yah)
No = Nee (nay)
Please = Alstublieft (allst-oo-bleeft)
Thank you = Dank je wel (dahnk yuh vel) (familiar – dank u vel is the formal form)
Hello = Hallo (hah-low)
Currency: Euro
Tipping: Not required, but people usually round up.
Electricity: The electrical current is 230 volts AC. Wall outlets generally take the European two round prong plugs. However, you are better off purchasing a worldwide adaptor that can be used in Belgium as well other countries. At least then you can potentially get some further use out of it on future vacations. If you’re taking a number of electronics with you, then I would recommend purchasing a couple of these adaptors.
Navigating: We used Google’s free Offline Maps. Google Offline Maps allows you to access free maps for navigating that can be used offline i.e. you don’t need WIFI, data, or roaming to be able to use them. Follow this detailed guide on how to use Googles Offline Maps. Using your phone as a GPS will drain your battery quickly, so use a portable battery charger which you can use to charge your phone and any other USB chargeable devices. If you prefer a paper map, then your accommodation will likely give you a free tourist map or you could stop in at the tourist office and pick one up. Otherwise, you could purchase a Bruges city pocket map before you go. At least it’s reliable and won’t run out of battery or malfunction like the electronic options!