Romantic Bruges

Bruges is a beautiful medieval city in Belgium. Bruges was one of the first cities I visit in Europe. We were in Bruges during February, which was still cold and wet. However, the beauty and tranquil setting of the city centre compensate it.

Bruges is often referred as “The Venice of the North”. The canals connects the street and with medieval style building lined alongside. Bruges’s city centre was nominated as a World Heritage Site in 2000 for their preservation of historical and medieval architecture building.

Most of the historical medieval buildings surround the city centre. The cobbled street linked the individual building, hence making it the perfect place to explore Bruges. The famous buildings in Bruges include the Church of Our Lady, the Basilica of the Holy Blood and the City Hall in the city square. The Church of Our Lady has a brick spire that is very prominent in the city. Inside the church is a sculpture of Madonna and Child, which is believed to be one of Michelangelo’s sculptures. The light shine through the multi colour stained glass give a divine impression to the place.

Bruges is well known for chocolates and there are many chocolate confectioneries to feast your eyes and your palette. The quaint shops are decorated with different shape and sizes of chocolates, colourful chocolate boxes. Sometimes there are even free sampling of the chocolates sold in the shop.

I like the city square. There was an open air concert in the square when I was there. Surrounding the square are restaurants and cafe with alfresco dining facilities. Sitting and sipping Belgium hot chocolate with music humming in the background is the perfect holiday experience.

As traffic is discouraged in the city centre, the best way to get to Bruges is by bus or rail. We took the Eurostar in to Belgium and another connecting train to Bruges. The main railway station is only a 20 min walk to the square and the bus network link the centre to surrounding Bruges and Dutch suburbs. We took a bus to Sluis, a Dutch suburb and spend a day exploring the town.

I would like to visit Bruges again and this time in summer. There are plenty more in Bruges to explore especially boat rides on the canal and the several festivities in the square.