A Group of ten in Bruges

The wonderful picturesque scenery of the entire city centre dominates the whole experience. I liked the beguinage (founded 1245!) the best: amazing silence, very old trees, a beautiful church and tiny houses. We visited the Half Moon brewery (since 1546) which was very nice and we took lots of time for dining.

Quick Tips:

There's another specialty besides the famous chocolates you simply must try: Belgian waffles. I had one dipped in hot chocolate. Very nice and very sweet. Take your time to eat it and grab some napkins as well. You can buy waffles anywhere (let your nose guide you to them) from a stall.

Best Way To Get Around:

The oldest parts of town are best visited by foot. If you decide you want to go from one end of the city centre to the other you might want to take a cab or bus. Or take a tour in one of the horse carriages. They take you past all the sights and the driver will tell all about them while you pass them.

Rooms were like you may expect from a large chain. They were clean with ensuite bathrooms and, besides a Bible, we found a condom in our bedside table, compliments of the hotel (seriously, I think that is an excellent gesture!). The main building was originally a monastery and part of the rooms are built in it, which gives them a little bit of something extra. Another part of the building is new.

The hotel has a nice bar/lobby, which we used as a meeting point, waiting over some nice Belgian beers for the others to arrive. The breakfast buffet is huge with lots of local specialties.

Situated in the Lake of Love Park this castle now hosts a family run restaurant which is extremely popular amongst the locals, both for lunch and for dinner. We were amazed by the beautiful decoration of the restaurant. It has a huge outdoor terrace which can also be covered. Since it was cold outside, we had booked a table for 10 inside one of the original rooms of the castle. We felt privileged to have such a nice spot to dine.

At our candle-lit table, we had food that was definitely all homemade. We had a nice pheasant pate with crisp bread and butter as a starter and then we had the poached salmon. Somewhere in between was also a slice of a terrine made of different kinds of seafood. For dessert, we had a fresh cheese parfait with a sauce of red fruits. We went through a couple of bottles of nice semi-dry white wine and mineral water that were on our table.

Staff were friendly, patient and attentive.

I would recommend anybody to have dinner here.

Oostende is about 50 kilometers from Bruges and it is a popular seaside resort. We went there for a brisk walk along the boulevard. The boulevard has lots of stalls selling fresh seafood, both to eat at the spot (of course, accompanied by inevitable Belgian fried chips) or to prepare at home. It also has many restaurants with big terraces outside. We enjoyed the walk, had a stroll through the city centre and ended up having hot chocolate with whipped cream (some of us had something a little stronger than that) in one of the nice cafes.

The brewery is not as big as would be expected from the popular beer it produces ('Straffe Hendrik'). The brewery was first mentioned in 1546.

The tour takes you through the whole building in about 45 minutes. There are lots of narrow steps, so don't do this if you're having leg trouble. During the tour you learn about the history of the brewery and about the beer brewing process. The roof of the brewery offers great views of the city. At the end of the tour, you get a free beer in the tap room, which also offers nice souvenirs and serves lunch and snacks. We ended up having a nice lunch there.