Bruges for the weekend?

Question

I'm going to Bruges for a romantic weekend with my boyfriend. We want to do as much as we can, but would like to steer away from the tourist hot spots. Can you recommend a bar/restaurant/club/market/shop that is not so touristy, tucked away from the popular places, that we might enjoy visiting? Thank you

Answer 1

Iful  you want to visit Brugge and at the same time stay far from the maddening crowd I suggest you take a trip to Damme. This is a small Middle Age village at about 30 minutes from Brugge (You can also take the trip per canal boat : 25 minutes- 2 departures per day). The atmosphere is absolutely charming, the scenery is very beautiful and the place is less crowded than Brugge during the day.

Answer 2

It's a little touristy, but I really liked the bar 't Brugs Beertje (Kemelstraat 5), which was down a side street, instead of on one of the main thoroughfares.  They have a huge selection of Belgian beer, and the staff was very friendly and knowlegeable, explaining all kinds of facts about the different beers and making suggestions.  We learned a lot and tried some fantastic beer selections!

There's a local booklet that contains a few different walking routes.  We bought a copy from our hotel for €1, and we found that a lot of the more outlying areas were less crowded than the central spots.  For example, the area around the windmills was practically empty compared to the bustling downtown.

Skip the ChocoStory.  It was extremely crowded and not particularly interesting.  Lots of history and random chocolate-related artifacts.  The information about the production of chocolate was interesting, but not really worth the admission fee or the hassle of the crowds.  Another option is to rent bikes and just wander around.

If you're at all interested in art, the Groeninge Museum is quite good and has a very detailed and informative audio guide (though the long musical introductions get a bit tiresome after a while).

You'll find that even though the town is full to bursting during the day, most people are there on day trips, and the area is relatively quiet in the evenings.  The drastic difference was quite surprising!