Gruuthuse Museum, Bruges

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

...attractions on offer. Bruges is quite a small. compact city and so lends itself well to a tour by walking or by horse-drawn carriage. As it's sometimes known as The Venice of the North, there are lots of companies offering canal-boat tours. There are also tours by mini-coach and it's possible to hire bicycles. We walked. •• MARKT -- The Belfry dominates the main city square - where markets were held from 1200 until 1983. The Belfry tower is 86m high, has 366 steps and leans southeast. It has a 4-octave carillon of 47 bells which marks the quarter hour - that gets old fast. -- You can climb the tower for some spectacular views across the city...you can, we didn't. •• BASILLICA of the HOLY BLOOD -- A double chapel with Saint Basil's Chapel (1139-1149) on the ground floor. The upper chapel was rebuilt (19thC) in neo-gothic style. A museum... Read review

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Advantages: Clean,beautiful,romantic. Beers are nice!
Disadvantages: busy on weekends,not too much to do

...of the city. As the name suggests, for the lovebirds amongst you, this area is a must. Bruges is full of cafes and restaurants, and the one restaurant i would highly recommend is the Saint-amour restaurant. It is fairly pricey (if you come from london, you will feel right at home here) but the food is exquisite. My Pork chop was cooked to perfection, and I have never seen my girlfriend eat so much since I've known her! The main chef is excellant and has achieved many awards (i forget what they are called). At the end of the night, he comes round and chats to his guests, and he seemed only too happy to answer our mainly silly questions! The only real drawback to Bruges is that there is not too much to see beyond this. Maybe the church of Mary and the work by michaelangelo, and the beer museum. If you are into art, then there are some big... Read review

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Advantages: An interesting and informative tour.
Disadvantages: Steep steps and uneven floors.

...When we go to Belgium we do indulge in a fair amount of beer sampling, but we do try to do a bit of sight seeing too. So when the beer sampling and the sight seeing can seamlessly coincide then life is good! Once such example of this wondrous occurrence can be found during a day out in the Flanders city of Bruges. A trip to the Brewery de Halve Maan (previously known as the Straffe Hendrik brewery) combines history, beer drinking and a good day out! ~~~WHERE IS THE BREWERY? The brewery, bar, restaurant, museum and visitor centre that make up this tourist attraction is located at 26 Walplein. It isn't far from the cathedral, the main tourist sites in Bruges (the diamond museum is not far away) and is about ten minutes walk from the train station. To be honest, we went with some people who knew the way from the station... Read review

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