Hi everyone -

Wondering if anyone has any opinion about the St. Niklaas B&B in Bruges?

We are looking for a nice, not so expensive place to stay in Bruges where we can walk to most things.

Thanks!

topping

How long are you staying?

Don't know anything about St Niklaas, but we've rented a flat (twice) called "Ridderspoor" and the folks also run a B&B. The location is excellent...less than 5 minute walk to the Burg and Markt. The website for the B&B is:

http://users.skynet.be/brugge-gheeraert/

We just returned from our third weeklong visit to Brugge (this time over Christmas) but I haven't gotten around to my trip report yet. Brugge is such a wonderful city - you will love it.

Great, i'll check it out, thanks!

We'll be there two or three nights.

What are your favorite places to eat in Bruges? We're not fancy people - just like something good and casual!

Neither my hubby nor I are big seafood eaters, and I eat *mostly* vegetarian (although I like chicken. And lobster). That means that I cannot recommend any traditional Flemish restaurants because most of those are meat and fish based. But I can recommend these as my favorite non-fancy places to eat:

* Tom's Diner (a little more on the nice non-fancy side). West Gistelhof 23. http://users.pandora.be/tom.s.diner.bvba2/

* 't Brugs Pitahuis located at Philipstockstraat 35. Excellent schwarma, chicken, or falafel pitas (made fresh). When you dine in, they give you 5 different sauces along with your pitas...curry, onion relish, hot chile, garlic, and a thousand island dressing-ish sauce. Also good frites.

* The Daily Bread for breakfast or lunch. Philipstockstraat 21. Website at: http://www.lepainquotidien.com/. In Dutch (and in Brugge), it is called Het Dagelijks Brood. Our favorite breakfast there is 7.70Euros. It includes plain or chocolate croissants, a huge basket of a variety of fresh baked breads, fresh orange juice, and coffee. For 1.50Euro extra, you can get a soft-boiled egg. They also serve soups, salads, and sandwiches for lunch.

* Taverne Curiosa: Vlamingstraat 22. Website is http://www.curiosa-brugge.com/

* Sint Paulus Bakery. Vlamingstraat 25. Amazing pastries and breads. The nestje (0.70Euros) was our favorite pastry - almost like a custard filled donut with the custard on the outside instead of the inside. They also have deli items that would make a nice picnic lunch.

Don't miss the caramels (like I did this time...whoops) at Dumon Chocolatier. There are 2 locations - closest one to the Markt is Eiermakt, 6.

Yum, i LOVE chocolate croissants!

I checked out the B&B link you provided...it looks fantastic and a great price.

Would the B&B be walkable from the train station?

The B&B (and the "heart" of Brugge) is a healthy walk from the train station...about 15-20 minutes. With luggage, I would recommend a taxi (roughly 7.50Euros) or a bus (1Euro, but no place to store luggage). If you're going to stay in Brugge for 2 or 3 days, I would definitely stay closer to the Markt than to the train station. If you are planning to take day trips from Brugge by train, I would still recommend staying near the Markt (since bus service is cheap and very regular).

Perfect, taking a taxi is not a problem.

Speaking of day trips, since it sounds like you have been there quite a bit, do you have some favorite day trips out of Bruges?

The most common daytrips are Ghent, Antwerp, and Brussels. Of the 3, I like Ghent the best. It is only 20 minutes (one-stop) away from Brugge, so it's very easy. And for lunch there, I recommend Pakhuis (lunch for 2 with drinks approx 60Euros). www.pakhuis.be

On this trip, we also did Leuven. It was 1.5hrs by train (each way) and really a beautiful little city. Was glad I went...but with only 2-3 days in Brugge, I would say Ghent is your best bet. You can take a tram from the train station for 1Euro. Our train ticket was only 11Euro for the two of us roundtrip to Ghent...we got a "weekend" rate and purchased directly from the ticket booth (and not the self-service kiosks).