![](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=470x1024:format=jpg/path/scd8d45d1bf4518a6/image/i8a1bd90b5b84f630/version/1610038281/image.jpg)
We set off by train from London on Eurostar [1] to Brussels, where we changed on to a very comfortable two storey local express that took us directly to Bruges (https://www.visitbruges.be/discover). We arrived in the mist at the railway station but decided to walk to our hotel, the Bourgoensch Hof, [2] http://hotel-bourgoensch-hof.hotel-in-bruges.com/en/ This was on Wollestraat right beside one of the main canals in the middle of Bruges old town [3] in sight of the Belfry. The 83 metres high Belfry is the most striking tower in Bruges. Nearby, the main square was filled with a Christmas market and other entertainments [4] during the day and into the evening. We got a pigeon’s eye view from the Historium, which walks you through a virtual history of Bruges. At night, the Market Square was alive [5] with people walking to or from the many restaurants or just strolling around [6].
![](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=470x1024:format=jpg/path/scd8d45d1bf4518a6/image/idc71cff7edecb8ee/version/1610038281/image.jpg)
The canals, too, were beautifully lit up at night [7] especially near our hotel. This one, the Dijver [8] also shows one of the main landmarks in the old town, the 16th century church of Our Lady. It has 115.5 metre-high brick tower, the second tallest in the world, and includes a museum. We loved walking beside the canals at night [9] not least because of the wonderful lighting effects on some of them [10].
![](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=470x1024:format=jpg/path/scd8d45d1bf4518a6/image/ib4f353e5fcac1bcd/version/1610038281/image.jpg)
But they were also enchanting during the daytime, too [11] where we found little cafes to have hot chocolate and some houses from the Hanseatic merchants [12] near a statue of Jan van Eyck, the painter, and a chocolate factory (Choco-Story).
![](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=470x1024:format=jpg/path/scd8d45d1bf4518a6/image/i48f04503a684828f/version/1610038281/image.jpg)
Walking through the narrow streets of the town gave us interesting views of monuments such as the museum of the church of Our Lady [13] and this little plaque which shows how important a port Bruges was from very early on [14]. A stroll we enjoyed took us past St John’s Hospital [15] [16] to a delightful square full of small restaurants for lunch – tried two, won two – where the swans and ducks gathered on an arm of the canal near the Begijnhof, originally a hospice for single women [16a], at the head of Minnewater park, an old harbour that was romanticised in the later 19th century into the ‘lake of love’.
![](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=470x1024:format=jpg/path/scd8d45d1bf4518a6/image/i16be4f7975202b87/version/1610038281/image.jpg)
Another of our meanders crossed the canal by our hotel twice then led us up a narrow alley to the City Hall [17]. At night it had a huge Christmas tree lit outside it [18]. But in daytime it was the interior splendours [19] that caught our imaginations. The old City council chamber was fabulously decorated [20] with terrific detail in the murals. Alongside this building in the same square was the Basilica of the Holy Blood [21], the decoration of which, too, was worth a visit.
![](https://image.jimcdn.com/app/cms/image/transf/dimension=470x1024:format=jpg/path/scd8d45d1bf4518a6/image/i9f1d4a7cd387d44a/version/1610038281/image.jpg)
Just down the road from our hotel [22], along a side street a new brewery [22a] had been opened to brew again the Bourgogne des Flandres in the city, a most delicious and refreshing lambic beer. Almost next to our hotel, apart from a wonderful cheese shop was a waterside bar [23] showcasing Belgium beers, with a statue of Tintin [24] in its entrance celebrating Herge’s wonderful adventures.
Write a comment