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You are in Belgium and you want to visit Bruges but don't have the time? Try out this busy itinerary and enjoy the city in one day, if you don't mind the intensity!
Bruges is a fairy tale of a city. With castles and a medieval vibe contributing to it's magic. The problem that I find with the city is it's location, being on the far western part of Belgium (meaning, far from the main airports) it needs a time investment. A luxury I did not have when traveling in Belgium for the first time in 2018. I heard a lot about the magic of Bruges and I didn't want to miss it so I came up with an itinerary to discover it intensely in 24 hours. Here is how it went:
Arrive to Bruges before 10:00am
Belgium has a great train system, making it easy to move around the bigger cities. I have arrived to Bruges from Ghent (45 minutes) and on a later visit from Brussels (1 hour 24 minutes) making it very possible to arrive to Bruges in the morning even for the late morning people (like me!).
10:30-12:30 - Free walking tour
The walk from the train station to the city center is about 20 minutes, so if you arrived before 10:00 like I suggested you would have plenty of time to get there. If you are extremely fast you can even manage to leave your luggage at your accommodation before you arrive - I have been traveling light so I decided to just do it with my backpack.
There are many free tour operators to choose from and they all offer slightly different hours for you to adjust your needs. I opted in for Legends Tours and got one of the best tour guides I ever had. The tour takes you through the main spots of the city, telling you it's history and showing you where to take the best pictures for Instagram.
12:30-18:00 - Lunch, beer, discover the city on your own
One of my favorite ways to meet people is on the free walking tours (you can read about all of my favorite ways in this post). So if you are as friendly as me, you might have found yourself some lunch buddies, or if you prefer to explore by yourself that's ok too!
Find yourself a nice restaurant (ask your guide or see our recommendations) and have a taste of Bruges' culinary magic.
Find a place for beer after lunch and relax.
This would also be the time to explore and shop, for chocolates, beer or anything else you fancy. Make sure you ask your tour guide for the best places to do so!
If you are a fan of walking then discover places that the free tour did not take you to, and if you are the touristy type take advantage of the touristic attractions.
This window of time would be the best to check into your accommodation if you haven't done so yet, and prepare for your evening.
My choices for this section were: lunch at De Gastro, Depla Chocolatier for the chocolates, The bottle shop for beer bottles, and Bourgogne des Flanders brewery for an afternoon beer and walking around the northern part of the city as there was my hostel
18:00-20:00 - Free night walking tour
Bruges has a thing I did not see in many other places, a night tour to show you some of the "darker" history of the city. With ghost stories and Jack the ripper mentions, it's a great way to know another side of the city, also literally, because the tour takes you out of the touristy center to another part of the city! I opted in with Legends Tours once again for this one and unlike the morning tour, I'm not sure if there are more tour operators that offer this one.
20:00-22:00 - Dinner
Bruges is home to some very good restaurants. Whether you are traveling solo, couple, friends or family you can enjoy yourself and the amazing food and service! Once again you can ask your guide or look at our recommendations of where to go. Keep in mind that the really good places need reservations for dinner (and the earlier the better!). So either reserve in the morning or visit them for lunch when it's less busy (like I did!)
Our favorite choices for dinner are ODA Rooftop Bar, which has high end settings and great food for normal prices (plus you have a view!) and De Gastro, which has the most amazing food I tried in this city
22:00 - Beer tasting
After you've seen Bruges by night and filled your belly it is time to try Belgium's best offer to the world (in my completely unbiased opinion) - beer! The Bauhaus bar is the only bar that offered a beer tasting at a late hour when I was visiting (and is still offering one!), but a quick look on the local events should give you a better idea of what's available. Have some beer with some new people (or ones you met during the day), hear about the history of the beer and just enjoy yourself - you deserve it after the long day you had.
The next morning
If you managed to recover from the beers, you can enjoy a breakfast before taking the train to continue your adventure. I managed to have my breakfast at the Halve Maan Brewery (beer for breakfast!), but since then they changed their hours and now are opening a bit later so if you really want to stick to the 24 hours you would have to find yourself a different breakfast spot
Summary
10:00 - Arrive to Bruges
10:30 - 12:30 - Free walking tour starting at the main square
12:30 - 18:00 - Lunch, beer, shopping, discovering the city, check-in
18:00 - 20:00 - Free evening walking tour
20:00 - 22:00 - Dinner
22:00 - Beer tasting
Final thoughts
This itinerary is intense but flexible. You can adjust the tour times, the places to visit, and the things you do, but if you do it along the lines of what I described I believe you would get a good feel of the city! The places and hours might change over time, when I did this the evening walking tour was 20:00-22:00 and ended at the Bauhaus Bar for the tasting so my dinner was early! If you can't fit in the beer tasting you might opt in to a self discovery of beer (check out our list of recommendations!).
I hope you find this itinerary useful. If you do - write me, if you don't - write me how you did it better!
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