Heading to the fairytale city of Bruges, Belgium soon? Here are my recommendations for things to do in Bruges.
I recently spent a mini weekend away in Bruges with my sister and my mum. We had a wonderful time exploring this fairytale city over the Christmas period. It was so great exploring and enjoying the festivities at this time of year.
Bruges is a place that is pretty affordable to travel to and stay in, but the city itself can be expensive. The food is pricey (but delicious) and other than sightseeing, the main thing to do here is shopping. However, Bruges is also one of those places that is really lovely to just sightsee and explore. Beccause of the nature of the city, it’s feels like stepping into a fairytale when you arrive. If you visit in winter, the city is filled with festive decorations and seasonal activities too, like Christmas markets and ice skating.
So in a way, a trip to Bruges can be really affordable. It’s not necessary to spend lots of money enjoying this city, as it’s just a lovely place to explore and enjoy at your own pace.
Here are my personal recommendations for where to stay and eat, as well as fun things to do in Bruges.
Where to Stay in Bruges
We stayed in the beautiful B&B Maison de la Rose, which was perfect for the three of us enjoying our girly weekend away. This cosy bed & breakfast is only a five/ten to minute walk away from the city centre (Bruges is a very small town). The walk is really enjoyable though, as it involves walking down lovely cobbled streets and seeing loads of picturesque sights in the process.
The B&B is family-run and has three large rooms – one of which is a family room – as well as a loft/apartment. We stayed in the family ‘Grey’ room and had more than enough space for just the three of us. We had two large double beds (one of which was made up of two single beds which we could pull apart if we wanted to), a desk, fridge, TV etc, and our own en-suite bathroom.
Of course, the room was warm and clean and was from €63 per night, plus an extra 10 euros for breakfast which we had on our first morning. The breakfast was delicious and filled us up for the day. The owner is lovely too – he gave us a guidebook with all his personal recommendations in it. We loved that he suggested not only cheaper places but also places that were less for tourists and more for locals which I thought was nice.
B&B Maison de la Rose, Ezelstraat 11, B-8000 Brugge, België
Eating Out in Bruges
We found that generally, as beautiful as they all were with their crackling fires and festive decorations, most of the restaurants within the main square were quite expensive. But after some research, we found a recommendation for a really authentic and local bar/restaurant called Bierbrasserie Cambrinus. It was literally on one of the streets just behind the main square. When we walked in to find it extremely busy and filled with locals, we wished we’d thought to book a table ahead of time. Luckily they had one table spare for an hour before it was reserved again so we took that table and we immediately understood why it was so busy.
It had such a warm and friendly atmosphere. We weren’t the only English people in there either, so despite being a favourite for locals, we felt very welcomed. It had an impressive menu of local beer and the waitress recommended some delicious beers for us and was very helpful. We ordered quite a lot for just the three of us – we decided to share everything between us so ordered a selection of hot and cold snacks. The snacks included garlic bread and a salad with Goats cheese & Bacon served with Raspberry vinaigrette (whatever that is!). Everything was delicious and overall the food came to just €38 between the three of us. So it was affordable, especially compared to everywhere else.
Cambrinus, Mgr Roelensstraat, Ardooie, Flemish Region
It tasted SO good!
Where Else to Eat in Bruges
On our second day we were quite full up from breakfast so just caught something on the go – we had some beyond yummy hot dogs from one of the stands at the Christmas market (they also did the most delicious Bailey’s hot chocolate) and we found there were a few English places to eat too such as a chip shop, Starbucks and Subway. We also stumbled across a craft fair that one of the local schools put on for charity. This was in one of the beautiful old buildings and they had a Bistro set up there too. That was really cheap and the food was so nice that we went back twice – the coffee was only €1!
Pubs and Bars in Bruges
Obviously, because we went as a family, going out drinking or clubbing wasn’t really on our to-do list. But we definitely wanted to try some of the local beer and found one nice bar which we spent a few hours in. Belgian Beer Pub Don Quichotte (what a mouthful!) was this tiny bar we found just off the main square but I loved it, it was so tiny and quirky! There was a nice atmosphere and it was really decked out in some funky deco. Plus it had a large selection of beer and loads of different flavours (including chocolate!). Oddly enough, as we first arrived and propped ourselves up at the bar (it was so, so tiny but cute!), I felt like I was in America!
We ambled in with our coats, scarves and gloves and it was so warm and inviting that we pulled them all off immediately and got ourselves comfy at the bar. You could tell it was a real genuine local place, some people had brought board games to play with them! However, saying that again it felt very welcoming and even had the English football on. It really reminded me of the type of pub you’d stumble across out in the cold then come into and just get warm and spend your whole evening in good company, chatting and having a laugh.
Although we didn’t actually go clubbing/drinking, whilst in this pub we were obviously in the more lively area of Bruges where people do go for a night out as we spotted loads of pubs and clubs in this area.
Fun Things to Do in Bruges
Attraction-wise, there isn’t actually much to do in Bruges! We found some leaflets for an Aquarium and a theme park, but we didn’t have enough time to visit these. We were quite content strolling around and just enjoying exploring though! There are also a lot of guided tours in Bruges – walking tours, bike tours and even Segway tours! There were also horse-drawn carriage rides which I thought were beyond romantic as these ran into the evening when it was dark and all the lights were on. We would have loved to have gone on a bike tour but the weather wasn’t nice enough – though really everything was within walking distance anyway.
We did go on a boat tour though which I would absolutely recommend. Bruges is filled with canals and waterways and there’s so much you miss by just walking around. We saw a completely different side of Bruges by boat and it was so lovely.
I can’t remember how much the boat trip cost but a few different companies offer them at affordable prices. Each trip lasted maybe 20-30 minutes and included a commentary about the history of Bruges. It was really nice and something I’d definitely recommend.
Because the city doesn’t have many attractions apart from museums and art galleries, I’d suggest visiting during Christmas when there is a lot more on. The Christmas market was beyond pretty. Each stall had festive decorations, food, hot drinks etc. Then of course, there was the actual ice skating rink as well. It was lovely grabbing a hot chocolate or a hot dog and just wandering around the fair in the evening with all the twinkling lights, or stopping to watch the ice skaters with Christmas music in the background. It really put me in the Christmas spirit.
Eating Chocolate in Bruges
Bruges is best known for it’s chocolate (and beer, and er lace) and you’ll discover that as there are chocolate shops everywhere. You literally cannot get away from them. Each and every one was so cosy and inviting, luring me in with many delicious smells and displays of chocolatey goodness…yum! Our favourite one however was Chocolatier Dumon – a place we actually found by accident! We took a different route home one night and stumbled across it, peering through its windows with all its beautiful displays. It was beyond tiny too, it was literally just one room and a second one in the basement. An elderly couple stopped and looked too and told us they knew the owners and had had it recommended it to them.
Therefore we HAD to find it again the next day when it was open. We did so and were very glad because the chocolate was absolutely delicious and actually quite affordable too! I think we loved it so much because it was recommended to us. A lot of other chocolate shops we found were clearly there for tourists, but this was very genuine and obviously another favourite of the locals.
Chocolatier Dumon, Eiermarkt 6, Brugge, Belgium 8000, Belgium
Is Bruges Affordable?
So overall, we had a really nice weekend which was actually quite affordable! Though Bruges seemed pricey, once we looked around a bit and listened to other people’s recommendations, it was much more affordable, I hope that if anyone reading this chooses to go, this post helps a bit!
Bruges can be expensive, especially for tourists, but it doesn’t have to be if you really want to fit in with the locals. I would also without a doubt recommend visiting around Christmas time too. We went from the 23rd November, which was actually just as the Christmas markets started which was very lucky. It wasn’t even too cold at that time of year either! It rained just one day while we were there, but this was no issue. Because it’s such a picturesque city, the rain doesn’t dampen it at all. It wasn’t like we went there to sunbathe!
And that’s another thing about Bruges – they play music EVERYWHERE! Most streets have speakers hidden somewhere, so you’ll hear the radio or different music playing as you stroll around – it’s all really cheery! It’s the perfect place to visit for an affordable Christmas break.
We had the most amazing time and would definitely go again. Have you ever visited Bruges? Let me know!
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