my daughter and I took a daytrip to bruges
I so wish we had longer particularly because a precious hour was taken up with lunch...people with whom we were travelling in the tour van insisted we join them

we found the city different enough from Paris to make the daytrip worthwhile...loved it


reminds me of a daytrip we did to Tallinn from finland...totally worth it...you get a quick insight into a capsule of time ...just enough to make you go back for a longer time

I tried to visit Brugges earlier this year but unlike me I decided to go with the flow and do a last minute thing.... doesn't work for Brugges...

It's been on and off the list, after this thread it's gone back on again!

LOVED it. Visited Christmas Day and 2 days after. Don't miss the Waterzoi.

>> Well check the images of Bruges I had as my 2nd post - the canal area which many tourists never get to as they never get out of the Grote Markt area- I'm sure you went there.

Ah I went there.
That area is pretty indeed.
The only downpoint is that they didn't let me row my boat on those pittoresque canals

We stayed a few nights too. One day we took a bike tour to another town (Den Haan, maybe?) so we rode though differnt parts of Bruges and then into the countryside. Another day we wandered all over town. I noticed plenty of crowds in the town center, but not so much outside of that. And the 3rd day was supposed to be a daytrip to the coast, but it was raining, so we searched out indoor actvities in Bruges. The Belgian Frites museum was surprisingly good. We then found a nice cafe and hung out for the better part of an afternoon reading while drinking and snacking. Overall, it was a great visit. I dont know that id return anytime soon since there are so many other places to see, but i thoroughlyenjoyed the visit.

Loved Bruges, spent 4 nights there and easily could have stayed longer.
We did a lovely easy cycle tour to Damme, so pretty cycling along the canal.
Also loved the town at night, so pretty.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Bruges - have wanted to for so long. I also think I would love Ghent, and that it probably deserves more time than a day trip. I just might have to do one or two nights there, too! At this stage of my life I'm much happier if I have a hotel room for breaks - I just can't rush around so much anymore, and need a slower pace.

Percy, did you enjoy the WW1 Battlefields Tour?

And it also seems a shame not to spend at least a day in Brussels since I'll be through there from Paris anyway. I'm wondering if I could use my train ticket (the Brussels/Bruges connection on the Any Belgium Station part) the following day if I decide to spend one night in Brussels. Does anyone know? Maybe I should ask that question on a separate post if I can't find the answer somewhere on this forum.

Sue Yes I sure did.

I can post a brief outline list of the places I saw.

The distances are not that far apart, it is the stopping and walking and looking that takes some time.

The WW1 tour with Quasimodo was great . We finished it at Ypres so that we could go to Menin gate for the ceremony and caught the train back.
Also love Leuven - lived when I was studying at the university beautiful town.

Thanks. Will definitely plan on taking one of those tours. Wish I had time to do both the WW1 and the Belgium Countryside one.

PalenQ, could you post some images of Bruges' ancient port area please?>

Actually Damme, just a few kms out of Bruges was the main port of medieval Bruges and when it silted up the port activity moved to Antwerp- rent a bike and cycle there along canals or take a canal boat tour or bus there:

https://www.google.com/search?q=damm...w=1920&bih=950