When we were planning our short stay in Belgium, one of the places that kept popping up was Bruges. I had heard great things about it so it was something Mrs. ATX Jetsetter and I wanted to make sure was in our itinerary. Fortunately, Bruges is extremely easy to get to from Brussels as trains run almost hourly throughout the day.
We started our day at Brussels-Centraal station and hopped aboard our Bruges bound train. It was extremely packed at this hour as the train had originated at the airport but by the time we deposited passengers at Brussels-South we were able to find some seats.
Aside from two extremely loud and rude American women, the trip out was pleasant and we chatted for a while with a father/son who were returning home from a trip. After about an hour our train rolled into Bruges and we headed off towards the city center. We didn’t have any real plans so we just followed the path along the river towards town and eventually found ourselves on a busy pedestrian street lined with shops.
Mrs. ATX Jetsetter and I spent some time popping in and out of the various shops but didn’t see anything that we had to have. Getting hungry, we headed towards the Grote Markt which was buzzing and surrounded by restaurants.
All of the restaurants on the square were packed and charging prices in line with their prime locations, so we ducked down a side street to look for a quieter place to grab lunch. We found a small square along the Sint-Amandsstraat that had a few restaurants surrounding it and it was a much quieter area, just a block from the Grote Markt.
We grabbed a table at Restaurant Beethoven and ordered some local beer while we perused the menu.
After ordering, the tables around us started to fill in and by the time that our mains arrived the square was packed with people enjoying lunch. I had a delicious order of fish and chips which paired well with the local beer.
Stuffed from lunch we walked back through the square and headed out the north side into a quieter, more residential part of the city. We walked along the Spiegelrei which eventually led us to the canal encircling the city.
We took a leisurely stroll along the canal towards the southern part of the old town, stopping along the way to take some photos of the brightly colored buildings and flowers that were in bloom. Eventually, we made it to the Rosary Quay (Rozenhoedkaai) where canal tour boats were coming and going to take tourists on a ride around town.
A short walk from the Rosary Quay, down a quiet side street, was the Bourgogne des Flandres Brewery and we stopped in to check it out.
After ordering a flight of beer from the bar, they only have 6 beers so you’re able to try them all, we found a table outside along the canal. We had a great view of the boats going by as well as a family of swans who had discovered they could eat pretty well thanks to the tourists here. We were seated at a long table and eventually joined by a group of friends from England who were spending a week biking around Belgium. We chatted with them for a while and swapped stories of our travels over the delicious, local beers.
A little after 3:00p we bid adieu to our new friends and headed out in search for some waffles. We didn’t have to hunt for long as we found the House of Waffles just around the corner. They had a line out into the street but thankfully that was just for to-go orders and we were quickly shown to a table on the rear patio.
The restaurant had an extensive menu and both the décor on the walls and the menu featured famous people from around the world with their corresponding waffle.
I ordered the Classico with a Liege style waffle and Mrs. ATX Jetsetter had the Cherry Delight with a Brussels style waffle. They came out deconstructed which allowed us to build the waffle to our choosing which I appreciated. Both of our waffles were delicious and I ate way more than I should have but I couldn’t be stopped!
Full from the waffles, we started slowly making our way back towards the train station. Mrs. ATX Jetsetter stopped to do some shopping and picked up some souvenirs for our families back home.
With trains running almost every hour, our shopping stroll meant we had roughly 45 minutes until the next train back to Brussels so we stopped for one final beer on a patio on the ‘t Zand.
Fully hydrated, we made the short walk back to the station to catch the 4:58p train back to Brussels.
While we could have spent longer in Bruges, we felt that we were able to get a good experience of the city during our day trip. If you find yourself nearby I highly recommend taking a day trip, or spending a short overnight in the city. Should our travels bring us over this way again, we would happily return to Bruges!
In this Trip Report
