24 hours in Bruges

As a teenager, thanks to the languages spoken in my former home city, I knew which economy was doing better than others. Japanese became Russian, followed by Spanish, Arabic and Chinese. Bruges, the city where I grew up, simply lives on foreign tourists. Are you planning to visit Bruges? Then these tips might inspire you!

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In itself, just walking around Bruges is wonderful — provided you avoid certain places. There are a number of streets in the center where it can be really busy, but outside it is quickly quiet. There is also a lot of greenery — the vests along the water, for example, or in the Minnewaterpark, the Begijnhof and Queen Astrid Park — and the museums are rightly world famous.

Over the past few years, I've seen the city evolve into a place that — no matter what others who haven't been there for ten years may say — is quite lively. It is home to agencies such as Wilderness view and creative free ports such as Het Entrepot and The Republic.

The latter, in particular, has become one of my favorite places in Bruges in recent years. Especially in summer, it is great to sit in the courtyard to have a drink or eat. A newspaper once compared De Republiek to De Vooruit in Ghent, but that's a slap in the face for the first one. Although cultural events are also organized — I was also allowed to give a lecture there a while ago — but the food is of a much higher level. In the evening, you should make a reservation there, because although there is room for a lot of people, it is full of people from Bruges. The cafe also has a door to the neighbours of Cinema Lumiere — like many others, we regularly eat something in De Republiek first on the weekend and then watch a movie.

Looking for other places to eat? You can eat pizzas with Carlito's whether Trattoria Trium, The Stupa has a wide range of vegetarian options and, if it may be more chic, Franco Belge and Colourful B recommendations. Coffee is something you drink Vero Caffe, Mailbar whether Li O Lait, if you want to combine drinking pints with buying pictures, you can do that in Cherry Picker Record Store. So a lot of choice — as long as you don't go to the Market.

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When we stay with my parents, we always visit Thomas on Saturdays in The Reyghere. For a long time, the oldest bookstore in Flanders had a branch in Sint-Kruis, the district where my parents live, where I visited at least weekly to browse through the books. Then Thomas' father was in the store, now they sell together. Thomas is always open to giving young writers and poets a stage and, of course, can give reading tips like no other. If you love comics in addition to books, you should definitely stop by De Striep, in their outlet at the back of the store, you can buy very good bargains!

Despite the hustle and bustle in the center, it is also nice to dive into the crowd. By drinking a Brugse Zot in the courtyard of The Crescent Moon, for example, the brewery where the beer is brewed. In the meantime, you can do it. world-renowned pipeline see with beer that runs under the city. If you still want ice cream afterwards, stop by The Polar Bear. Since this summer, they have been standing in front of the Belfry with an ice cream cart.

Not far from Bruges's famous tower, there are two more stores that I would like to recommend. The Bear Necessities is a stuffed bear shop that looks exactly like it's pictured in children's movies. Cookie shop Juliette's smells exactly like you'd think — I've been going there since I was about ten years old and they were still in Simon Stevin Square.

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Will you stay overnight in (near) Bruges? Then take the bike to Damme and Sluis! That beautiful nature along the way is perhaps what I miss the most since I've been living in Ghent.

Inspired? Be sure to make similar posts yourself about the place where you live or grew up! There are still so many cities, towns and nature reserves in Belgium that I still want to discover, but with a local guide, that will be extra fun.