After our trip through the Eurotunnel to Calais we hit the road traveling 117KM to Bruges (Also spelled Brugge), a beautiful city in Belgium.

Bruges (Dutch: Brugge, stemming from Bryggja, which assumedly used to signify ‘landing stage’ or ‘port’) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country.

The historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is egg-shaped and about 430 ha in size. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 13,840 ha, including 193.7 ha off the coast, at Zeebrugge ("sea-Bruges" in literal translation). The city’s total population is more than 117,000, of which around 20,000 live in the historic centre.

Bruges has, because of its port, a significant economic importance and is also home to the College of Europe.

We spent three evenings in Bruges, which was one evening too long for our boys as the city is marvelous but I would suggest a bit mature for our young boys. If we were there as a couple, the 3 days would have been marvelous as there were many sites that we did not see as the boys can only take so many consecutive art museum visits on a trip.

When I asked a waiter ‘What language do you speak? French?’ he explained that there are really 3 languages in Belgium. French, German and the most predominant – Dutch. That would be a wonderful thing for children, as one could argue that another language – English – is also predominant (everyone spoke English). To grow up with 4 languages is a long term benefit, although I am sure it is painful for them at times. 

We stayed at a small hotel in the heart of the city on the ‘Den Dijver’, the Hotel De Tuilerieen. The service was impeccable and while the pricing is a bit off the planet, being in the heart of the city made all the difference. A simple walk to every site that we wanted to see. I would agree with trip advisor, a wonderful Christmas destination.

Our boys particularly enjoyed the breakfast which included a large chocolate fountain and home made Belgian chocolate spread. Everything in Belgium is about either the chocolate or the beer.

A few pictures: The Christmas lights of the hotel.

The canal in front of the hotel and the view of the Belfry tower.

The view of the Belfry tower from our hotel room. We were on the 3rd floor, a magnificent view of the roof tops.

Another view of the canal facing Church of Our Lady. The hotel is on the left.

I would highly recommend Brugge as a destination if traveling Europe, it is definitely worth a few days.