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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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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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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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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If you love chocolate (and who visiting Belgium does not?), be sure to visit the Choco Story in the heart of Bruges.

It tells the history of chocolate and has hourly demonstrations of chocolate-making plus, of course, the chance to sample!

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Visit Tom Pouce restaurant in the Burg for a delicious and hearty beef in beer stew (Flemisch beefstew) - a real delight.

Be warned, we were so full afterwards (especially having taken the accompaniments) that all we could do was rest afterwards. We found a quiet spot in an outdoor café – had a few drinks and watched the world go by before exploring the town by night.

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This restaurant was part of the excellent hotel we stayed in, Die Swaene. We decided to try it out for supper, not expecting the gastronomic feast we had in store.

The food was simply delicious, the service was excellent, and the surroundings beautiful. I highly recommend this restaurant. Our selection was the five-course Menu Romeo & Juliette.
This was also one of the most expensive meals we've ever had, close to €300 for two adults and a child. This price, however, included two decent bottles of wine from the Margaux region, early 90s. We felt that the quality of the food, wine, surroundings and service made this meal well worth the price.

Die Swaene Hotel, Steenhouwersdijk, 8000 Brugge, Belgium,
+32 50/34.27.98
www.dieswaene.be
info@dieswaene.com

From Burg Square, exit on the south and cross the river, take an immediate left (north-east) and the hotel will be a block up on your right. It's a five-minute walk.

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If you wish to buy the best chocolate at reasonable prices, then the only place to go is The Chocolate Factory shop. You can taste before you buy and also watch the products being hand made.

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We had a lovely evening recently in restaurant-brasserie Vivaldi in Wijngaardstraat 24 in Bruges.

It was a warm evening so we sat outside watching the horse-drawn carriages coming past. We had the local specialities, my wife had a pan full of mussels and I had Bruges filet steak. We also had the local brewed beer.

The quality of the food was very good and the price was reasonable - three-course dinner, drinks and coffee just under 70 euros for two people.

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Visit the Curiosa restaurant just off the market sqaure in Bruges - the traditional Flemish stew is amazing! If you are after something sweet, try the tea room a couple of doors away for the most beautiful, but reasonably priced, cream cakes to enjoy with a coffee.

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My family lived in Bruges for a couple of years and my top tip there would have to be the Spinola restaurant on Spinola 1. It is cosy, friendly and great value for money.

Above all, the food is delicious and the best example of real Belgium food I experienced anywhere in Bruges. The restaurant is probably best visited in winter when its roaring fire and candle-lit tables offer consolation from the cold.

My advice would be to book for December and then follow your meal with a brief walk to the Markt where you can enjoy a skate on the temporary ice-rink and a comforting mug of warm wine.

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Calis is my favourite restaurant in Bruges (is on Hoogstraat). The food is sublime, service warm and efficient and it's great value. They also run a guest house!

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