Bruges (Belgium)

Advantages: Romantic, Clean, Welcoming
Disadvantages: Awkward Journey

...our three night break in Bruges through the Sunday Times Leisure Direction. On paper this appeared to be a four day break to be taken in the period between Christmas and New Year but we failed to take too much notice of the travelling time involved in getting from West Dorset to Bruges. Our best option would have been to fly from Bristol to Brussels but we had set our hearts on journeying by Eurostar from Waterloo International to Brussels as a first ...
...train journey from Brussels to Bruges was matter of minutes. Wrong on that one; up and down escalators with our luggage and a twenty minute wait on a cold platform then what must have been the slow train to Bruges arriving at 5.30 pm. A taxi to our hotel in the centre of Bruges and we were finally in our hotel room at 6.00 pm. Have you got that? A car, three trains and a taxi with a total travelling time of ten hours; it didn't take that long to ... Read review

Advantages: Stunning buildings, lots of bars and two breweries to visit.
Disadvantages: Gets VERY busy and be prepared to pay tourist prices!

...~~~WHERE IS BRUGES? Bruges is in the small European country of Belgium and can be found in an area in the north called West Flanders. The main language in this area of the country is Dutch (French is the dominant language in the Southern regions ~ Wallonia), although English is widely spoken and also German. Belgium is part of the E.U. so the currency is the Euro. Bruges is known for its canals, earning it the name of “Venice of the North” and you ...
...THERE? We traveled to Bruges on the train from Ostende and the journey took us approximately 20 minutes ~ no time at all. Bruges is also easily accessible by road and rail from other destinations in Europe (we traveled from the UK and rail links from the channel tunnel and ferry ports were regular and convenient). ~~~GETTING AROUND. Once we arrived in Bruges we opted for the old fashioned method of transport and walked from the station to the centre. ... Read review

Advantages: Lots of charm, character and class...and great beer
Disadvantages: Crowded during the day, canals were a little 'ripe'

...visited the Flemish city of Bruges recently. STOP! Don't hit the back browser, it's not another beer review, honest. BRUGES, BRUGGE, BRUGS or even BRUGSE - (BRÜGGE for any German schoolteachers that may read this), is situated in the north of Belgium and is an ideal place to visit for a short break from the UK. It's actually quite feasible as a day-trip destination from the Kent ferry ports - it takes a little longer from Scotland. We took advantage ...
...at 11.30am the following morning. BRUGES is a 20 minute drive from the port. (If you travel as a foot passenger there are train and bus links to coincide with the ferry timetable.) Our return journey departed at 6pm the following day, giving us ample time to explore this lovely, medieval city. The ferry docked pretty much on time (20mins late) and we arrived at our hotel - the Ibis Brugge Centrum - and were in our room by 12.30. This was a minor ... Read review

Advantages: compact, great for walkers, fantastic beer and chocolate
Disadvantages: possibility of becoming fat on beer and chocolate is high

We recently took advantage of a cheap Ryanair deal to visit Bruge, somewhere we have wanted to go for years now. The flight was very reasonable - £24 each way for each of us. There were three in our party - myself, my husband and my 'almost' three year old daughter. We also booked our holiday flat via the internet after a search to reasonably priced accommodation. There are a few larger hotels in Bruge which looked gorgeous. One was £2,800 BFR for ...
...which was ideal for us, was a holiday flat. It had it's own little kitchen with oven, hob and microwave, lounge/diner (with tv that even picked up BBC1, BBC2 and ITV if that's what you want when in a foreign country), bathroom with a shower, double bedroom and a mezzanine for the children to sleep in. We had our reservations about this last room for children as it was basically in the roof rafters with a metal ladder to get up to it in the same room ... Read review

Advantages: Old charm retained. Architecture impressive
Disadvantages: some restarants can be expensive - look around

This City is known as the Venice of the North due to the 12 miles of canals that run through the city. Despite the fact that I have never visited Venice, I was very impressed with Brugge which will be European City of Culture next year. We decided to visit Brugge for a short break during the October half term holidays. It was chosen because it was less than a 2 hour drive from Calais. It was easy to find and there were few traffic problems until ...
...expected as we arrived at 5.30 in the Evening. We stayed at the Novotel in the Centre of Brugge which was ideally situated for exploring. Most of the major attractions were no more than 15 minutes walk away. The Hotel was very friendly and not too expensive (approx £65 room only for a family of 4). Upon arrival, we studied the City map and decided to go for a short walk. We were very impressed with the City as it retained its old charm and had ... Read review