I love modern art so was stunned to find this amazing artist studio gallery in a side street just off the main shopping street. This artist's work is abstract - very contemporary. Svein made time to show us his extensive range of work and his studio. He also exhibits local sculplture artist Kristof Donkels and ceramic artist Jan Duytschaever. The visit to the studio was a highlight of my time in this amazing town. If you're into contemporary art, a visit to the 'Studio Gallery' is a must.

www.koningen.net
Korte Vuldersstraat 17 Brugge. +32 50 33 09 88
station is only 10 minute walk and the Cathedral is around the corner - well almost in the same street.

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I’m British through and through but nothing says Christmas more passionately than Brugge does each December. The Belgians of course have two celebrations with the Feast of Sint Niklaas coming early in the month!

The city streets are beautifully decked out with twinkling lights and window displays and the main and smaller squares like Market Square and Simon Stevinplein have their stalls selling all kinds of gift, food and drink specialties. It’s a picture book / chocolate box place that you may wander and wonder around in the warmth of their hospitality and friendliness - and in safety.

My ideal 24 hours? I set off on a Friday afternoon straight down the M20 from London and directly into the Eurotunnel terminal from the motorway. Go to the toilet, buy a drink, drive onto the train – 25 minutes of rest – drive off the train, to the end of the tunnel road, turn right and just keep on straight for 55 minutes and there is the Bruges turn-off – 10 minutes later I am parked in the centre. Nothing could be easier and hardly needs a map or GPS!

If I just kept walking around the main central triangle of the city it would only take me some 15 minutes to do so – but there is so much to see that is worthwhile. Ice Skating in Markt, climb the Belfry, eat Flemish beer stew and photograph the canals and picturesque buildings as the sun sets and the sky glows. You are never far away from where your hotel is and it is so easy to take a small break to recuperate and re-energise!

Saturday is market day at Tzand (square next to bus station) – buy wonderful cheeses to take home; visit The Church of our Lady to see the Michelangelo Madonna with Child statue and take a canal boat trip, a museum visit or a romantic Horse and Carriage ride around the cobbled streets. Too much to do – so little time!

Now don’t forget those chocolates, those fresh cream pralines. Much much cheaper than the UK and guaranteed to produce sounds of delight (and quiet munching noises). I also buy ginger bread, chocolate figures and honey waffle biscuits.

Driving home; quickly visit a supermarket in Belgium for very good beer at low prices. Try a jar of Advocaat as this goes great on ice cream or Christmas pudding! Wine is also reasonable in price here.

… and it’s back to Coquilles to catch the train back home. Mission accomplished… Tired and very Happy!
Here’s a link to learn more oldchocolatehouse.com/links.html

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Unlike many galleries that concentrate on one period of history, the Groeninge Museum in Bruges has a collection that spans six centuries of Flemish tradition and is a truly fascinating insight into artistic development in the region.

Dijver 12

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A great café chock-full of some of the best cakes and sweets in Bruges according to the locals who go there – and in a city famed for its deserts, that’s saying something!

The hot chocolate was literally hot milk with pieces of chocolate for you to melt in yourself. Sickly, maybe, but definitely delicious – you’ll find it hard to go back to instant stuff when you return…

Geldmunstraat

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Pretty much the only time when food and drink around the Markt square is affordable is every Wednesday morning when it’s taken over by market stalls.

With a range of cheap, fresh and tasty offerings like rotisserie chickens, olives, cheese and international dishes, it’s the perfect place to bag a picnic or stock up on self-catering ingredients.

Centrum, Markt

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Instead of ketchup, the Belgians eat their chips (or fries for the Americans) with lashings of mayonnaise. Slightly odd perhaps – but a trip to Bruges has converted me!

‘Frites’ stalls around the city centre do them cheap, along with meatballs and sausages for a good snack.

Across the road, waffle stands and bakeries sell dessert dripping with chocolate and cream. What more to say except 'yum'.

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This little Bruges hostel was a real bargain – friendly, clean and better decorated than many more expensive places I’ve stayed in around the world.
The included breakfast is pretty extensive – more than the usual cornflakes – but most importantly I think it is has the best location in Bruges. Just off T’Zand (one of the main squares), it’s a short distance from everything you could want to see or do in the city.

www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/belgium/bruges/3925/
Hoogste van Brugge 2, Bruges

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Having used the been there to plan a short trip to Belgium I thought it only proper to note down my experiences for the reference of other visitors.

We travelled to Bruges in our own car via ferry from Dover to Calais – for our trip we found that this was the most cost-effective means. The drive from Calais to Bruges is not arduous and took less than 1.5 hours - sat nav makes it all the more simpler and brought us to the door of the Anselmus Hotel in central Bruges.

We found that this was a very comfortable, friendly family-run hotel that we could heartily recommend. It is ideally located close to the central area.

The city is fabulous – we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Take the canal tour and get a view of the local Flemish architecture, visit the Chocolate museum, watch the demo and sample the goods. Have hot chocolate and waffles in one of the street cafes as a mid morning snack or maybe grab a portion of chips and mayo from the mobile frituur in the market square, browse the unique shops – not too much sign of globalisation here!

For our meals we found excellent mussels and frites at Breydel-de-Coninck just off the main square at Breidelstraat 24 and for an alternative evening we could recommend the Grand Café de Comptoir with their excellent selection of international dishes, warm welcome, elegant décor and reasonable prices.

Then there’s the beer, you can visit a local brewery but if it’s the business end of the operation that you are interested in you will not be disappointed by the selection of bars and pubs and the variety of local beers on offer – close your eyes and take your pick.

The following day we visited Ypres (Ieper), about 70 km away, where you cannot fail to be stirred by the tragedy of the first world war. The museum named ‘In Flanders Fields’ in the main square of the town and only a short walk from the Menen Gate really puts a subsequent driving tour of the battlegrounds and cemeteries into vivid perspective.

Near Hill 62 you can view the trenches and let your imagination construct what it must have been like to fight in these conditions. The largest allied cemetery at ‘Tyne Cot' has over 12,000 graves regimentally aligned plus a wall of remembrance with thousands upon thousands of names of those who fell but have no known grave.

Bruges and the locality have much to offer visitors looking for a city break with a difference – I look forward to going again at some stage.

Check out the hotel at en.venere.com/belgium/hotels_brugge/hotel_anselmus.html?fe1&ref=682988, Breydel Restaurant site is www.breydel-deconinc.be/

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Hand-made Belgian chocolates are very different from the ones we buy in the shops in the UK. Fresh ones contain no preservatives and use 100% cocoa butter and fresh cream. They are light and delicate and have a shelf life of about six weeks.

On the other hand factory-made Belgian chocolates will not be as subtle in their flavours nor as delicious.

The master chocolatier that created these fresh ones will have used all his skill to ensure the chocolate coating is as thin as possible so that the filling becomes the hero!

Having said that, you should not be afraid to order hand-made chocolates through mail order delivery. They travel well (except to hot climates) and will not last long enough to be kept in storage when you receive them!

Two shops in particular come to mind in offering a mail order delivery. Dumon - through his web site contact Chocobong - and The Old Chocolate House where you will deal directly with the owner Francoise.

The large new shop for Dumon is on Simon Stevinplein and this is just round the corner from The Old Chocolate House on Mariastraat
www.oldchocolatehouse.com/Assortment.html

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Okay - so I am addicted to Bruges and its' chocolates! I was back there again this last weekend and my wife travelled to Amsterdam with her friends and then stopped in Bruges on the way back.

So many people from the UK are going there to buy their chocolates and see the sights and it definitely is not too late to plan a trip. If I set off from London in my car I am in Bruges in less than four hours.

My wife and friends went to Simon Stevinplein as that is where the best selections of handmade pralines and figures are to be found.

www.oldchocolatehouse.com/NewItems.html

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I was here, yet again, last week to stock up on Belgian chocolates and figures for my children and to visit the Wednesday market in the main square and the Saturday market near the bus station.

Bruges is great at any time of the year but Easter is one of the best for the window displays and unusual, for us in the UK, chocolate gifts.

The nearby Simon Stevinplein and Mariastraat have the best chocolate shops in town.

Mariastraat #1 - just next to Simon Stevinplein
www.oldchocolatehouse.com/Map.html

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This year the procession takes place on May 1 and it is something that should not be missed as it is a glittering pageant of colour and history that has taken place since 1150.

Reputed to be a piece of cloth that was used to wipe the wounds of Christ by Joseph of Arimathea; the Count of Flanders brought it back home to Bruges.
Even if you are sceptical as to the orign of the relic - this is a great day out in Bruges with even more to enjoy than usual.

Starting off in the Burg, the procession winds itself around the city. Helpful information links may be found here
www.oldchocolatehouse.com/Links.html

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Simon Stevinpolein is fast becoming the place to go in Bruges to get the widest and best choice of fresh made Belgian chocolates at fair prices.

With the opening of the Dumon shop at the corner of Mariastraat (20 metres from The Old Chocolate House and across the square from The Chocolate Line), visitors to Bruges need look no further than this central area to find something excellent to take home with them for Easter.

Simon Stevinplein is in the heart of Bruges next to Mariastraat
www.oldchocolatehouse.com/Map.html

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The Chocolate Line shop in this square in the heart of Bruges is a store owned by its renowned chocolatier Dominique Persoone.

They have a fab Easter display at the moment full of hippy CND campervans and chocolate figures. Buy a unique piece of chocolate art here as a surprise gift.

Simon Stevinplein leads into Mariastraat and is just to the side of Sint Salvatore Cathedral.
This map will show you where
www.oldchocolatehouse.com/Map.html

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Just went over to Bruges and visited this great chocolate shop. It was a chilly morning and Francoise (Fa) Thomaes and Barbe Van Den Haute were serving fantastic hot chocolate in their first floor tea-room. A great big cup of Belgian chocolate hot milk in a floating island of chocolate filled with fresh cream!! On the side - fresh Belgian pralines from their chocolatier. Decadent and delicious!

I enjoy my visits here as they always help in choosing just the right selection for my daughter Joanna.

www.oldchocolatehouse.com/
+32 50 340 102
#1, Mariastraat - next to Simon Stevinple
Check out the map of the city to see how close everything is to the centre www.oldchocolatehouse.com/Map.html

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A family run chocolate shop in the centre of town selling fresh hand-made belgian pralines and many gift items. Run by Francoise and her daughter Barbe who are always kind and smiling. Will ship mail order to UK as well as other countries.

1. Mariastraat - next to Simon Stevinplein and 1 minute walk from Church of our Lady
www.oldchocolatehouse.com/Introduction.html

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My tip for visiting Bruges is: go from Brussels on Sunday morning. Get out at the railway station and head into town.

Forget the churches and canals, just wander among the hundreds of bric-a-brac, car boot-type stall holders who cover the parkscape. Odd coins, objects, books, collectables, everything is there! What a treat!

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Discover an oasis of calm. Go to the Beguinage, a beautiful small green and shaded space flanked by distinctive white buildings and crossed with paths. Sisters of the religious St. Benedict order have taken the place of the former beguines of the former cloistered community. Its atmosphere is wonderfully serene.

The Begijnhof is just off Wijngaardplein and has a shop, church and small museum. There are signs asking people to be silent (though not always obeyed).

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Beautiful and historic Bruges packs in plenty of sites, but is compact enough to see on foot.

To eat, try waffles bought and eaten on the street, or one of the many small and friendly restaurants serving local dishes. If you a fancy a drink, take a walk down Kemelstraat and visit a bar serving a selection of 300 different blonde, brun and fruit beers.

If you get the opportunity, visit over the festive period and additionally enjoy the Christmas markets, nativity parade and see in the New Year in market square with dancing and fireworks.

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Restaurant In den Wittenkop run by a truly enthusiastic couple. Not an encyclopaedic range of beers but great advice and what they do have is worth trying.

Work up through the Rocheforts over some great food. Talk whisky after dinner and weave a merry way home. For chocs go to Pralinette, you can watch them being made in the back of the shop. Get the orange peel in chocolate!

Lovely big rooms in Hotel De Tuilereën, super spa facilities and winner of best breakfast in Benelux! Nice people, nice place. Oh, it’s got canals and museums as well.

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