Bruges in Brief | A History Filled Day Trip from Brussels

Chocolate, sunshine, Colin Farrell, gingerbread buildings, turrets, canals, lace, chips & mayo and medieval cobbled streets. What more could you want in a day trip from Brussels?

Everyone has asked me whether we preferred Brussels or Bruges and I honestly can’t say. Bruges is quaint, teeny, full of meandering streets and canals, chocolate shops and frites stores catering for your average cheesy tourist. They do also however have something called ‘samurai sauce’ for your frites which I’m disappointed we didn’t try.

We turned up in Bruges having done no research whatsoever, and simply followed our noses (and initially the rest of the tourist off our train) down into the village mostly untouched by the modern world.

Oh, except in a few places…

The architecture was a beguiling mismatch of styles, decoration and twisty alley ways bringing you to yet another interesting building.

Bruges is a great place to wander – and did I mention how quick the direct train is from Brussels?

This building on the main square looks like it could easily house Volturi, but sadly hosts the Bruges Medieval museum which has about as much bite and interest as an orange. (So not a must do, but pretty nonetheless. I’m not sure where the vitamin C loaded simile came from…)

Brussels is much more of a city, and takes coaxing to find the quirky delights – under the polished political chic surface it seems to have something for everyone. Beer, Margritte cloud post-it notes, Invader street art, more chocolate, restaurants that just sell waffles, beautiful buildings, Peter Pan statues in hidden gardens, laughter and a Eurostar station.

Bruges was a lovely day trip from Brussels, and I hear they have loads of cultural events year round to keep things interesting.

What’s your favourite of the two cities in Belgium?