Bruges

Bruges or Brugge is rightly lauded as one of the prettiest towns in europe.

Surrounded by canals, the old city of Brugge (or Bruges, depending if you are speaking French or Flemish) grew up throught the middle ages and was a massive trading port for many hundreds of years. The merchants grew rich and decorated their town in a rich style. Now visitors who come to Bruge discover the town has a delight around every corner. Described as the Venice of the north, this town is all about pleasure. The chocolate shops are just the first and most obvious pleasure that most visitors head for.

As I said, the city grew rich in the late medieval period and much of the look of the town was fixed during its most affluent age. hence you will find a very old fashioned city with low buildings rather than modern high rise eyesores.

We took a Eurostar train from London to Brussels (2 and a half hours) and then a local train (1hr) to Brugge station. From here a 4 minute bus ride took us to the central square where our hotel (the fabulous De Tuillereen) was signposted for our convenience.

The people were very friendy and spoke english.