I started sharing our three day itinerary in Bruges in my part 1 post last week. Today I’m finishing out that itinerary. Bruges has so much to see and do! I have a ton of pictures to share in this post as well because we couldn’t stop taking them. We were just so smitten with this place!
Day 2 (Continued)
Bruges City Hall
After an enjoyable time spent at the Friet Museum, we headed over to Bruges City Hall. Admission to the City Hall is included with the Bruges City Card (see part 1 to read about the card).
Bruges City Hall sits in Burg Square, one of the more popular squares in the city. Part of the building that stands today was built in 1421 during a time when Bruges was very powerful both economically and politically. The building’s interior was restored in the early 20th century, and it is stunning!
After admiring the gorgeous architecture and decor of city hall, we walked through the city museum housed in a room just off of the main room.
Next door to city hall sits an old mansion that now houses the city archives and a courtroom. Called Brugse Vrije (Liberty of Bruges), it is worth the short stop to see the stunning carvings and fireplace in the old courtroom. This is also included with the Bruges City Card (and also included if you pay for a City Hall ticket) which makes the short stop seem more worth it.
Belgian Waffles
I did some research on the place to get the best Belgian waffles and stumbled across a cute tea room that served lunch and waffles. One fun fact we learned from a local is that locals never have Belgian waffles for a meal as they are typically an afternoon snack. We were still determined to eat some, and it worked out for us to have them as a meal, but we were definitely the only people in the restaurant having waffles for lunch. 🙂
Walking Around Town
As I’ve already mentioned, Bruges is best enjoyed by roaming the streets and peeking into the shops. We spent some time doing that this day, and we ran across my favorite Christmas shop, Kathe Wohlfahrt! It was closed for the season, but the window brought back memories of when we visited the flagship store in Rothenburg ob Tauber in Germany in December 2015. I still haven’t written about that trip on the blog, but I plan to at some point this year!
In my opinion, the most beautiful part of Bruges is this picturesque group of houses next to a bridge and along the water. If you’ve been to Bruges, I’m sure you recognize it. 🙂
De Halve Maan Brewery
De Halve Maan is a very old, well-known Belgian brewery based in Bruges. We booked tickets for an afternoon tour because we are planners who book everything in advance, and we were glad we did. The tours sell out quickly, and both the Flemish and English tour groups were fully booked when we arrived.
The tour was great – the guide took us throughout the whole brewery, which was perfectly set up for tours and for teaching about the brewing process.
As part of the tour, you eventually make your way up to the top of the building and see great views of the city.
View of the brewery from the top!
After the tour, you are released in the tasting room where you get several tastings. We had a good time meeting some other travelers at our table and exchanging travel stories.
Walking Tour
We had to slip out of the tasting at the brewery a bit early to catch the start time of our walking tour. We booked a free evening walking tour that came with our Bruges City Card. We met our guide at ‘t Zand Square, a part of the city we hadn’t been to yet.
On the way to our first stop, we passed this beautiful pond filled with swans. There is a very interesting legend about the swans in Bruges, and the city embraces it.
One of the first stops on the tour was the Bruges Béguinage. A béguinage is a complex that houses women who are religious but don’t make any formal vows and are free to leave whenever they want. This particular complex (called Ten Wijngaerde) was founded in the 13th century, but it no longer houses Beguines. Since 1927, it has been a convent for Benedictine nuns. Visitors are allowed but are asked to keep quiet.
Our guide did a decent job telling us the history of the city as we walked around, although she was sometimes hard to understand because of her accent.
Walking through Stoofstraat, the narrowest road in the city and part of the former Red Light District
The beautiful arch over Blinde Ezelstraat (Blind Donkey Street)
Yet another icon in Bruges is the beautiful handmade lace. Our guide showed us this window of one of the few remaining handmade lace shops in the city. According to her, most of the shops in Bruges these days sell lace made in China and not the handmade lace most people are looking for. There is obviously a price difference, but if you want real handmade lace, seek out the legitimate shops by asking a local or by purchasing lace from the Lace Center museum shop on Peperstraat.
More beautiful chocolate shop windows! 
Our tour ended in the same square where it began, right by the ‘t Zand Square fountain.
Fish Market Restaurant
On the recommendation of our walking tour guide, we made our way back to the Fish Market area for dinner. We were a little hesitant given the prices we saw on the menus, but we really wanted to try one of the Bruges restaurants loved by locals and famous for its seafood.
As I’m sure you can tell, this meal was delicious!
Back by City Hall in Burg Square on our way back to the apartment
Day 3
To start out day 3, Daniel went to the chocolate museum, and I stayed home to plan out and book the end of our 2.5 month Europe trip. We had recently made the decision to end our trip with three weeks in Italy, something we originally weren’t sure we were going to do.
Choco Story
Daniel had a nice morning at the chocolate museum. He says it’s worth doing (especially if you have the Bruges City Card), but it’s not amazing.
More Exploring
We kept this day mostly low-key, but we made sure to wander around some more and pop into more shops along the way.
Horse-drawn carriages back in Markt Square 
As a lover of speculoos cookies, I was very excited to run into Juliette’s Artisanale Koekenbakkerij. They make homemade speculoos and other types of cookies every morning. We bought some cookies to bring along on our long train journey the next day.
Groeninge Museum
The Groeninge Museum is a well-known art museum in Bruges that houses many famous Flemish paintings. It has beautiful exhibits, and we enjoyed looking at the paintings and reading some of the history of the painters.
Belgian Waffles (Part 2)
Since it was our last night in Belgium, we opted for Belgian waffles for dinner. We had passed this Belgian waffle “food truck” several times during our stay, so we stopped by on our way back to the apartment. Once you place your order, you can watch them make your waffles right in front of you.
BEST DECISION EVER!
I got the speculoos waffle, and Daniel got a caramel one. They were nice and hot and full of amazing flavor. I cannot recommend the Arlecchino Gelateria on Burg Square enough!
We ended the evening watching the sunset from the back porch of our Airbnb. We loved you, Bruges!
Where We Stayed
Unfortunately, we didn’t take pictures of our Airbnb in Bruges. That’s a shame because it was one of our favorite Airbnbs of the whole trip. With two bedrooms, it had way more space than we needed, but the location was walking distance to the main squares, the apartment was very clean and comfortable, and the hosts were very informative and kind. They have a binder full of tips and tricks for your stay, and they had a few local beers waiting for us when we arrived. Click here to see pictures or book your stay at this apartment!
The next morning, we hopped on an 8-hour train ride straight to Nice, France. I thought this sunset view, taken from the window as we made our way through France, was pretty spectacular.
{Our time in Bruges was part of a 2.5 month trip across Western Europe. Click here to check out all of my posts from this adventure!}
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