Hallo Bruges
- Kei Lau
- Jun 4, 2019
- 4 min read
For late May bank holiday, my husband suggested we go on a road trip. Rather brave for suggesting given our experience driving back from Whitstable with a screaming baby. However that was months ago and 🥟has been on various car trips since then.
We set out at 9am on Saturday morning for a 12:20 shuttle. I had buffered in extra time in case of traffic. Lucky I did though! Halfway down to Folkstone Eurotunnel Crossing, we realised my husband forgot his passport! (Dad-Brain must be real). We sped back home to collect his passport. We lost an hour going back and forth, however we managed to get to the crossing right on time!
Going to Bruges is an easy drive. From London, it is only a 4 hour car trip (including 1 hour for the Channel crossing). It is motorway all the way and it is all very well signed.
Bruges is a very pretty city and very baby & kid-friendly! It is very easy to find high-chairs, kids menus and baby change in many restaurants. It is also very flat and all pedestrianized. However there are a lot of cobbled stone streets.
The old town is a UNESCO world heritage site. I had been to Bruges before, so we didn't do too many touristy things. We mainly went for an eating/drinking weekend. Our day consisted of: Breakfast - Chocolate Shop - Lunch - Chocolate Shop - Bar - Chocolate Shop - Dinner.
Here's what we got up to over the weekend!
Chocolate Shop Hopping
There are literally Chocolate Shops lined the streets of Bruges. There is absolutely no shortage of pralines, truffles, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate coffee beans.. and even some naughty chocolates!
We went chocolate shop hopping for mid-morning and mid-afternoon every day. The hardest part is deciding what to buy!
Beer Tasting
I'm not much of a beer drinker, however hubby was in his element. Many beer cafes have beer tasting. They also have some sweeter fruit beers (for non-beer drinkers like me).
Daily Waffle Fix
Along with chocolate shops, there are loads of waffle shops. We had waffles for breakfast everyday! Always with fruit though, just to balance it out!
Grote Markt (Market Square)
This is the main square in Bruges which looks like it is out of a fairytale. The square is lined with cafes and restaurants, perfect for people watching.
Canal Boat Tour
The one touristy thing we did do is the Canal Boat tour. Bruges is a city of canals (similar to Amsterdam). One of the best ways to see the old town is through the canalways. There are canal boat tours leaving all the time from Huidenvettersplein. They only leave once they fill up the boat.
The tour is a 30mins long and it costs 10euros for adults and 6 euros for children. I had 🥟 in the baby-carrier forward facing. Unfortunately I don't think he could see much as the boat was quite full.
Baby friendly Places to Eat
Kom-Iel-Foo
This restaurant is located in the outskirts of Brugge in Jabbeke. It has indoor/outdoor eating space and is fully equipped for families. They even have kids menu and a playground. Although 🥟 is too young for both of these, he did enjoy a packed lunch in the sun.
1️⃣ Step free access: Yes
2️⃣ Baby Change Facilities: Yes
3️⃣ Space for buggy: Yes, staff are accommodating and will create space for buggy
4️⃣ High Chairs: Yes
5️⃣ Breastfeeding Convenience: Yes
🧒👧 Kids Menu and Playground
📍Kom-Iel-Foo, Varsenareweg 20, 8490 Jabbeke
Le Grand Cafe Belfort
This restaurant is located in Market Square. As we are doing baby led weaning, I had to order from the menu for 🥟's dinner. This was 🥟's first meal out. The restaurant was super accommodating of our requests. In the end we ordered cooked vegetables with no salt. I ordered a rabbit stew which is a typical flemish dish. It was delicious.
1️⃣ Step free access: Yes
2️⃣ Baby Change Facilities: Yes
3️⃣ Space for buggy: Yes, staff are accommodating and will create space for buggy
4️⃣ High Chairs: Yes
5️⃣ Breastfeeding Convenience: Yes
🧒👧 Kids Menu
📍Grand Cafe Belfort, Markt 25
T Nieuw Walnutje
This restaurant is located in a little square with indoor and outdoor dining areas. As it was a lovely spring day, we chose to ate outside. I ordered a chicken stew vol-au-vent and it was excellent.
1️⃣ Step free access: Yes
2️⃣ Baby Change Facilities: Yes
3️⃣ Space for buggy: Yes, staff are accommodating and will create space for buggy
4️⃣ High Chairs: Yes
5️⃣ Breastfeeding Convenience: Yes
📍T Nieuw Walnutje, Walplein 3
Bistro Brugis
We stumbled upon this cosy little restaurant. The staff were extremely friendly and so very accommodating of special requests for 🥟. They had a kids menu, however 🥟was too young for that. So we ordered a plain tagliatelle for 🥟 and he loved it. (True Italian!) I ordered the mussels and really enjoyed it.
1️⃣ Step free access: Yes
2️⃣ Baby Change Facilities: No
3️⃣ Space for buggy: Yes, staff are accommodating and will create space for buggy
4️⃣ High Chairs: Yes
5️⃣ Breastfeeding Convenience: Yes
🧒👧 Kids menu
📍Bistro Brugis, Sint-Amandsstraat 8
Baby-Friendly Places to Stay
We opted for an airbnb this time around so that we had parking space and also a kitchen. Our airbnb was a walkable distance from the Old Town.
Getting There
Bruges is actually very close to London. It is only a 4 hour drive from London (1.5 hrs to Folkestone Euro Tunnel Crossing, 1hr to cross the channel, 1.5 hours from Calais to Bruges).
Alternatively, you can catch the Eurostar over. If you choose the fly, the closest airport is Brussels. From there, you can catch the train to Bruges which takes just less than an hour.
Getting Around
Bruges Old Town is quite compact and all the main sights are within walking distance. The Old Town is all step free, however there are a lot of cobbled stone streets. We used a baby carrier for the entire weekend.
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