Bruges

Lovely town. Very small & easy to see most everything in about 2 nights. Does make a good base for quick day trips if you wanted to stay put and see some other places in Belgium (Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels easy connections by train). Can't suggest a hotel for you. I stayed in a hostel. Lots of cute small hotels and B&Bs in center.

"Has anyone had experience in Bruges." Rick Steves has lots of experience there. Click here to see what he has to say about it.

We enjoyed all of the city, including RS suggested bike tour into the countryside. Only negative was our canal boat tour in the city; our guide 'phoned in' his commentary. Others have said they enjoyed theirs. Absolut Verhulst was an excellent B&B with wonderful breakfasts in a beautiful courtyard. Have fun!

We had a wonderful time in Bruges a year ago and stayed at Bonobo Apt hotel. Perfect location , very close to everything and they even have a small car park, if you have a rental car. Do a carriage ride and tour the De Halve Mann Brewery. Eat lots of chocolate :)

Hi Alice We spent two nights in Bruges in April and really enjoyed it. I highly recommend Hotel Jan Brito for a wonderful experience-walking distance to the canal and eevrything you want to see. We enjoyed walking the Belfort Tower, drinking the local Zot beer, buying some very nice art in the central flea market and hitting the museums. I highly recommend going there and Rick has a useful guide. Cheers Mike
DC

I spent 2 days in Bruges 3 years ago and it made such a huge impression on me. I felt that if I were to leave the states, it is where I would want to move. I am trying to get back there this year for my annual European vacation. I plan on staying there 4-5 nights. Yes, I think the place is worth that many days! 2 days should be the minimum. I want to really have a chill vacation, taking my time to experience the core of the city and not be fatigued from a whirl-wind adventure where I am trying to cram in a bunch of stuff starting at 9 am. So maybe this vacation, I can sleep in a bit and just wander and take it all in. I also intend on staying in Ghent a few days as well. Maybe a side trip to Antwerp, Paris or Amsterdam.
I stayed at B&B Verhulst and had a wonderful experience. Benno and Freida know how to treat their guests. http://www.b-bverhulst.com/

Hi Alice,
Bruges is one of my favorite cities, and I go almost every summer. I usually stay in the Best Western Hotel Navarra because it is right by the Bell Tower, great location and friendly. Also has a pool, sauna, and a fun parrot in the lobby. :) I have also stayed in hostels and with friends in the area, so I can't recommend other hotels, but I have a feeling that most of them are pretty great and plenty of great B&B options. I just love walking around, wandering and exploring. Sometimes I'll rent a bike and go to the coast or countryside. A wonderful vibe in that city; enjoy. Also, yes . . . day trips to Brussels and Ghent are a good option. I have found that the best magic of Bruges is the wandering and settling in, not feeling that you have to get back somewhere else. Therefore, I love to stay in Bruges and not a quick day trip. (I "discovered" Bruges on a quick day trip from Brussels and wished I had stayed there instead). Enjoy!

This is so exciting for me, planning our 1st trip together... I lived in Germany a yr but still pretty protected by the military. We just think so much of Rick Steves and back door approach

A couple of years ago we stayed at the Hotel Fevery...nothing fancy, but pleasant, reasonable, and easy walk or bus ride anywhere. Continental style breakfast.

We like to stay at Hotels Adornes. They have rooms with views of the canal, fabulous breakfasts, and free bikes. We ride the bikes to the windmills or around town. It's a bit more of a walk but walking in Bruges is a pleasure anyway.

I'm an expat living in Belgium for 4.5 years now, so I always bring our (too few) visitors to Bruges. Can't help you on hotels since it's only an hour's drive from our house I've been there many times and have never done the canal boats. Frankly, I don't know what more you see from them than from walking around. If I were you, I'd rent a bike from the train station (EUR 9.50 full day / EUR 6.50 half day from 2:00 PM both with a EUR 12.50 deposit) and ride around town. You probably won't do this every day, so just pick the day when you want to do the least walking around the center. The details are here (run it through Google Translate): http://www.b-rail.be/nat/N/practical/petsbikesbags/bikerenting/index.php The Choco Story Museum is nice, but 2 hours max. The gift shop is nice if you don't have time for the actual museum. The fries from the "fritkot" in front of the Grote Markt and bell tower are spot on. We live here and still think those fries are good ... I like Curry Ketchup, my kids like mayo (try it! it's different than American mayo) and my wife likes spicy sauces like Samourai and Ch'ti. The key is, treat your stay like the Belgians or the Europeans do when they visit. Relax, walk around and experience it instead of ticking off boxes. By the way, don't forget that Bruges is the French name (though we use it too in English). When you're there, call it "Brugge" in Dutch (like "brew-huh"). Don't even think about trying to use your High School French there because it's not welcome, to be honest. Try to learn a couple words of Dutch (hello, please, thank you, etc.) and then go to English. This is the same for all the cities in Flanders (Vlaanderen). In Brussels, French reigns supreme even though it's officially French/Dutch bilingual.

"...I've been there many times and have never done the canal boats. Frankly, I don't know what more you see from them than from walking around..." One does gets a better much better view from the boats, plus it's more relaxing. Not that walking/biking isn't also a good way to explore the city, but from street level views can sometimes be obscured by trees, and parked cars.

Stayed 2 nights ... wish I'd had one more. Loved the Pink Bear bicycle tour to Damme and back. Love the frites (fries) - remember "French" is the "cut" of the particular frite served in France, not the origin. Loved Dumon chocolates. Loved the Zot beer factory tour. Loved the canal ride - yes, it's not a Venetian gondola at sunset, but it's still fun. Loved the restaurant RockFort. Loved Hotel Patritus. I would LOVE to go back.