bruges

[ichangedmymindagain]

when to go , how to get there , where to stay , and what to do once there . want a romantic weekend away , heard this is a good place to go to . any ideas please .

Oh, it's lovely. We always have an overnight here on the way home from france before we catch the ferry. It's lovely just to wander round, but SO, SO expensive! We have DC, so we always end up going round in the horse and cart (not a cart, but I can't think of the word).

Food and drink is dear, but gets slightly less dear when you go off the beaten track a bit.

The show shops are fab.

where in the country do you live? we are in kent and every year the weekend before christmas we get the eurotunnel over to france (with tescos clubcards) and drive to Bruges.. an hour after leavign the eurotunnel you are parked up in Bruges. it is expensive and romantic we stay in a fab expensive romantic oldyworldy hotel (with our airmiles).. we like to go on a friday stay friday night then go to the food market on Saturday morning and get all our pate and cheese for christmas... we also stop in winewarehouse in france on the way home. if you dont mind it cold (possibly wet) Christmas is fab.. they have iceskating and mulled wine/crepe and waffle stalls in the main square.. nice to go up the tower.. and just mooch really.. you can do a canal boat trip which is lovely but they will only be running in december if the weather is good. I recommend it.. we have done with kids.. we used to do as a day trip but hubby felt he missed out on the beer as he had to drive home. Also buy nice belgium beer and fancy beer glasses for male family members christmas pressies..

anything else you need to know???

Antwerp also lovely!

scubagoose - is it easy to park in the city centre (if you don't have access to a hotel carpark)? We are thinking of stopping off there next year on our way to Holland

absolutley.. spelling!)eek

there is a big underground car park at T'zland. as you get off the motorway you follow signs for bruges then St Michaels.. then centre and you get to T'zland square. one lane takes you down into the car park the other round the square

Thanks for that! May also consider Antwerp as suggested by Anna as have never been there (have been to Bruges before but years ago)

De Witte Lelie is a lovely place to stay in Antwerp, and very well placed.

I meant shoe shops, obviously.

It is lovely - as is Antwerp and Gent. The Xmas market will be on in December too. Look at Booking.com to find nice hotels in your price range - it can be pricey.

If you get the Eurostar to Brussels, you can change trains at the Gare du Midi for Bruges and use your Eurostar ticket. It is valid to all Belgian stations.

thanks for the info , all sounds lovely , unfortunately cant go in dec as other half cant get time off , thought about going in the spring(gives us time to save ) we wont be driving as he does this for a living so we like to have a non driving break away .

I'm going on Sunday so will report back. I would also second Antwerp for a visit. We live about 10km away and generally go in on a Sunday. Tis a lovely town (can't call it a city, too small). I am looking forward to Ghent enormously.

Bollocks. I am going to Ghent on Sunday, but did go to Bruges last weekend. It is a beautiful city, but very expensive compared to Antwerp.
That will teach me to concentrate

Ghent is very like Bruges, but without the Americans . There are lots of nice restaurants and you can do the canal tours too.

Hi,
I went to Brussels and Bruges on a coach excursion organised by Newmarket, in December last year. Bruges is very pretty, but we only had a morning there.
For detailed help and advice, look at the Trip Advisor Bruges forum. The Destination Experts there especially can help you to plan your trip, advise on hotels, and generally answer any questions you have about it.