Jai

Gonna be on a month long trip with my Mom and one place to stop for a longer time will be Bruges. Sounds like a car is not needed there but the Bruges stop is in the middle of our trip. Is it stupid to have a car in Bruges, will it just sit unused and having to pay for days of being idle or is there something a person can do via a car if you are in Bruges for 5 days?

Peter

Jai, <BR> <BR>Bruges (or Brugge) is not too big. I think if you spend two days sightseeing (and do it slowly) that will be more then enough. It's an old town, using a car makes no sense. Maybe you should use the car to visit other places near to Bruges.

Myriam

You could use your 5 days in Brugge (and your car) to drive around to neighbouring cities. The Westhoek region for instance, known for the battlefields and remainders of the first worldwar (Veurne, Diksmuide, Ypres). Another region is the Scheldt region, the border between the flat and the hill country (called Flemish Ardennes). And why not visit our seaside? We have a coastline of 66 km with small and modest villages but also places for the local jet set. <BR>All the above is within easy reach from Brugge.

Myriam

Forgot to give you an interesting website: http://www.westtoerisme.be/

Lee

You do not need a car in Brugge and certainly not 5 days. 2 days, 2 nights at most. Brugge is a beautiful little city and is best seen on your feet. You could drive to Brussels which is no more than 90 minutes away. Also Ghent is supposed to be an interesting town.

Mie

Antwerp is wonderfull, churches, museums, huge port...

Scott

My wife and I visited Brugge. We drove up from near Brussels. At first we were going to drive around. Like many old European towns, the roads came before cars, and parking is scarce. I suggest you park at your hotel and use a bike to get around.

gabby

If you do have a car take a ride to Damme about 10 miles toward the Netherland border. It is a beautiful village and the ride out is fantastic. Actually you there is a bicycle trail all the way there or even boat rides. I agree 5 days seems excessive for Brugges unless you also take in the coast and Ghent.

Skylar

I would take day trips with it to Antwerp and the surrounding countryside. Brugges is a gorgeous little town and I loved it, but you do not need five days to do Brugges. Instead, use it as a base for the five days and spend three of them going to different wonderful little towns around it. I've done that (via train) and it's great.

Dottie

We were only in Brugges one day. We spent the night and continued our trip the next day. We loved Brugges! We walked the whole day and truly enjoyed the time there but 5 days would be excessive. Have a great trip

Joe

Jai: I have done my research for a nine day tour of Belgium in May of 2002. We have scheduled two days for Bruges. Our objective is to see what there is to see and wander a bit just to get a sense of the area and move on. We'll spend a couple of days in the Ardennes and visit Brussels, Antwerp and Gent as well. The driving distances are short, so it is possible to stay put and take day-trips to these other places. For example, it is less than an hour to Gent, about an hour and a half to Antwerp and to Brussels (two different routes). So, a car, depending on what you want to do, could be an advantage. If you plan to just stay put in Bruges, it might be more economical to turn the car in for five days. Get quotes both ways. I have found on some trips where I have rented a car for a three or more week period that it is less expensive to keep the car and park it than turn it in because of the preferred rate for the longer period. Auto Europe is a good organization to quote, (autoeurope.com). Good luck.

KT

Getting from Brugge to Ghent, Antwerp, or Brussels by train is a snap. Trains run about twice an hour to Ghent (25 min. journey) and Brussels (about an hour)and at least hourly to Antwerp (50 min. journey). It may actually be more of an inconvenience to drive, depending upon how you feel about hunting and paying for parking.