Jump to content

Recommended Posts

There's a good steak place called "Eetkroeg In 't Nieuw Museum". Sort of rustic pub-like vibe, meat cooked on an open fire in the middle of the dining room. Not expensive, good beers on tap. A 10 min walk from the main central/tourist area. You should probably eat there on both days.


Brugs Beertje is a decent pub with a huge beer selection... it's something of an institution, and you get quite a few tourists there, but that's kind of unavoidable in Bruges.

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/30931-in-bruges/#findComment-632277
Share on other sites

Bruges is lovely - and bloonoo is right that wandering around on foot is really all you need to do. But I?d also recommend a boat trip along the canals ? there are various different start points near the Burg and boats leave regularly throughout the day, with the round trip taking about half an hour.


Things to see: the obvious place to head for is the vast Markt square with the Belfort - the bell tower which you can pay to climb up (and up and up)... be aware that the steps do narrow tremendously the higher you get! Adjoining the Markt is a smaller square called the Burg, where you?ll find the Staadhuis (with a grand frescoed hall), and the Heilig Bloed Basiliek (Basilica of the Holy Blood). My tip is that if you visit the Basilica, you?ll find that everyone heads up the wide staircase to the big, ornate church but few notice the door tucked into a corner near the foot of the stairs; this opens into the much plainer and more peaceful vault, which we found made a lovely contrast to the grandeur above and the crowds outside...


We also really liked the Gruuthuse Museum ? the grand 15th-century house of a wealthy merchant. It?s in a lovely spot by the canal and right next door to the huge Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady)...and the wealthy merchant cheekily got permission to build a special viewing room jutting out from his house right into the church so that his family could worship without leaving the comfort of their own home! It?s amazing looking down from the windows of this room straight into the church and seeing people wandering around oblivious to you peering at them...


Food (1): I?d recommend a restaurant called Poules Moules (9 Simon Stevin Plein) - a lovely old building; friendly/attentive but not bothersome service; great food ? not over-fussy, just good, fresh stuff, beautifully cooked and delicious. We had pasta, can?t vouch for their poules or their moules...

Food (2): Friends who?ve been to Bruges swear by Restaurant Jan Van Eyck (12 Jan Van Eyck Plein), which also seems to have a lot of rave reviews online...if I ever get back to Bruges I plan to eat there.

Food (3): Just to echo what bloonoo said about restaurants closing earlier than you might expect (both at lunchtime and at dinnertime...)


Bar: Lokkedize (33 Korte Vuldersstraat) Not the kind of place where you can watch the Grand National (can?t help with that, I?m afraid) ? but Lokkedize is a great place for a drink. Cosy, quirky, frequented by locals as much as visitors. Does food, too ? Mediterranean meals and snacks. And often has music: jazz/blues/chanson. It?s something of a Bruges institution.


Hope some of this is useful. Have a great time!

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/30931-in-bruges/#findComment-632428
Share on other sites

Definitely echo PennyDreadful's recommendations of boat trip and bell tower, I would also add The Beguinage which is a small park surrounded by alms houses where nuns live (sorry hard to describe, but harder to forget). A suggestion would be to do the boat trip first to acclimatise yourself to the town and it's layout. Can't remember names of bars/restaurants but the beer is wonderful and there are so many that it's best just to wander around and find your own favourite. Bruges is just the right size to lose yourself in as you can never really get lost!
Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/30931-in-bruges/#findComment-632472
Share on other sites

"Friends who?ve been to Bruges swear by Restaurant Jan Van Eyck (12 Jan Van Eyck Plein), which also seems to have a lot of rave reviews online...if I ever get back to Bruges I plan to eat there."


Thanks PennyDreadful....we went there tonight. It was excellent. Garlic scampi were sooo nice. Thx.

Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/30931-in-bruges/#findComment-632705
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • But all those examples sell a wide variety of things,  and mostly they are well spread out along Lordship Lane. These two shops both sell one very specific thing, albeit in different flavours, and are just across the road from each other. I don't think you can compare the distribution of shops in Roman times to the distribution of shops in Lordship Lane in the twenty first century. Well, you can, but it doesn't feel very appropriate. Haa anybody asked the first shop how they feel? Are they happy about the "healthy competition" ?
    • ED is included in the 17 August closure set (or just possibly 15 August, depending on which part of the page you trust more) listed at https://metro.co.uk/2025/07/25/full-list-25-poundland-stores-confirmed-close-august-23753048/. Here incidentally are some snippets from their annual reports, at https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/02495645/filing-history. 2022: " during the period we opened 41 stores and closed 43 loss-making/under-performing stores.  At the period-end we were trading from 821 stores in the UK, IoM and ROI. ... "We renogotiated 82 leases in the year, saving on average 45% versus the prior lease agreement..." 2023: "We also continued to improve our market footprint through sourcing better store locations, opening 53 and closing 51 stores during the year." 2024:  "The ex-Wilco stores acquired in the prior year have formed a core part of this strategy to expand our store network.  We favour quality over quantity and during the period we opened 84 stores and closed 71 loss-making/under-performing ones."
    • Ha! After I posted this, I thought of lots more examples. Screwfix and the hardware store? Mrs Robinson and Jumping Bean? Chemists, plant shops, hairdressers...  the list goes on... it's good to have healthy competition  Ooooh! Two cheese shops
    • You've got a point.  Thinking Leyland and Screwfix too but this felt different.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...