Is 7 days in Bruges too long?

[TooLongInBruges]

I’ve been there twice before for 3 nights each time, with friends. I want to go with my 3yo and husband, because it’s small and walkable, and I’ve booked a nice family friendly hotel with swimming pool, sauna, breakfast and adjoining rooms. We haven’t been away from home since 2022, and that was in the UK. So this is the first time we’ll go abroad as a family.

I booked 7 nights so we can just switch off and enjoy time as a family, but now I’ve started to look at forming an itinerary, I’m worried we’ll be bored and sitting in our hotel by day 5. I want to shorten it to 4 nights but also I just want a week away, I can’t afford a beach holiday to the same standard of hotel, and we don’t want a city break as we live in London.

We’ll do a canal ride, fondue, horse carriage ride, chocolate museum, the bell tower.

Just looking for advice as I could save quite a bit cutting it down by 3 nights and would hate the idea of being bored by day 5. Husband thinks it’s booked and we should just stick with it. Eurostar tickets would be about £30 to change dates.

Could you take the train to Ghent one day?

Won't it be lovely just to chill, use the pool , do things like feed the ducks with your toddler? 4 days you may feel no time to properly destress

7 days is a while just in Bruges… however with a pool and decent weather it’s doable.

Ghent is a short train ride away and a great small city to explore.
Blankenberge has a beautiful beach also about 20min away on the train too.

I wouldn't have wanted to do more than two days in Bruges but there are lots of other places you could go visit.

God Bruges is so boring and just for tourists these days. Get the train over to Ghent, to the seaside (De Haan is nice), even to Brussels or Antwerp for a day.

I'd split the trip between Bruges and either Blankenberg or Knokke-Heist which are both nice nearby seaside resorts. 7 days is too long to spend in Bruges IMO

Blankenberge is hideous.

We had a lovely morning at the aquarium then the afternoon at the beach.

There's much nicer places though on the Belgian seaside - like De Haan. The seafront of Blankenberge are all horrendous high rise buildings.

The beach at knokke is nice
we spent an afternoon there when we visited Bruge

I would have thought it’s too long. A day or two is enough. But my kids are older so we can pack more in.

Definitely head on the train for some day trips elsewhere. It’s very well connected.

Day trip to Brussels etc should break it up

It will be fine with a day trip or two on the train. The trains are regular and easy to negotiate. I wouldn’t worry if I were you.

Oh keep the booking and relax. As pp have said get some day trips in to Brussels or any of the other suggested places. Bruges is well connected. We did Brussels and Bruges and wished we had stayed longer than 4 nights.

I think it can be nice to slow down and really live in a place for a week rather than just ticking off sights, especially with a young child.

There is lots to do and see around Bruges. Cycle along the canals, go up to the coast or visit a historic town, castle or recreational park nearby. Bruges itself is a lively small city with more than just tourist attractions.

I would say go for it and enjoy the slower pace.

There's a certain film starring Colin Farrell that tells me any time there is too long.

I'm sure it's lovely, mind.

I'd seen most of it in 6 hours, it's not very big (nor interesting to be honest) it's pretty enough but so are other places

God no, I’m Belgian and my husband is from Bruges, but 7 days is waaaay too long.

2 days max, so go to Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, the seaside (as a Belgian I find the Blankenberge suggestions very funny: it’s seen as a ‘chav’ place by some Belgians)

We did 3 days in Bruges and 3 days in Zeeland (Netherlands). It was lovely. Definitely easy to combine Belgium with Holland as it's so close.

You will easily fill a week in Bruges, it has some wonderful museums and churches crammed with exceptional works of art. Take a canal boat trip, visit a brewery, buy some chocolate, visit the old fish market, you will be spoilt for choice with restaurants.

Visit Blankenberge for the day, just a short train journey away, the Art Deco pier with its aquarium is lovely, eat waffles by the sea, buy Babelutte toffee to bring home. Visit Antwerp, go by train to arrive at the famous Centraal station, with its stunning tile work, visit the nearby city Zoo, take a short river cruise on the River Scheldt.

Have a wonderful time! You might need two weeks there!

You're taking a toddler. They move at a toddler's pace and take pleasure in simple things! And probably want a nap at some point. I think it will be delightful.

I went for three nights and that was enough - it was far from a bad holiday - my now DH proposed there and we dined at some gorgeous restaurants but by the final day, it felt like we'd seen everything Bruges had to offer.

I later found out that the spot in Koningin Astridpark where DH proposed was featured in the In Bruges scene where Brendan Gleeson went to shoot Colin Farrell in the head. The romance...

Thank you so much for ALL the replies. All the different perspectives made me realise what I actually want.

@Climbin , @VivaDixie told me what I needed to hear, to slow down and relax. @Mandarinaduck you’ve described exactly what I need - to slow down. I didn’t have any annual leave last year as I took a big chunk for caregiving reasons at the beginning of the year, so I have not had a break. I booked this holiday as we finally had a bit of leeway with free hours kicking in, but I’m also pregnant and was thinking ah this is our last holiday before another 3 years of mat leave and full nursery fees! More for my sake than the toddler, I don’t want to do day trips, I just want to walk around and be near the hotel. I feel like Bruges is the perfect balance of having all the trendy perks like nice cafes and restaurants, but also walkable and less traffic than a city and a slower pace of life. I’m never bored in London, travel for work, and I’m overwhelmed, so a couple of days bored in Bruges with a pool is what I need!

@AdaColeman I agree, I have spent ages in Groeningemuseum and in the Basilica of the Holy Blood, won’t take my toddler but there’ll be other things.

I was worried we’d be bored sitting in our hotel which is silly. We travel Saturday afternoon and Saturday morning back, working Friday and back on Monday, I think what I’ll do is make the Saturday and Sunday we arrive “boring” just enjoy the hotel, pool, local cafes and sleep lots, and same for the Friday before travel. Then we’ll start sightseeing from Monday. If we do get bored by Thursday, I’ll see about one of the day trips mentioned. Thanks everyone, you’ve made me feel much better about it.

Three days is enough. Ghent is lovely.

Change to 5 days and spend a day in Ghent.