[Closed] Bruges Anyone been???

I went years and years ago, and can remember next to nothing of the trip, except a general sense that it was quite nice.

So... have a nice time?

Be careful, its renowned for drug dealing and streetwalkers at night. (i.e. be in before 9pm).

aye and loads of midgets 😯

Best way to get there? - depends where you live. When I was living in London we drove/Eurotunneled it which was easy enough but took a while - maybe not ideal for a romantic weekend

Can't recommend places to stay I'm afraid - I was there for races so stayed at a hostel (Bauhaus IIRC) which had a great bar but was pretty basic.

Things to do - admire the beautiful town, drink lots of great beer, eat chips/mayo, eat lots of Belgian choc 🙂

Best way to get there?

Where to stay when we are there?

Martins Hotels- they always have web-deals on. I think I've got a mailer from them somewhere.

And the obvious, things to do?

Lounge, relax and do nothing. Im a live-wire but that place slowed me right down (without boring me).

Visit Ypres. Its a must.

aye and loads of midgets

Racist Midgets!! 😆

Been there a few times to ride the flanders sportif.
Stayed in Bauhaus which was good but basic.
Always driven as easy to get to from from calais.
Make sure you watch 'in Bruges' the movie before you go
Tin tin musuem/shop one thing to do..

when are you thinking of visiting?
Bruges (Brugge) is pleasant enough but Gent is better... (Bruges is too focussed on touristy things - how many chocolate or lace shops does one need for gods sake?)
Where is your secretary from in Belgium? I assume she is Vlaams...

In 3 weeks from now it is the festival of Gent which is pretty awesome & definitely worth a visit. The town (city?) is ram packed for 10 days but it's worth the pain.

Look out for Colin Farrel...
[img] [/img]

(shite poster for a great film)

I did one of the tourist canal boat trips - despite it being a tourist trap it was really rather good.

Bruges (Brugge) is pleasant enough but Gent is better...

True. And I say that as a visitor to both (rather than a Belgian resident, as Marge is).

However, you and Mrs Macheath will enjoy Brugge. I've only been once (earlier this year - for the RvV, natch) and it's nice for a weekend mooch around. Other parts of Belgioum are easy to drive to - Gent's just down the road, and if you head a little further south to Oudenaarde, you can visit the RvV musem (possibly being served by Freddy Maertens) and understand just how close cycling is to religion in Flanders.

We stayed pretty centrally - here: [url] http://www.hotelmaraboe.be [/url]. Nice, family run B&B. I'd take Mrs North there, and she's fussy. The friends I was with have, on a previous occasion, stayed at the Martin's Orangerie, which they recommend: [url] http://www.martins-hotels.com/en/hotel/orangerie [/url].

From the Miraboe, it's 5-10 mins stroll into the very centre of the city, where you'll find all the tourist trap restaurants.

As it's Belgium, and tourist central, the prices are (compared with the UK), sky high, but worth it - eat seafood (the coast is but a skip away, especially mussels. Drink as many different beers as you can - they're all wonderful.

Rather randomly, on Easter Monday, we were in search of an open chemist, and enjoying the architecture along the back streets, when we saw some people doing a city tour on Segways. Very odd.

I went to Brugges by accident on my cycling tour, its the best accident I had, lovely place.