Do you love chocolate, waffles (the sweet kind), chips and beer? If so then you need to visit Belgium. There are many different cities you could visit including Brussels, Bruges & Ghent each with their own iconic areas and landmarks. I spent 3 days in Brussels & Bruges in October 2019 over a long weekend and it was a fantastic city break. This was more than enough time to visit both cities leisurely, and if you have more days you could visit Ghent as well. Keep reading below for the best things to see and do!
How to spend 3 days in Brussels & Bruges
Day 1 – Brussels
If you’re travelling from London catch an early Eurostar from St Pancras to Brussels. When booking your Eurostar ticket you can buy your ticket to Bruges. Your ticket will be valid on the Eurostar to Brussels and then on any train to Bruges the same day. When you arrive in Brussels put your bag in a locker in the station so you don’t have to carry it around with you all day. When we visited this cost us 5 euros but you could only pay with coins. One locker was big enough to fit two small hand luggage size suitcases.
Once you’ve stored your bags make your way to the city centre using the metro. It’s really easy to buy tickets using the ticket machines (the machines aren’t touch screen, you use this ball to move to different options (we were tapping the screen for ages, until someone let us know to use the ball). I would recommend buying an all day ticket as you’ll need to use public transport to get to various attractions and back to the station.
Head straight to the Atomium using Google Maps to plan your route. In the afternoon there can be very long queues to get up to the top. Unfortunately, we didn’t know this, and arrived in the afternoon to be greeted by a long queue. Sadly, we didn’t have enough time to wait in the queue as we were catching a 5pm train to Bruges so we had to miss out going to the top but it was still cool to walk round the outside. Check out Little Europe while you’re there if it’s something that appeals, it’s a small attraction that is made up of models of different cities in Europe, each with moving features and figurines.
Once you’ve finished, head over to the comic strip museum, this is a really cool museum where can learn all about comics. Did you know Tintin & the Smurfs were Belgian? I had no idea and only found out by visiting this museum where you can see how they were created. Afterwards, walk to the main square to soak up the atmosphere, spotting all the chocolate shops and belgian waffles. Then make your way to Piss Alley to see the famous Mannequin Pis, it’s amazing how much attention this statue gets. You can’t help but laugh at the crowd gathered round the statue, and then remember that yes, you are also there taking a picture of the statue.
If you have time go to the chocolate museum (Choco Story), if not, don’t worry as there is one in Bruges too. I really liked this museum because it’s not too big and you’re able to take the tour at your own pace, thanks to your personal audio guide. As you walk through the museum, you scan numbers which will give you information through your audio guide. There is a tasting station, with different flavour chocolate buttons white, milk and dark. You can also watch a demonstration of how Belgian chocolates are made. Of course this includes a taste as well. After this head back to the station using the metro, collect your bags and hop on a train to Bruges.
Day 2 – Bruges
For your first day in Bruges, head over to the main square in the morning, to take some photos before all the crowds appear. Then have breakfast, we had ours at Li O Lait, it was so delicious. We did have to scramble for a table but it’s worth it. My friend and I had filled bagels, I also had a museli bowl which was so good!
Then head to the Windmills of Bruges, this is a perfect place to escape the tourist crowds and bustling city. There are 4 windmills left in Bruges and the walk along them is so peaceful and relaxing. If you’re visiting at the right time of year, you can have a look inside the functioning mill. After this head to the canals and take a boat tour through the canals of Bruges. This was so nice and a really fun way to learn about the history of canals, the tour guides are great! To find where the boat tours start, type ‘Boat tours Bruges’ into google maps, there are a couple of places where you can get the boat tours from.
In the afternoon head up the Bellfry Tower, the queue can be quite long here. I think we waited for about 40 minutes. If you don’t want to wait then come here first thing in the morning to avoid the queue. There are A LOT of steps that you have to climb up and it is quite narrow, so bear this in mind if you’re not good with stairs. The views are totally worth it though! Make sure you indulge in a waffle at some point during the day because you are in Belgium after all! I had one at oyya, it was one of the best waffles I’ve ever had! Choose between milk, dark or white chocolate and have it poured all over your waffle along with other delicious toppings!
Day 3 – Bruges
This morning I’d recommend having breakfast at That’s Toast. This is another popular spot that specialises in different toasts, sweet and savoury. In the end I went with avocado on toast and my friend went with salmon on toast! It was a very difficult to decision to make though. Read more about the best breakfast spots in Bruges here.
After breakfast visit the Historium, you’ll get another personal audio guide here. However this time you walk around in a group of around 16 people through the museum and the audio guide is automatic. At the end of the tour I’d definitely recommend walking out on to the balcony, which overlooks the main square. This is a great picture spot with a holistic view of the square. After this head to the beer museum. There are so many interactive exhibits, you can smell different flavourings & understand how beer is made. You can even do a tasting at the end which is always fun!
It must be time to tuck into another Belgian waffle, this is exactly what we did, but this time at House of Waffles. In my opinion it didn’t quite live up to oyya and was much more expensive! Read more about waffles here. Then buy your bags of Belgian chocolate and any souvenirs before heading back to collect your bag from the hotel. Once you’ve done so hop back on the train back to Brussels to catch the Eurostar again.
