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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If you are on a low budget then you want somewhere cheap and clean to stay that is in the centre of things.

Look no further than the International Youth Hotel (not Hostel) in Langer Straat. You've got all the familiarity of being close by the city centre and a room-style reminiscent of the French motorway hotels like Formule 1 and Campanile.

It has shared ownership with the next-door dormitory-based Youth Hostel, so do not book the wrong one. Two years ago, the cost per head for a group of 20 of us was £12 per night, including meagre and just adequate breakfast, but no more than two rolls each please. Nice to find a place where average age was less than 30.

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If the Belfort stands guard over the Markt in Bruges then the The Stadhuis or Town Hall is sentinel of the Burg.

This magnificent Gothic building was built between 1376 and 1420 and renovated in the 19th and 20th centuries. On the first floor is the restored Gothic Hall, which can be visited for an entrance fee of 2.50 euros (price includes a very informative audio guide).

What strikes you first about the Gothic Hall is the vibrant colours with which it is decorated. The brown, gold, red and burgundy of the arched ceiling and the large, multi-coloured wall frescos. The latter were commissioned towards the end of the 19th century and show scenes from the history of Belgium and Bruges such as the defeat of the French at the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. Where the ceiling arches meet are small keystones showing scenes from the New Testament and around the perimeter of the hall, where the arches touch the wall, are small frescos representing the months and seasons.

A small room leading off from the hall contains a number of historical artefacts including an interesting and detailed map of the city.

Burg

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