Brussels is a great city for so many reasons, but my absolute favorite reason is that it’s a gourmet city that takes its food, chocolate and beer very, very seriously. I know. You’re shocked that I care about such things. But alas, I do. You can read all about our obsession with the city’s phenominal food and beer scenes here.
Give us all of the beer.
And all of the chocolate.
So what else makes Brussels such a wonderful city to visit? Well, for starters, its proximity to so many fabulous day and weekend escapes is fantastic. There are so many charming cities within a short train/car ride away that the biggest challenge is deciding which one(s) to venture to. While Brussels is fun to visit, I wouldn’t say it’s like other European cities like Paris and Barcelona where there are a million things to see and do and you really need to prioritize your time. We found three days in Brussels to be plenty, so on our fourth day, we took to the rails and visited the lauded cities of Bruges and Ghent.
Early train = not so happy T
Below are highlights and um, lowlights (yes, those things happen too, sometimes) of our time in Bruges and Ghent.
Bruges
Less than an hour from Brussels by train, Bruges is easy enough to get to that you can be there for breakfast. We wanted to love Bruges. We really did. We had such high expectations for this fairytale town filled with historic buildings, crisscrossing canals, and cobblestoned alleys. And don’t get me wrong, it really is charming, but we also found it to be incredibly boring. After less than three hours of exploring Bruges, we were over Bruges and couldn’t wait to leave. I know, I know! This is so unlike us and I’m fully aware that we are the minority here, but we just didn’t really care for it. It’s so picture-perfect that it almost seems somewhat contrived and staged. The other thing that was off-putting? Tourists. Everywhere. The streets were teeming with tourists. The vibe here just wasn’t for us.
Now although we didn’t particularly love Bruges, there are of course worthwhile places to visit, and some really are incredible.
the markt
The pulse of the city is defined by Bruges’ Markt, the city’s market square. The busy square is home to several architectural gems including the Provinciaal Hof and the Belfry. A nice spot to amble, people-watch, and of course gorge on waffles and other Belgian deliciousness.
Provinciaal Hof (Province Court)
The medieval belfry that towers over the market square
Let’s be clear. There are no other breakfast choices when Belgian waffles are on the menu. None.
Stadhuis
Located in the Burg Square and dating back to 1375, Stadhuis, Bruges’ City Hall, boasts an impressive interior filled with intricate carvings and lovely murals. Truly exquisite.
The building’s unparalleled masterpiece, Gothic Hall, is a true marvel. While Stadhuis is a delight to visit, it is relatively small–we stayed for less than an hour here.
Thing to know: Tickets cost €6/person.
Canals
Bruges is often referred to as the “Venice of the North”. While I don’t even particularly love Venice all that much (more about this in an upcoming post), I find this statement to be somewhat insulting. In my opinion, the canals of Bruges don’t hold a candle to Venice–they’re not even in the same stratosphere for that matter–and again, this is coming from someone who doesn’t even hold Venice in that high esteem. Of course, the canals are nice enough and are certainly one of the highlights of the city, but after visiting cities like Venice and Amsterdam, we found ourselves unimpressed and a bit disappointed.
And yes, no trip to Bruges is complete without the obligatory visits to the lace and chocolate shops–and there are an abundance of both. My pick for the best chocolate shop to visit is the highly regarded Chocolatier Dumon — certainly quite worthy of all of its praise and accolades. But of course, after days of feasting on mouthwatering chocolate in Brussels, it’s not like we were exactly blown away by the chocolate in Bruges, you know?
So after a few hours of being utterly underwhelmed by Bruges, and realizing the day had not even hit noon, we decided to board the 20+ minute train and head to Ghent, and man, were we so happy that we did!
Ghent
A mere thirty minute train ride from Brussels, Ghent is an even easier day trip than Bruges, but Ghent’s allure reaches far beyond its accessibility. Simply put, Ghent is remarkably picturesque and downright charming. Unlike Bruges, Ghent is lively and vibrant and it’s clear that it’s not just filled with countless tourists flooding the streets. Locals and foreigners seamlessly co-habitate the city center and the local-to-tourist ratio seems to be significantly lower than that of both Bruges and Brussels.
Dazzling Dutch architecture and a maze of canals wind through the narrow cobblestone lanes of Ghent.
The medieval port of Graslei is the thriving heart of the inner city. The waterside promenade is lined with historical buildings, their facades reflecting in the shimmering River Lys. It’s here where you’ll find everyone from the young to the old, to the resident to the visitor, meeting at one of the many café patios or simply dangling their legs over the quay soaking in the surrounding scenery. The canal views are enhanced by St. Michael’s bridge and the nearby stunning Gravensteen Castle.
GRAVENSTEEN
Us Hills, in particularly T, love a good castle, and Gravensteen is is definitely worth taking the time to visit. We spent an hour or so here and highlights include the creepy torture exhibit and the spectacular views of Ghent from the top of the castle. There are signs that guide you from room to room and there are a significant amount of signs in English to provide context to the displays. This is not the original castle but it is very well built to give you an idea of how torture was conducted during this time.
Morpheus or T?
Spectacular views of the city square
So the final verdict? Even though we didn’t fall in love with Bruges like many others do, I recognize that it is a place certainly worth visiting. I really liked how we (accidentally) did it, by spending a half-day in each city. Both are compact, easily explored by foot, and you can really cover a lot of ground in both places in a relatively short amount of time. If you are pressed for time, or simply just want to devote your full attention to one destination, then in our opinion, the clear edge goes to Ghent. But let’s be honest here. Any day spent in Europe while drowning in copious amounts of chocolate, waffles and beer is one helluva marvelous day.
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