Belgium – Wonders of Traveling

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What to do when visiting Bruges

Medieval and fairytale-like city

Brugge is located about 1 hour and 15 minutes away from Brussels, both by car and train. It’s easily accessible since the railway network in Belgium is very well organised and you can get trains almost everywhere. The trains can often run a bit late, but most of the times it works fairly straightforward.

About 111.000 people call Bruges their home, so it’s not a very big city which makes it ideal to visit in one day. To be honest, most Belgian cities are relatively small and can be explored in one or two days. You can easily stroll through the medieval streets by foot. When you’re walking towards the city center, you’ll feel like you’ve entered a different, more fairytale like world. The city is very medieval and the canals that run all throughout the city will give you the feeling like you’ve traveled back in time.

What to do when visiting Bruges

Grote Markt and Belfry

Lots of Belgian cities have a “main square” (in Dutch usually called “Grote Markt”) where you can sit down for a drink. Bruges’ main square is definitely a must see as it’s surrounded by beautiful and cosy medieval houses. I do have to warn you that eating something here can be quite pricey. When I was last there, my boyfriend and me ordered a pasta bolognese and a pizza Margherita and ended up paying 16 and 18 euros respectively! It’s clear you pay more for the beautiful location than the quality of the food (it wasn’t very good). So I would advise you to avoid the Grote Markt when you’re hungry, you’re much better off exploring one of the other streets nearby.

What to do when visiting Bruges

The Belfry is located on the Grote Markt and can be visited for 10 euros (if you’re over 25). The tower was built back in 1240 and is 83 meters high. If you’re not afraid of heights and are willing to conquer about 366 steps, you’ll get an amazing view all over Bruges and its surroundings. A must if you’re in Bruges!

Take a boat trip on the canals

Us Belgians like to call Bruges, the “Venice of the North”. We take pride in this beautiful, cosy city which is surrounded by amazing canals. Unlike in Venice, you can’t explore these with gondola’s, but you can, however, take a boat trip. A ticket costs about 8 euros and gives you a scenic boat ride on the canals. If you’re hesitant towards taking one of these boat rides because they look too touristy, I would still advise you to do it. I had been to Bruges several times before I decided to see the city by boat, and I have to admit it shows you yet another side of the city. Exploring Bruges by boat will give you even more of a fairytale like feeling.

What to do when visiting Bruges

Take a brewery tour

Another thing us Belgians take pride in, is our beer. Whenever I go abroad and tell people I’m from Belgium, the first thing people say to me is: “I love your beer!”. So why not enjoy the best of both worlds and go on a brewery tour?

My boyfriend is, just like many others, a big fan of Belgian beer so he was over the moon when I suggested going to brewery “de Halve Maan” for a brewery tour. This tour can be booked for only 9 euros in Dutch, French and English and starts every hour. The tour lasts 45 minutes and takes you through the brewery while a friendly guide tells you everything about the whole beer brewing process. One of the best parts of the tour is that you get a complimentary beer at the end of it!

What to do when visiting Bruges

Soak up the medieval and culinary atmosphere

Bruges is not really a city with many attractions that stand out. You basically explore the narrow and medieval streets to soak in the atmosphere and beautiful architecture. While strolling the streets you will bump into more amazing parts of the town like the “Begijnhof”, “Gruuthuusemuseum” or the city hall. All of these cannot be missed when you’re visiting Bruges. They will give you a very medieval like feeling since most of these buildings were built centuries ago.

While exploring Bruges you’ll also see tons of opportunities to buy delicious chocolate, fries, beer or our extremely tasty waffles. They come with all kinds of amazing toppings (I would suggest getting one with Speculoos!). One of my favorite spots for eating waffles is a small van which is always parked in front of the City Hall on the square called “Burg”.

What to do when visiting Bruges

Visiting Bruges makes it very clear that Belgium isn’t a boring country to visit at all! Have you ever been to Bruges? What were your favorite parts of this beautiful city?

]]> https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2017/10/09/visiting-bruges/feed/ 1 Is Belgium boring? https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2017/08/26/belgium-boring/ https://www.wondersoftraveling.com/2017/08/26/belgium-boring/#comments Sat, 26 Aug 2017 10:49:56 +0000 http://www.wondersoftraveling.com/?p=624 As a Belgian, I can confirm that a lot of people don’t really know that much about my country. Sure, they know the headquarters of the EU are located in Brussels, and if you’re lucky they can actually sum up a couple of cities such as Antwerp, Ghent or Bruges. But most people don’t know anything more than that. One of the most stubborn stereotypes people have about Belgium is that it is boring. Type in “Is Belgium boring” on Google and you’ll find a staggering 603.000 results! These numbers speak volumes, don’t they?

People don’t use that word to describe France, Spain or Italy. They don’t use the words romantic, beautiful scenery or wild nightlife when talking about Belgium. Most people know so little about Belgium that they usually come up with the word boring when asked what they associate it with. Well, let me tell you, Belgium definitely isn’t boring! On the contrary, it has a lot of things to offer to tourists.

Delicious cuisine

You might not immediately think of Belgium when you hear these two words, but Belgium actually has tons of very tasty food! Of course, we have the best fries in the whole world. You won’t find them any better elsewhere, believe me. Combine that with amazing mussels, and you have a very tasty dish called moules frites. One of my favorite spots in Brussels for moules frites is Chez Léon. If you’re ever in Brussels, you should definitely pay a visit to this restaurant, you’ll have super tasty mussels here!

One of my boyfriends favorites when he visited Belgium was, fries with stoofvlees. Stoofvlees is a dish made of beef, onions, beer (yes, you read that right) and mustard. If you’re a beer lover you should definitely order this dish. Even if you’re not a big fan of beer (just like me), I would still recommend trying it out since it’s delicious! You can find it in restaurants or in one of the ‘frituren’, which are small shops where you can buy fries.

Other very tasty Belgian dishes that you should try out are: vol-au-vent and Gentse waterzooi. Of course we’re also good at making desserts such as mattentaarten, cuberdons, speculoos and waffles!

One of my ex-colleagues went on a trip to Belgium with his girlfriend and told me the Belgian food was the best food he ever had! That sounds promising, doesn’t it? Is Belgium boring?

Indulgence on every corner

This one is kind of related to the previous point, but another thing my boyfriend liked about Belgium was that you were never more than a couple hundred meters away from extremely tasty food on the go. Chocolateries where you can buy the best chocolate you’ve ever tasted, a frituur on every corner where you can indulge in some of the best fries in the world, tons of small shops that sell waffles with all kinds of toppings,… You’re never short of tasty food on the go in Belgium!

Add the best beer in the world on top of that and you will be spoiled for choice in my tiny country!

Is Belgium boring?

Very cosy and medieval cities

One thing I like about my home country, is the cosy cities. The main cities look very medieval, and you might feel like you’re traveling back in time when you’re exploring them.

My favorite city is Brugge, because it really feels like you’re walking around in a completely different time and age! You’ll be walking in the narrow streets, surrounded by beautiful medieval houses. I would recommend doing one of the boat trips, even if you don’t like doing super touristy things. It’s the best way to get an overview of how gorgeous the city really is. In Belgium this city is known as the “Venice of the North”, since it is surrounded by beautiful canals.

You should also go to Gent. I studied in this city so I got some time to explore it. I loved the “Graslei” because it’s the ideal spot to relax for a bit. Also don’t forget about Antwerp and of course Brussels. Our cities have something for everyone!

Is Belgium boring?

Beautiful landscapes

As you might, or might not, know, Belgium is split up into three parts: a Dutch speaking part, French speaking part and a German speaking part. Most of our famous cities are in Flanders, the Dutch speaking part. But that definitely doesn’t mean the French and German regions don’t have anything to offer! If you want to take a short break from the crowds and the cities, the south might just be the region for you. This area is much greener and has a lot of beautiful nature. The Ardennes boast some of the most beautiful scenery of the country. You should also pay a visit to the wonderful town of Dinant. As you can see, Belgium has a lot of amazing nature too!

Is Belgium boring?

Belgians love festivals

Belgian summer equals Belgian festivals. All over the country you’ll be able to attend festivals with amazing line-ups. During July there’s a 10-day long party in Gent (called “Gentse Feesten”), which is a must if you’re in Belgium during that time. The whole city transforms into one big festival! You’ll find several stages with different kind of music, all kinds of spectacles and tons of happy people, what’s not to like?
The last couple of years Belgium has also become synonym with Tomorrowland, the biggest dance festival in the world. So why not combine an epic festival with exploring the country?

Is Belgium boring?

Have you ever been to Belgium? What was your favorite thing about the country?

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