I had a direct flight from Lagos to Brussels then took the train from the airport to Bruges the first night.

I recommend the SNCB app for purchasing tickets; it was very easy. I wasn’t quite sure for the first train about buying online since I thought tickets were for a specific time. I wasn’t sure how long it would take from my gate to the train station so bought this first ticket using the machines, once I arrived at the platform. Later tickets, from Bruges to Ghent, Ghent to Brussels Central, and then back to the airport, I bought online. They are just for a specific date and can be used any time; during the week there is a higher cost for tickets before 0900.

Belgium has two main languages, Flemish (a version of Dutch), in the Flanders area of north Belgium, and French, in southern Belgium. There are German speakers in the southeast.

Bruges

I’ve heard so much about Bruges, or Brugge in Flemish, from so many people. Everyone says, you have to visit, you’ll love it! So it’s been on my must-see list for quite a while.

I stayed in the Hotel Navarra Brugge. I had a nice room, at the end of one hall. Very quiet and comfortable, beautiful common areas. It was a great location, not from the Grote Markt or the main square.

After dinner at the Hof van Rembrandt, I spent time in Grote Markt, enjoying the buildings and people watching. I also stopped for some chocolate, at Belgium Chocolate Corner, on the way back to the hotel.

I took a free walking tour, the Historical Tour of Bruges the next morning after I arrived. Always a great way to get a good overview of a city.

Recommendations

I visited Burg Square on my walking tour. Not as large as Grote Markt but with plenty to see and beautiful architecture. It’s considered the “heart of the city”, containing multiple architectural styles, Gothic, Romanesque, Neoclassical, Renaissance, and Baroque.

Brugse Vrije served as the old courthouse from 1795 to 1984. It has a stunning room called the Alderman’s Chamber. The highlight is the fireplace from 1528, a tribute to Emperor Charles V (1500-1558). It is made of oak, marble and alabaster.

I bought a joint ticket for €8 for entry to the courthouse and City Hall or Stadhuis. Visitors are restricted in the morning since they use the Gothic Hall for weddings, and I saw several couples and their guests both mornings when I was walking through the square. I went back later in the afternoon for a visit. The huge hall is amazing and they also have an interactive map of Bruges next door that shows how the geography and topology of the city and river have changed over the centuries.

The Basilica of the Holy Blood is also in Burg Square. It has a relic that supposedly contains Christ’s blood. The building, a lower and upper basilica, and the facade are beautiful.

The earliest building, the lower tower, of Sint Salvatorskathedral dates from the 11th c. Most of the church was built between 1275 and 1527. It has beautiful stained glass and chapels.

Church of Our Lady or Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (OLV) is a beautiful Gothic style church, built during the 13th to 15th c. The 115 meter spire is the tallest building in Bruges and the third tallest brick tower in the world. It contains Michelangelo’s “Madonna and Child”. The sculpture was a part of the movie Monuments Men, as it was stolen by the Nazis in 1944. It had also been stolen in 1794 by the French. The church is free but the museum and mausoleums cost €8.

The center of the city, the Grote Markt is magnificent. So much to see, so many great buildings. Lots of restaurants, museums, and more, and a great place to sit and people watch. There was a big concert here one night. There is a large statue in the center of Pieter de Coninck and Jan Breydel, considered Flemish heroes for fighting against the French in the 13th c.

Grote Markt

The walking tour offered some coupons and there was a €1 off a boat tour with Coudenys. A great way to see the canals and all the architecture; it was a very relaxing and beautiful hour.

The Groeninge Museum makes “1000 Places to See Before You Die”. It was a beautiful and huge museum with lots of the Flemish Masters. Lots of talent, of course, but not art I really enjoyed.

I walked out to see the Jerusalem Chapel and Museum. It is part of the Adornes Domein, a medieval estate that belongs to the Count and Countess de Limburg Stirum, the seventh generation of the Adornes family. The entry ticket includes a small museum with a film, then the Jerusalem Chapel. It was inspired by the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and consecrated in 1429.

I spent a few hours exploring the Vesten or city ramparts. There are some windmills along the park, I saw Sint-Janshuismolen and Bonne-Chière Mill and passed one of the four remaining city gates, Kruispoort. This area is a lovely park along the canal. Great place for a walk.

Restaurants

• Hof van Rembrandt I had some excellent meataballs or gehaktballetjes with vintage Brugge cheese or oud-Brugge kaas.
• Tasty Bruges was just down the street and open early. They have breakfast sandwiches.
• The Potato Bar, my first Belgian frites! They were incredible, had a great pepper sauce with them. They offer a variety of sauces or toppings.
• ‘t Nieuw Walnutje is right across from the Huis de Halve Maan brewery, I stopped in for some excellent Flemish Stew. Outside seating and great staff.
• Venice Corn they have a good selection of waffles but I stopped for lunch and had a great sandwich, a Sunny Pesto.
• Mozart Ribs and More was also just down the street from my hotel; I made reservations because every time I walked by the first few days it was packed. The ribs are all you can eat and look good but I am not a big rib fan and had the very rich chicken stew, Waterzooi de Poulet la Gantoise. Delicious, good service, especially for a solo diner, despite them being very busy. There was a constant line of people waiting to get in, most without reservations, who were told to come back after 2100.
• I had some great Eggs Benedict at Boho Brunch.
• I tried my first authentic Belgian waffle at Chez Albert, chocolate and strawberries. Rich and delicious.
• Recommended online and by my Guru guide as the best chocolate in Bruges, and there is a LOT of chocolate in Bruges, Chocolate Line. It was very hard to decide what to buy, huge store, lots of offerings. I left with a medium size box of pralines. I am still savoring these, having two small pieces, almost two weeks later.
• Belgium Chocolate Corner is in Grote Markt, picked up a variety my first night.

• Huis de Halve Maan is in 1000 Places to See Before You Die. So had to go, of course. They have a great patio, tried a couple of their beers, also very good.
• Bourgogne des Flandres if you’re lucky you can get a seat on their canal patio. I sat out front. They have a flight of 6 great beers.

Ypres

I booked a full day Flanders Field tour through Get Your Guide. It started at 1100 so we could see the 2000 Last Post Ceremony in Ypres before heading back to Bruges. The following is cut from Get Your Guide:

On the way to the Flanders Fields area our guide will tell you which events led to the First World War and how the disaster developed.

We stop at a very moving German Cemetery (Friedhof), from where we drive to a section of the WWI trenches. We will visit Monument of the Brooding Soldier, which commemorates the sacrifice of 2,000 Canadian soldiers during the first German gas attack. Close by is Hill 60 which had fallen into German hands but was mined by tunnelling companies of the Royal Engineers.

After a short lunch in Ypres our guide will take us to the outstanding In Flanders Fields Museum. We will hear the touching stories behind four years of trench war.

You will then be taken to the battlefield at Passchendaele and visit Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world where British, Irish, Australian, and Canadian soldiers rest. Then our coach will take us to the Essex Farm. This was the field where Canadian field surgeon Dr. John McCrae wrote the famous poem “In Flanders Fields”.

We will then arrive again in beautiful Ypres and eat a quick snack. At 8pm we will attend the Last Post Ceremony at Menin Gate, a daily tribute to all Commonwealth soldiers and officiers that were missing after battle. 

In Flanders Field Museum, one of the videos talking about the Christmas Truce.