Brugge, I have been told by many many people is suppose to be very pretty. The city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (seems like I’m visiting a lot of these lately…). There are canals everywhere and is sometimes called the “Venice of the North”. At our arrival in the train station, our first stop was the tourist office where they charged for a map. Everywhere else that I’ve been too have given maps for free (even Brussels). Must be a very touristy place then…
Our first stop was the Grote Markt. On one side of the markt stands the provincial court, another side has some reconstructed medieval houses, and on the third side stands the Belfry tower which you can climb to the top (for a fee) for a view of the city.
The provincial courts
The reconstructed guild houses
One of my friends who had already come to Brugge recommended we do a canal boat tour. It was a great way to see the city (no walking!) and the tour guide was able to speak in English too (although a bit brokenly, but enough to understand the main message).
The boat we were going to take =)
View of the Our Lady’s Church from the water
Watch your head!
Along the water, there would be swans swimming by. They didn’t seem too concerned about the boats and would let them get really close. So close that if I wanted to, I could have reached out and touched one (probably the worst idea ever…).
There were tons floating around~
By the end of the tour I was completely exhausted. I was lacking sleep (snoring >.<”) and just generally was not in a good mood. We visited the Beguinage and the Minnewater before heading to the train station and catching an early train back to Brussels. I was expecting more from Brugge from the way people were talking about it. Yes, it was pretty, but not as I expected. It was a lot more touristy than I thought it would be (even in the end of Sept). The pace is a bit slower than Brussels and Antwerp and definitely way less people. Despite all this, it is still worth a visit though!
It was an awesome weekend. I had tons of fun and met a couple new travel buddies. I think I’ve seen pretty much everything I wanted to see in Belgium. Now onwards to other countries!
See more pictures here.
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