Brugge, Belgium
Beautiful Brugge in winter.
Since allotted travel funds and time are always precious, we are very selective about re-visiting a city. In fact there’s only a small list of cities that make the cut: Lisbon; and of course Paris, Rome, and London. Maybe one day we’ll go back to Buenos Aires or Istanbul. But who thought that tiny Brugge, Belgium would make it onto that list?
Beautiful story-book architecture, cobblestone streets, twinkling Christmas lights, picturesque canals and all very tidy — it is just a super-romantic, lovely city. But what puts it over the top for the city-boy in me are the other features that give this small city a cosmopolitan feel: the fine restaurants, the cocktails, and the shopping (further details are in the run-down below). It was really the best of both worlds and our three-night stay was the perfect length of time to spend there.
In getting there we skipped the city of Brussels (as many do, though you need to fly into their airport) and jumped on a train from Brussels Airport straight to Brugge (about a one hour train ride).
*This was part of an 8-night trip to Brugge and Amsterdam. To see our complete trip itinerary click here.
The Gimlet Traveler Rundown:
All ratings are based on our experience and are on a 5-star rating system (see Site Info for more details). For mapped locations and links to the places listed here (and more) visit Google Map at bottom of page.
Gimlets: *****
Five stars primarily for Groot Vlaenderen, a glam, sophisticated and sexy cocktail bar on a quiet side street, with amazing cocktails (of which you can see a couple below). We went twice during the four nights we were in Brugge and met the owner, who was bartending, on the second visit. Cool spot. We also had very elegant pre-dinner gimlets at The Duke’s Palace Bar, before having dinner in their restaurant. It was especially lovely at Christmas-time. And many of the restaurants in Brugge are sophisticated enough to no doubt make their own good martinis, if they have a full bar.Restaurants: *****
For such a small city (or large town), Brugge has a wide plethora of restaurant choices, including a handful of Michelin-starred places (which we generally don’t choose due to my very particular tastes!). We do like a fancy restaurant with great food and ambiance, just not steamed pigeon wrapped in parsley with turnip foam, if you know what I mean. We had nice dinners at the warm, buzzy Bistro Christophe (I had a yummy steak), The Duke’s Restaurant at The Duke’s Palace Hotel (fancy but not uptight, with contemporary design and elevated food), and Bistro Refter, an intimate, casual mid-century modern bistro with a full bar and a small courtyard garden in summer (at Christmas-time there was a tree in the courtyard).Sights: *****
We were completely smitten with Brugge. It’s just gorgeous, it’s walkable, it’s quiet (it was winter/holiday season) and has a magical, storybook feel. This is another city where you should take at least one boat tour on the canals (they’re readily available at various launching points throughout the town without a reservation — just get in line; though this could be different in warmer weather/high season). There are some sights (the Historium Tower) to see but basically it’s the town itself, the architecture, the cobblestones, and the quiet streets. One minor let-down: surprisingly the Christmas Village was a bit of a disappointment, though the rest of the city more than made up for it.Shopping: *****
Another surprise to us: we managed to find several cool and unique home design stores (always our prime shopping goal) and went home with quite a few things from Brugge (see Gouts et Couleurs, Frederiek Van Pamel, La Stanza di Stefanie and Callebert in the map at bottom). Also the home of Sissy-Boy, an oddly named but hip concept shop/department store located in the central market square. And while there are numerous chocolate shops located throughout town, Spegelaere Chocolaterie is considered a ‘best kept secret.’ It has the longest family tradition of making chocolate in Brugge and doesn’t see a lot of tourists. And it was near our hotel!
Review of Huis Koning Rating: *****
We loved our holiday trip to Bruges and our stay at the delightful Huis Koning B&B. Well located a few steps from the center of town on a quiet street, we enjoyed everything from the delightful breakfast (eggs, Belgian waffles, fresh breads) to our stylish, modern accommodation (the De Kelk room on the top floor had a comfortable sitting area, exposed attic beams, a comfortable king bed and a great bathroom). The house itself is lovely and backs up onto a pretty canal. Lynn made sure all the details were attended to (fresh treats in the room every afternoon when we came back from sightseeing and shopping) and we would highly recommend anyone looking at Bruges to consider a stay here, even if, like us, you normally prefer a full-service hotel. We felt very well taken care of at the small, personal and stylish Huis Koning. We loved it!
Date of stay: December 2018
Other Hotel Choice:
•Hotel Duke’s Palace, a full service luxury hotel with a lovely old-school bar and modern, updated restaurant (both of which we attended), but the rooms, other than the most (and very) expensive ones in the older building, look a bit square with the air of a very nice chain hotel.
Below is a map of hotels, restaurants, bars, shopping and sights found during our research. We didn’t have time to visit all of them during our trip, but all were of interest. Click on the icon at top left of the map to view the legend. Or you can click on the full-screen icon at top right to expand, which will also bring up the legend.
