2 days in Brugges

Hi Stew, I recently returned from Brugge and would suggest spending both days wondering around town. There is so much to see and experience - it's a wonderful city to get "lost" in. A climb up the Bell Tower is well worth the time and leads to an amazing view. There are hidden treasures all over the town. Just walk down any little road and see what you can discover!! From what I understand, the beach is rather close, but I did not go.

Yes, the beaches are not far away, particularly Ostend and Blankenberge. Zeebrugge is closer, but this is more of a port.

Personally, these are some of my favorite beaches in Europe. With their promenades, wide stretches of saned, and cool breezes, they're probably the closest thing in Europe to shore towns of the New Jersey coast... which I'll always have a certain fondness for in my heart...

Another nice thing to do, if you get tired of the town, is to take a bicycle along the canal. Maybe you could ride to the beach, too.

Plenty of rentals, or maybe your B&B has bikes for free. The bikes are not generally of the greatest quality but adequate for the flat flats.

Brugges can definately be done in a day if you want to spend the other day at the beach. I didn't visit the beaches, but I personally didn't find Brugges to be that fascinating. Nice to visit, but nothing great.

I wouldn't bother with the beach - there is plenty of great sightseeing in town. Rent a bike and ride out to the little town of Damme; take a canal boat tour; eat Belgian waffles, buy chocolate, take in the incredible architecture. If you want a day trip, do Brussels before driving/training out to Brugges.

I agree with Rebecca. Bruges is small but can easily fill a couple of days (we were there for 5). We took the trip to Damme, and it was a fun experience on a beautiful day.

Stew,
I just returned from a day trip to Brugge and it was nice. It is a bit touristy for me but I am glad I went. My husband and I enjoyed the Halve mann brewery tour in town. The Beer is good and the gal that gave the tour was very knowledgable about beer and the process of making it. Don't forget the yummy chocolate too. I think one day in enough so going to the beach would be fun.

Brugges has no beach and believe me, once you are in Brugges, you won't ever want to leave. It if so beautiful and so much fun and has so many neat sights and things to do, not least of which is taking a canal ride or touring their brewery. You have to climb the tower too and visit a beer house. It's a great town. Check out the movie, "In Brugges" to see the city. It's great.
Katherine

I was gonna say checkout "In Brugges" too...never been myself. I do have a friend from the US who lives in Brussells now so maybe someday.

They have some nice shots of the town in the extras. The movie was a bit of a black comedy.