VENICE OF THE NORTH
BRUGES
Laura and John McMahon have kindly agreed to share there superb Bruges photographs with you. The newly wed couple had a wonderful time the Belgian town.
The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval-shaped and about 430 hectares in size. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 13,840 hectares, including 1,075 hectares off the coast, at Zeebrugge (meaning "Brugge aan Zee" or "Bruges on Sea". The city's total population is 117,073 (1 January 2008), of which around 20,000 live in the historic centre.
The historical center is not so big and thus quite walkable. The only mode of public transport inside city is bus. Buses are operated by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn . Taxis on the market place and station cost about €10. Bicycles are easy to rent and make getting around the city very speedy, although the cobblestoned paths can make the rides a little bumpy and uncomfortable.
Chocolate shops are plentiful and the standard is always high. A fairly cheap option is Stef's on Breidelstraat (betweeen Markt and Burg). If you are willing to spend a little more, Chocolatier Van Oost on Wollestraat is a must for high-quality artisinal chocolate. Word on the street is, that you can get anything covered in chocolate and moulded. There is a particular vast amount of chocolate shops at the Kathelijnestraat. There are also many boutique-style beer shops that sell high quality gift packs of Belgian beer
ALL PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN AND OWNED BY Laura and John McMahon
The Belfry situated on the south side of the Markt
Grote Markt and Belfry Climb, Grote Markt (the big square). 09:30 - 17:00, Closed Mondays. Climb the 366 steps to the top of the 83-metre high tower. Excellent views of the city, Grote Markt and hear the bells ring up close. €6 with Bruges card / €8.
Bruges also has a very fine collection of medieval and early modern art, including the world-famous collection of Flemish Primitives. Various masters, such as Hans Memling and Jan van Eyck, lived and worked in Bruges.
Restaurants are not always cheap or wonderful; sad to say that Belgian cuisine is a long way behind French in terms of variety, although mussels and frites or fricadellen, frites with mayonnaise are outstanding here. Stay away from the central market place ("Grote Markt") and the Burg Square (e.g. the Tom Pouce Restaurant) when eating. Tourists are easy victims here. One tactic used by tourist traps is to present items (e.g. bread) as if they were free with your meal, then charge you exorbitantly for them.
You will, however, find great food if you wander off the beaten track. Find a street with more locals than tourists and ask somebody. The locals will be glad to help.
A lot of places do not open until 1800hrs.
