Brugge and Brussels in one day?

Hello all,

My husband and I are visiting Paris for a week this summer. We wanted to spend one day at Belgium. At first, I had decided to spend a calm day in Brussels.

After reading all your messages here, I understand that Brugge is also a must-see place. Can I do Brussels and Brugge in one day? I plan to take the thalys train at 6:30 am from Paris and arrive Brussels at 8 am . So I have 8 am-8 pm. Can I do both these cities?

My interests are - photography, chocolates, history and architecture.

Thanks a lot

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I think the short answer to this is No!

Brugge has so much to offer and to try and cram two cities into one day would be impossible. You could possibly get a feel for Brugge in one day, but I%26#39;m sure that you will want to go back and see the things you have missed.

I spent a day in Brugge last December and when we went back a couple of weeks ago, I realised just how much we had missed of this gorgeous city.

If you had one day, I would suggest a canal boat trip and then just do as much walking as you can around the central area of the city where pretty much everything is based. Wandering along the quieter stretches of canals and stopping for a Belgian beer in a cafe can%26#39;t be beaten!

I have only driven through Brussels (a long time ago) so can%26#39;t comment on what there is to see there.

Enjoy!

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I agree with janie1; no. Recommend you choose to %26#39;do%26#39; just Brugge. I was quite disappointed on visiting Brussels itself, IMO Brugge is the much better must-do; and even more so when noting your listed interests.

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Thank you so much for the reply.

So I have to choose Brugge and leave out Brussels? Since Brussels is the capital city, I wanted to visit that. But I guess Brugge is the best choice.

I have already booked my Thalys from Paris-Brussels Midi with an ABS. I guess I should go to Brugge from Brussels then ? My worry is I don%26#39;t want to spend a lot of time in travel since I am just having one day.

Which is closer to Paris? Brussels or Brugge?

please advise

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Brugge for sure. The palace in Brussels was pretty at night but Brugge is incredible.

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I would say that if possible, do both of them...they are night and day from what they both offer. If you want to see a more %26quot;authentic%26quot; side of what daily life is, go to Brussels. If you want a more romanticized, touristic (which can be bad) and historic tour, choose Brugges. Brugges, in my opinion, is REALLY overdone by many people. It%26#39;s very, very touristic and honestly, there are other towns that are just as good (Antwerp, per se) without all the hype.

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i am also going to brussels for an overnight trip. my sister wanted to to burgge while i was thinking of just doing brussels.

we arrive in brussels at 10am so can we do burgge till 5pm then brussels in the evening?

we leave for paris the next day with a 9:30 am departure at thayls station

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My husband and I are going to brussels the end of May and we booked a day tour to Bruges. The tour meets 2 blocks from Grand place at 12:00 to go to Bruges and returns at 6:30pm. Since your getting there at 8:00am, that would give you time to walk around brussels for a few hours and see the main attractions (Mannekin Pis, Grand Place, etc) and still have time to make it to the tour. It cost about $100 dollars for the both of us. Here is the website:

www.brusselstours.net/tours/tourDetail.cfm…

12:00 noon

-Saturdays and Sundays

Extra departures: Tuesdays in July and August

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Thank you everyone for the wonderful idea.

Since I have to go to Brugge through Brussels anyway, I will probably spend a couple of hours in the Grand Place and see the mannekin pis. Are there any must- sees apart from these two?

One another question -- Should I go to the Grand place in the morning at 8 am when I arrive there? Or should I do it in the evening before we head back to Paris?

Please let me know what you think.

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If you really, really only can spend one day in Belgium and you would like to have a glimp (!) of both cities (which is in my personal opinion not a good idee) I suggest you visit Brussels Grand Place and Manneke pis in the morning because, I%26#39;m sure there wil be not enough time left to visit this if you go to Brugges first.

So many things to see, beautiful museums, great history, architecture gems, nice food...

Suggest you spend one day less in Paris ;)

Enjoy your visit,

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Thank you eMBieAntwerp. That really made sense. If I go to Brugge first, I probably wont have time/mood to do Brussels in the evening. I will go around Brussels in the morning.

I also don%26#39;t like to cram too many things. But since I anyway am going through Brussels, I dont want to miss it. Does that seem too greedy?

Its a good idea to do Belgium for 2 days. But we have booked our hotel in Paris for all 7 days. Plus I don%26#39;t want to travel to Belgium twice since I already booked Thalys from Paris-%26gt;Brussels and it costed $200.

Maybe I will do Benelux some other time leisurely.

If only I can travel every month.... :)