Trip to Bruges
 

How long should I spend in Bruges? Also, I heard that lots of shops and attractions are closed on Mondays, is this correct?

HI S,

>How long should I spend in Bruges?

Anywhere from a daytrip to 3 nights.

((I))

One day. It's a small town.

One day is sufficient to see Bruges. Plenty of other places to see. A quote from another site on Bruges shopping :

Because Bruges is not really the type of place to go looking for designer gear the best things to shop for while visiting are the local specialities. Lace is the first item on the shopping list and while the machine made variety is becoming increasingly more popular, the superior hand made variety can still be found. You just have to look. Other authentic and popular Belgian products which can be picked up are chocolates, cheeses and of course no trip would be complete without buying a sample or two of the local brews which include Straffe Hendrick, Brugse Tarwebier and Brugse Tripel.

If it is shopping of the classier variety that you are after,however, the more upmarket shops and boutiques can be found in the streets around the Markt and t Zand, including Geldmuntstraat, Noordzandstraat, Steenstraat, Zuidzandstraat, and Vlamingstraat. Most shops are open from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm, with late-night shopping to 9pm on Friday. Many also open on Sunday, especially in summer.

Agree a day is enough. If you have longer, I'd recommend staying in Brussels & daytripping to Bruges.

It is true that most of the museums are closed on Mondays, but we didn't notice whether shops were closed. We filled up a whole Monday by touring two of the larger churches, taking the brewery tour at Halve Maan Brewery -- very interesting tour and good restaurant food -- touring the chocolate museum, and walking and walking, absorbing the atmosphere. The following morning we visited a museum then drove to Flanders where we toured WWI sites and museums. But, if shopping is high on your list of to-dos, then you might prefer Brussels.

I disagree with "1" day, yes, you can see Bruges in one day, but if you want to see the museum and truly experience the city by walking around and soaking in the ambience, a minimum of 2 days.

Of course, I'm a little biases, I really loved Bruges and 2 days wasn't enough for me.

3 days would be great - take one of them and tour Ypres/western front battlefields. the other two days, you can see the basilica, bell tower, art musuem, chocolate musuem, St John hospital and various other churches. Wandering the streets to watch the elderly ladies still making lace by hand, sit on the square and people watch, take a canal cruise, wander the canals at night as they are well lit and very beautiful, etc. I had a very lovely 3 days/2 nights there last spring...would go back again for sure! bottom line - you can be a mile wide and an inch deep in one day....maybe 100yards wide and an inch deep!

2 to max. 3 days.
Shops are open on Mondays, museums are closed on Mondays.

You can easily spend several ights in Brugge - a day or two in the town (depending on your pace), another to Ghent (30 minutes away) - and be in a much more charming place that Brussels. (Find in itself - but not to compare with Brugge.)

Count me in the "3 day" group. Part of the answer is really what you want to do. If you've never been, you can't enjoy the town if you're a daytripper IMO. To us, part of Brugge's alure is that it's an entirely different place early in the morning and evening when the day crowds aren't there. It takes on a softness and ambiance that is radically different than during the day - and unlike most any place we've been in Europe. We find it a wonderful respite to the big city pace. And daytrippers miss some of the best restaurants.

Count me in the (one) 'day tripper' group

I had one day in Bruges earlier in July and would liked to have gone back for a second. I think three days would have been too much.

However long you decide, don't forget to buy lots of chocolates! Our family still talks about the box of chocolates we brought home for them. We went to Dumon's & they had a beautiful "variety pack" - lots of shapes - shells, strawberry, etc. - mixture of white, dark, & milk chocolate. Perfect for family souveniers.

However, DH & I bought ours at Sweet?veager - something like that. They have the best dark chocolate & we don't like milk chocolate. Do I need to say - it was YUMMY! We ate ours while still in Europe!

Have fun, Julie

We recently stayed for four nights and would not have been bored with a longer stay. One of our days was occupied by a day trip to First World War sites.

If you're really into Flemish culture, art, history, architecture, etc., you could easily spend several days there visiting museums, churches and historic buildings.

If you just want to see what the fuss is all about, one day is enough. Walk around the town, take a canal cruise, climb the Belfort and call it a day.

Well, I stayed two days on my first trip there, and two days on my second trip there. I'm hoping for a third trip where I can stay three or four days. It all depends on what interests you and how much time you have.