I’m torn between finding Brugge beautiful or finding it a tourist trap. I probably came at the worst time, a Sunday afternoon. Because Brugge’s shops remain open on Sunday when they close in surrounding cities, the streets are overcrowded with both tourists and local shoppers. The town is peppered with gaggles of English and Japanese tour groups gawking at the white swans the city keeps to swim in the canals. And yet, walk into the Begijnhof or along the Minnewater and you’re transported to a quiet, marvelously preserved medieval place. Looking at the massive belfry tower (the symbol of Brugge’s independence as a city state in the middle ages) from the Rozenhoedkai as the sun sets is the most stunning view I saw.
As I was walking in Brugge with two friends, both Gent natives, we passed a couple walking the other way talking a language that sounded either Slavic or Polish. Both friends were multilingual, and I asked what language the couple was speaking. One said genuinely, "One I don’t understand at all!" The other one laughed, repeated what they said to him in Flemish and explained that they were also speaking Flemish, but in the local dialect. The two cities are a 20-minute train ride apart!
Quick Tips:
Come midweek and walk around early or late after the tourist crowds have thinned out. Note that museums are closed on Monday - this changed from a few years ago when it used to be Tuesday and some guidebooks misreport this.
Best Way To Get Around:
Foot. Taxis are brutally expensive, a 15 minute walk costs 6-7 Euro by cab. Buses are plentiful in town, but Brugge is very walkable and simple to go about by foot.