Here are a few hints for first-time visitors to this city:

  • Wear comfortable footwear and be prepared to walk many miles on cobblestones. 
  • Do not forget your camera, water bottle and light weight zip jacket.
  • Do a little pre-trip research and get a map or visitors guide. Maps and guides can be purchased from the Information desk at the railway station or in the main tourist office (In&Uit [Concertgebouw]) on the 't Zand square for € 0,50 for a map and € 1,00 for a visitors guide (Dutch / French / English / German / Italian / Spanish / Japanese).
  • This is a city that you can spend two days exploring and still have only scratched the surface.
  • It is less than one hour from Brussels by train (2 direct trains every hour).
  • A lot of people come to Bruges from Brussels - and even further afield on fast trains - for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday until dinner time are therefore very busy and the streets are packed. Many restaurants and stores therefore shift their weekend - they are closed Sunday evening and all day Monday - virtually EVERYTHING is closed on Monday. So the worst time to go to Bruges is Saturday to Monday - the first two days it's too crowded to see anything, and then on the last day everything is closed.

Top tips for getting around:

  • Bruges is a great place to wander around, but confusing.  Invest in a good map with street names on.  
  • Canal trips are good fun and you see things you can't see from the road. 
  • The horse drawn carriages are romantic, but expensive and go places you'll probably walk to later. 
  • The cobblestone streets are very tough on the feet and aren't traffic free, so watch where you walk! 
  • Hiring bikes is a great idea if you are good at directions and have teenagers, who will get bored looking at the pretty buildings.  Just be careful what you hire and remember you need a good saddle for those cobbles!  Biking is also the most ideal way to explore the ramparts of Bruges. Maps with cycling routes are available at In&Uit -  the Tourist Information Centre in the Concert Hall in   t'Zand. If you want to cycle a bit further afield, then cycle along the canal to Damme. About 5 miles there and back, but nice easy riding, and Damme itself is a pretty little place worthy of a visit; it is also possible to return [ with your bike] on the canal boat from Damme.For a longer ride, pedal on to Sluis [in Holland!] about another hour's easy cycling beyond Damme.
  • The buses from the train station to the centre are good.  You can easily walk to the centre from the train station, but ensure you take the nicer route, head around the ring road a little and walk down Katelijne Straat. 

Food and beer:

  • Go to the market on 't Zand on Saturday morning, they do great food.   
  • Treat yourself to a 'wafel met slagroom' (this means waffle with whipped cream) in a cafe.
  • The brewery is a good tour, but you can just go to the bar for a drink.  It gets very busy in the afternoons and can shut early. 
  • Don't just try white beers!  Try Leffe Brune (looks serious but isn't), Kwak (just for the glass) or De Garre (only available in a little bar down a side street between the Markt and the Burg,  apparently they can legally only serve you two!)
  • Picking chocolates one by one can get expensive, and  its hard to tell the difference between the expensive and cheaper shops. 
  • If you are buying chocolate for lots of people, head to a supermarket for cheaper boxes of brands you'll recognize.  Supermarkets are on Oude Burg, Langestraat or Noordzandstraat. 
  • Also try the smaller waffle biscuits with caramelised brown sugar in the middle or 'Speculoos' biscuits.
  • Go to the Central resturant in the main square and have the Flemish Beef Stew. It is to die for.

Getting your bearings:

  • From the Markt, walk the main shopping loop.  With the belfry to your back, take the street to your left, Steenstraat, which turns into Zuidzandstraat and ends at the large square called 't Zand. Turn right and right again up Noordzandstraat, which turns into Gelmundstraat, bear right to get back to the Markt.   (around 30 mins walking + shopping!)
  • Normally a quieter walk.  From the Burg, walk down Hoogstraat, continue on into Langestraat and keep going to Kruisport, one of the old city gates.  To the left, there are a couple of windmills if you wander along the side of the canal.  Head back along Langestraat or consult your map and pick your way through the small streets.  (around 30 mins walk + looking at the windmills)
  • Nice walks (shopping, top touristic and tranquile) between 4 and 6km are included in the visitors guide available at In&Uit or the information desk at the train station.