I will be in Bruges for only a day and would like to rent a bike. I've never been there before, and image that it is fairly small and compact. Is it a fairly flat city? Lots of traffic? Bike lanes? Better to walk? What do you think?

John, Bruges is not that big. Walk! I would say it is fairly flat. We wandered the streets an entire day and browsed wonderful little antique shops with unusual finds on the outskirts of city center with much better prices too. <BR><BR>hmmm I don't recall there being any bike lanes either.

Brugge is flat and not really big.<BR>I think the idea of renting a bike is a very good one. You can get a special brochure in the Tourist Office - see information on the Brugge website: http://www.brugge.be/toerisme/en/fietse.htm. <BR>Enjoy!

Hey John<BR><BR>Myriam is right, Brugge by bike is great. The hotel I like to stay with there has free bikes for guests, and my husband & I had a great experience cycling the city wall road, seeing the windmills, careening from cafe to cafe...<BR><BR>I have other friends who've done the hour and a half ride to the sea, they said it was totally awesome!<BR><BR>Check out<BR>http://www.bauhaus.be/bikes.html<BR>http://www.visitbelgium.com/bike.htm<BR>http://www.quasimodo.be/biketrips.htm#1<BR><BR>There are private bike rental places but I've never had a problem with fietshuur (bike hire) from Dutch or Belgian train stations. Their bikes are super, you'll feel like a local!<BR>Have fun!

Thanks all. Ask and you shall receive, what a great forum!

I'm not sure about using a bike within the city, but the greatest day I have ever spent in Europe was the day we rented bikes and rode along the canal to the north, stopping at Damme, and going to the Dutch border. In the early morning there was a mist rising off the canal next to the windmills -- I felt I was in a travelogue.