This particular trip comes after a long gap. After our trip to Athens in December 2019 (where we lost our coveted passport) we were gearing up for our next adventure to see northern lights, when suddenly the world came to an halt. Forget about travelling, going to the grocery store itself was a challenge. Virtual tours on youtube were fun but sometimes it did make us miss these real experiences. As we became more receptive to the idea of staying put for a while, life went to another level. We were expecting and all our time and energy went to welcoming this new human being and getting her settled in this world. But we were sure that it is just a matter of time till she becomes curious to travel and happily embraces the long trips, different food, tough weather, new culture and adjusting to whatever accommodation the new place provides. So starting with a small trip to Jaipur when our daughter was 6 months old, we kept exploring short trips within India to let her know that this is how the ride is going to be with us 🙂 . We made snowman in Gulmarg, did boat rides in Kovallam, worked out of an AirBnb in coastal Odisha, chilled out in Goa and had multiple road trips from NCR over long weekends. So the ground was set to take it little further when she was 2.5 years old in the summer of 2023.

We had seen enough of the big cities and this time the plan was to skip that altogether in Belgium and just go to Bruges. While Brussels is the hub of administrative activities of EU and gives you a package of complete Europe (including a mini-Europe), we were not keen to use our leaves that way. So it was an easy choice for us to go with Bruges.

The first time we heard of Bruges was long back in the movie “In Bruges”. A nice thriller and it gives you the vibes of an old small town of Europe in winters. Things are quiet and the characters are dark. But at some level it does spark curiosity in you. The next time we saw Bruges in a movie was in PK (almost a decade afterwards). And this time the city was portrayed in the exact opposite manner. It was lively and the charm of typical bollywood romance was oozing out in all the scenes. The moment you see it, you get the feeling that this should be on our list.

Getting to Bruges is most convenient through train. There are frequent regional trains from Brussels taking anywhere between 1-2 hours. Like a lot of other cities in the north of mainland Europe, Bruges also has a lot of canals going through the city. It is as beautiful as Amsterdam but not as dirty and definitely not as crowded. Apart from acting as a mode of transport, the canals also help in seamlessly merging the sea water with the main land, reducing the impact. So let’s get to what all you can do in Bruges:

Things to do:

• Markt (The Town Square of Bruges): Every medieval town in Europe has the Town Square which you can’t miss. The main attraction in the Town Square is the Belfry. Like other watch towers, it was used to keep an eye on any upcoming danger to the townfolks. This building is the poster child of Bruges and it has the still functioning hour bell which helps you keep track of time while you are exploring different parts of the town square.

• Canal Ride: The canal ride here is pretty relaxing. It makes one complete round of this small town and there are expert guides to help explain more about the history of the town. The queue was not that big and it only costs 12 Euros per person. We saw some lovely buildings on the way and you really appreciate the construction of these houses on canals which have survived for many years.

• Minnewater Park: There are many parks in Bruges and Minnewater Park is the most famous one. It is a short walk from the Town Square. Unfortunately, the entire park was booked for a concert for the whole duration of our stay. So we couldn’t get inside the park but still strolling around the park was fun as well. If possible do check on that while planning your trip.

• Church of our Lady: The other high tower that you will notice in the city belongs to this church. It is again a short walk from the Town Square. Like other places in Europe, this church is also from the medieval period and is very grand as well as very beautiful from the inside.

• Local Cuisine: There are some really good restaurants in the Town Square serving local food. While the food was good and vibe was amazing, the servers do put pressure on you to keep ordering so that the business keeps coming. You can’t just sit there after a nice full meal. We also tried couple of places on the way from Town Square to Minnewater park and that was also a great experience. It is quieter and there is no rush. The main food items that we tried were the sea food soup, Belgian fries and steak.

• Shopping: To our surprise, Bruges proved to be one of the best shopping experiences in Europe. The prices were reasonable and the collection was unique. There was sale going on in most of the places. Don’t just stop at the shops in the Markt but go inside the lanes from there and you will find bigger and better shops.
• Walking Exploration: We hardly used Uber here. Unless our daughter is tired and she doesn’t want to use the stroller, we kept walking. Each street is unique with nice coffee shops and restaurants. So keep a lot of buffer to take slow walks across the mazes of this town.

Accommodation: We stayed in a home hotel which was 15-20 minutes walk from the centre of the town. It was nice and comfortable with a lot of space for our daughter to run around. We booked it through booking.com and it was under the name of B&B Innbrugas.

So if you want to slow down a bit during your Europe trip, then Bruges is the place to be.