Bruges to Damme by bike

We did it and loved it, but we stayed 3 nights. How many nights are you staying? We slso loved everything to see in town, hard for me to say what you should do if you have a very short time. I think I'd choose Brugge but that's a tough one.

Actually, I'm staying three nights in Bruges, but I plan to dedicate one day to Bruges, one to Brussels and the last one to Ghent. I'm trying to figure out how to distribute the time there... Maybe I should save the bike ride to Damme for the morning of the last day, and go to Gent after that... I'm just considering my options to plan my itinerary. Thank you Susan for your answer!

Natalia, I just got back from Belgium today and did the bike trip from Bruges to Damme. I did not think it was all that great. I would not call the path beautiful. It's a fairly boring ride along a canal with trees along the road. There is nothing really interesting to look at. I was disappointed in Damme. It's a perfectly fine town, but nothing special. If you only have one day, I would not spend it riding to Damme. I found walking around Bruges to be much more enjoyable. You can also ride around Bruges if you enjoy riding bikes.

Natalia, I have done this. It is a short, easy ride[INVALID]perfectly flat of course. I would do it again, but then I like that sort of thing. It's also fun to tootle around Brugges on a bicycle. I wouldn't say it is a huge highlight, however. Have fun!

No matter what, rent the bike. I'd ride the path to Damme (at least to the stunningly, red-sailed windmill, which is a dramatic site, popping through the windrow of Linden trees) just to get away from the crowds at mid-day. It only takes 75-90 minutes to ride up and back, and you return with a nice appetite. If you want to go into all the monuments, at least you can circumnavigate the densest part of the tourist crowds with the bikes if you stay in town. By 6 p.m., you'll have the town to yourself and the best time for strolling will commence.

We did that exact thing this past June. We were in Bruges for 2 nights and only one full day. Seeing the sights we wanted to see (including canal boat ride, tower climb, art museum, market square strolling, fries and mayo and more) only took about 5 hours. Then about 3PM we rented the bikes from the shop around the corner from the tower and set off for Damme with the good provided map. We thought the ride was lovely. No, the scenery was not as dramatic as, say, Switzerland, but this is Belgium. It's flat. Damme is not a storybook cute tourist village. It's just a small, quaint Belgian town, and frankly, after the cuteness of Bruges, I prefered something a little closer to real life. So yes, it is easy to do, and worth a couple of hours. In fact, if it had been just me, I would have wanted to bike farther. Also, since you will be in Bruges for an additional night, you may have an hour or two before sunset to wander the old town without the tourist crowds and soak it in a little, too.

Thank you so much for your answers, they've been so useful! I'm definitely renting a bike in Bruges! And I'll keep in mind the possibility of going to Damme, depending on how much time it takes us to sightsee and whether we want to keep looking around the city or not... so we'll leave the decision to that moment :) It's nice to plan some stuff but it's also nice to leave things to do on the spur of the moment... I have one more question though, if anyone is still reading... have anyone gone to Zaanse Schans from Amsterdam by bike? Is this a similar experience than going to Damme from Bruges? Would you do both? Hope anyone is still there reading! Thanks!

Rent the bikes for sure - we rode to Damme and really enjoyed it. We were only there for 2 nights (one full day) and we spent it by going to to the market in the Markt (only there one day per week I beleive), 4 hours on the PinkBear bike tour to Damme; canal-boat ride; touring the De Halve Maan brewery; stopping in to see Michelangelo's Mary and Child, buying some Dumon chocolate, enjoying some fries and Mayonnaise, and having a nice dinner at Rock Fort. The Groenig museum (or whatever its called) was closed the month we were there.

For historical reasons, Damme is called a town. But reality is quite different as the place is nothing more than a small cosy village with 745 inhabitants and a bunch of interesting sights.

We just got home from there. Didn't get to do the bike ride, but wanted to. We spent 1 night in Brussels before flying home. Unless you want to do museums there, you only need a few hours. Mannekin Pis is about 15 mins. walk from Midi Staion and Grand Place another 7 mins. walk. We had a delicious waffle at Mannekin Pis, then a few beers in a Grand Place bistro. Brussels is filled with graffiti and doesn't have any of Bruges' charm.