Brugge, Belgium - what to do?

[jane02]

We are visiting the port of Zeebrugge, Brugge next year. I did a search on Trip Advisor and the top tours to do are Quasimundo Flanders War Graves or Flanders Field Battlefield Daytours.

I have done a search on this forum and these tours do not rate a mention. I believe Brugge is a nice place to wander around. Can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks

Kellie

[John Bull]

Virtually everyone goes to the attractive & historic city of Brugge / Bruges. Its only about fifteen minutes by road or rail, the city is compact & walkable, and a fairly obvious choice for most.

 

There are a number of WW1 Western-Front sights accessible from Zeebrugge, notably around the Ieper salient (note the spelling, Ieper, not Leper) which was known at the time by its french name of Ypres and was one of the most heavily-fought parts of the Front. It's about 50 miles from Zeebrugge.

Few of the sights have been developed, or even signed, in the same way as the D-Day sights, navigation is difficult & involves a lot of unmarked lanes. Remnants, remains of some trenches, fields & woods heavily pock-marked with craters, huge mine craters, earthworks, etc. Just a few museums. And a terrible lot of cemeteries. Unexploded ordnance can still be found quite easily in some places and farmers put them in little piles at the roadside for weekly collection. Known as the "metal harvest". Perhaps best not take souvenirs back to the ship :D

I've driven coach parties over the same route several times but I'd still get lost without a knowledgeable guide. And most sights will be pretty meaningless without a guide.

So this is one for a specialist tour, not a hired car or a taxi.

Expensive, but extremely interesting and quite eye-opening.

Sorry, I've got no contacts or recommendations.

 

An alternative, to get just a sanitised flavour of WW1 and WW2, is to visit the Atlantic Wall, just beyond Ostend / Ostende / Oostende. Its about 18 miles along the coast, using the direct, cheap and frequent coast tram (kusttram) from Zeebrugge.

An all-day ticket costs about €9.

At a rough guess the tram ride takes mebbe an hour.

The tram runs the full length of Belgium's coastline, though most of the route as far as Ostend is behind sand-dunes. After Ostend, look for the fortifications/guns on the dunes to your left & get off at the far end of the fortifications - though best you confirm with the driver. It's then a bit of a hike over the back of the hill & along a lane to the entrance, mebbe 10 -15 mins, unsuitable for those with walking difficulties. It's quite extensive, built during WW1 & upgraded in WW2, with fortifications, quarters, hardware etc from both wars. Worth 90 minutes minimum.

http://www.northernmemories.co.uk/Atlantik/Atlantik.htm

On your way back, stop off in Ostend. It has a seafront, a harbour, a pedestrianised town centre, and a few minor sights. Not a patch on Bruges, but very pleasant & laid-back.

 

BTW, you are better to ask your question in the British Isles/Western Europe forum

 

JB :)

[Captain Canuck]

knew nothing about it before we went..it is an amazing place

easy to get to, easy to walk around

gorgeous

[bottomfeeder]

If you like historical fiction and want to get a flavor for what Bruges was like in its heyday, there is a series of books written by Dorothy Dunnett where much of the series (and most of the first book) takes place in Bruges. The first book of the series is called "Niccolo Rising" and I HIGHLY recommend it. Reading it made me very interested in touring Bruges. Enjoy!

[Ms Understood]

Bruge is a great place to walk around. We had lunch at a sidewalk cafe and ate the best mussels and frites. Later we stopped and got a Belgian waffle with strawberries and ice cream. We also did a tour of a brewery but cant recall the name at the moment. It was a truly enjoyable, wholly "European vacation" day! Oh we also did a canal cruise which was great. Also suggest that you book a taxi ahead of time to pick you up and you can arrange for a time/place for them to come back and get you. Just google "Taxis in Brugge". Our taxi was waitng when we walked off the ship while others had to queue up.

-------------------------------

Helen

[skisteamboat]

I enjoyed Brugge. Took the canal boat ride for a general lay of the land, had a nice lunch in a cafe overlooking one of the canals with the usual excellent Belgium beer and wandered about the town.

 

No real need for a guide although they are readily available in town.

 

Cheers

[jane02]

Thanks to everyone for their responses and advice.

[MRSBITS]

We are visiting the port of Zeebrugge, Brugge next year. I did a search on Trip Advisor and the top tours to do are Quasimundo Flanders War Graves or Flanders Field Battlefield Daytours.

I have done a search on this forum and these tours do not rate a mention. I believe Brugge is a nice place to wander around. Can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks

Kellie

The first thing you must do is to take a canal cruise! The cruises begin at !0:00 a.m., and by 11:00 a.m., the lines get very long.

[jane02]

Can you book the canal cruise beforehand? We most likely would not do a ship tour.

[MRSBITS]

Can you book the canal cruise beforehand? We most likely would not do a ship tour.

I don't know if you can book the canal cruise beforehand. We went into Bruges with a group from our roll call. One couple took care of the pre-arranged booking, and our driver was there waiting for us...once we got off the ship. He was also there in the square to pick us up at the designated departure time. Once in Bruges, my husband and I followed a walking tour that I had printed from the internet...making sure to get to the beginning of the canal cruise by 10:00 a.m. Hope this helps.

[TMLAalum]

It's confusing knowing where to post on CC, but Brugges is not a Mediterranean port- it's on the North Sea. You will probably have more replies if you post on this forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=233

which includes Brugges.

 

But, as usual, posters here have been very kind to answer the OP's concerns!! And BTW we did a Segway tour there. Very reasonable and a great way to get an overview of Bruges. We loved this port so much that we plan on returning there on a land tour soon!