Bruges Day Trip from Paris

I doubt very much it will be any extra hassle for a commerical tour, bring your passport.

I would think it would not be an issue with a commercial tour but there are so many wonderful places to visit within an hour of Paris that I would not do a day trip to Brugge. There are lots of picturesque towns e.g. Crecy la Chapelle, Moret sur Loing, Auvers sur Oise, Conflans Sainte Honorine, Senlis etc etc or lovely small cities like Reims and Rouen and Chartres -- all of them within an hour or so of Paris. I'd save Brugge for some time you are on your way to Amsterdam or Brussels rather than doing it as a day trip out of Paris.

Bruges is a wonderful destination, but is a bit long for a day trip from Paris. Personally, I think Bruges is worthy of an overnight stay, as wondering the lovely cobbled streets at night is a delight in itself. Also, Bruges in April can be quite windy, cold and damp. Still, if you decide to go, please visit Chocolatier Dumon...my favorite, of many, family chocolate shops in "Brugge."

I was in Amsterdam when the attacks on Brussels happened a couple of weeks ago. We did not notice any marked increase in border patrol or security, either on the train or when flying. In your situation I would not worry about any hassle. I did not even feel that there was increased security flying back to the US. My opinion is that you will have no problems in that regard. Enjoy Bruges! I spent a couple of days there on this last trip and it was just wonderful.

I would definitely recommend staying a few nights in Bruges and not visit it on a day trip
It takes approx 3 hours by train from Paris to Bruges so the travel time would eat into most of your day
We stayed in fabulous B&B right on one of the canals in Bruges which we would highly recommend - Huis Koniing

My husband and I visited Bruges on a day trip from near Lille. It was long enough and I can't imagine a day trip from Paris.

There was quite a lot to see in the old town area but since we happened to visit on one of holiday weekends (there are many May holidays in France), the area was very crowded. It seemed as if everyone was on a shopping trip for chocolate and lace.

We had a lunch near the square and then wished we had not. The food was expensive and not that great. The waiter was rather rude. We should have walked off the main square area.

We did the canal tour and really enjoyed that. If we ever do another trip to Bruges, I would check the holiday schedule and plan the days better.

I certainly don't think there will be any hassle for an organized tour. However, I agree with Janet - if you're in Paris long enough to get bored with it and want to go somewhere else then go to one of the places that Janet mentioned or do a little research on other places closer to Paris so you won't spend hours just getting there and back. I loved visiting Bruges as a day trip but I was staying in Brussels, not Paris.

Bruges really deserves more than 1 day. I stayed 4 nights there and saw all of Burges, rode a bike along the dykes, took a 1 hour train into Brussels.
Climbed the tall bell tower in the main square and had the best chocolates, and french fries (they were suppose to have been first created in Bruges)
Hope you get to spend a bit more time there - a nice small walkable town.
Wonderful boat trip through all the canals (with a young man driver - translating the tour into 4 different languages!!)
I did not take a bus, but used the train system.

We did Bruge as a day trip from Lille and then, because we loved it so much, went back and spent several days. So, if a day trip is all you get, go and enjoy. It sounds like you'll have a tour driver, so you can sleep on the way. Will there be free time for you on the tour? On our day trip we were able to take the canal boats, visit the chocolate museum and the chocolate shops, visit the church ( it's mentioned in "Monuments Men") and walk most of the town.