Bruges from Antwerp is about 90 minutes by train. Bruges is a stunning town, living up to expectations despite the volumes of tourists. Firstly we went to Minnewater, a lake in the park south of the Centre that had beautiful views of the town. From here, the cobbled streets and paths took us through a convent and into the town streets where we first stopped at the only remaining brewery in the town, De Halve Mann. We stopped to try their beers, and were glad we chose to do so first as it filled up quickly as we sat there and would have been heaving by early afternoon. The brewery has a crown-funded, 3km pipeline the channels the beer directly from here to the bottling plant.
The Grote Markt of Bruges is beautiful - a wide, open plaza surrounded by traditional buildings and the belfry on the south side. We looked at some of the most notable of these including the Basilica of the Holy Blood which purportedly houses a phial of Christ's blood. Out to the east of the town, we visited the windmills that line the canal, following the water back into the Grote Markt for a beer in the Duvel Cafe overlooking the square. A little souvenir shopping in the beautiful lace shops on the way back, we then stopped by the Kasteel on Minnewater for a drink at the water's edge.
BelgiumFlandersBrugesKerkebeek51°12’4” N 3°13’34” E
BelgiumFlandersBrugesKerkebeek51°12’4” N 3°13’34” E