few questions?

we are a group of 5 visiting for 3 days. have a few questions for the experts.

1) Is 21st (Mon)July tha national day in belgium and is it a all close day, even food shops and cafes? how about canal trips?

2) can we do euro 15-18 for a meal per person?

3) Any suggestion on a sandwich or cafe places in central bruges?

4) plan is

Day-1 canal trip, bell tower

Day-2 choco museum, damme by paddle steamer on day-2 OR

a beach day by visiting zeebrugge by bus (790,791) or knokke by train for the day

Day-3 return-brussels grand palace

Thanks in advance!

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Hi,

I doubt everything in Bruges will be closed on the 21st. I%26#39;ve been there for a couple of bank holidays including Easter but all the Chocoloate/tourist gift Shops, Cafe%26#39;s, Bars and tourist attractions remained open so you should be fine. You%26#39;ll find that just the high street shops are closed.

15-18 euro for a meal per person. I guess it depends what you want to eat but in a word I would say No. Food is quite expensive in Bruges. You%26#39;ll pay circa €12 for a salad at lunch. When you say meal I am assuming you mean main evening meal. At somewhere decent and for 2 or 3 courses plus a bottle of wine i%26#39;d usually expect to pay around €80 for two people. For better and slightly cheaper meals in the evening your best off moving away from the Mark%26#39;t square. I%26#39;ve generally found restaurants on the square to be more expensive because of location but also not so great quality wise.

There%26#39;s loads of really nice Cafe%26#39;s in Bruges but for lunch I tend to use Cranenbourg which is on the square and is the exception to price/quality issue I%26#39;ve mentioned above. If you stand in the middle of the square looking at the Belfry Cranenbourg is on your right next to a small side street. The food here is good standard and plentiful. Another place is Cambrinus on Philipstockstraat. Again excellent for lunch and a great selection of beers.

Sounds like you have a nice itinerary for your break. Not been to Damme or Knokke yet but I am told Knokke is very nice, quite upmarket and well worth a visit.

Enjoy!

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Thanks N8. I kind of knew the meal budget was not enough but I guess we have to do with cafes for lunch and just eat in a restaurant at evening. About the cafe you mentioned, do you remember any prices for things or just what is available as then we can decide about lunch.

I hear a lot about cambinus and saw the menu, so without wine or beer we could do 18 euro in there and thats where we aim for evening meal.

Also, we decided to leave out Knokk as Damme looks pretty nice and the steam paddler idea is better. Read about knokk as the resort type and upmarket is not what we are after-mid-budget travellers more like.

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No problem Gulfie, Cafe%26#39;s (mainly Cranenbourg) for lunch and restaurant in the evening is exactly what we do.

Now you%26#39;ve explained a little more then yes I would say you%26#39;ll eat a main course without wine or beer for €15. You%26#39;ll easy get something in Cambrinus for that.

For Cranenbourg their selection is pretty good for a lunch option. They do baguettes (cheese, ham, salami, steak, smoked salmon etc), soup, sandwiches, salads and Spaghetti Bolognese... The portions are good size too and everything comes with chips. The locals use this place alot.. say no more.

Another option for lunch is Staminee Du Garre. This little place is just full of character and probably my favourite place in Bruges. They do a nice cheese platter or meat/pate platter with bread for a reasonable price and they have a great beer selection!. Careful though, it%26#39;s easily missed. It%26#39;s on Du Garre which is the smallest street in Bruges. On the small street between Mark%26#39;t and Burg squares there%26#39;s a Stef%26#39;s chocolate shop on the left opposite there there%26#39;s what looks like a small doorway.. actually it%26#39;s a street! its about 20 yards on the right up the small street. Well worth a look only thing with there or Cambrinus is you can%26#39;t sit outside if the weather%26#39;s nice which you can at Cranenbourg.

Another place for lunch is Cafe Leffe which is on %26#39;t Zand. Not eaten here myself but a friend uses the place for lunch when he%26#39;s over there and i%26#39;d trust his judgement. I just prefer Cranenbourg with it being on the Markt.

For evenings there%26#39;s quite a few of the restaurants offer set menu%26#39;s which can work out reasonable prices.

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Just a short step away from the main tourist areas is Astridpark and there are two bars there, the Belleman and the Estaminet that do very pleasant lunch type food, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, salads etc for around €8 so if you add a drink or two you shouldn%26#39;t be doing badly.

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When visiting the bell tower there is a restaurant on the square called The Golden Mermaid. They had really good food. They also give you a ton of mussels, if you like mussels.

My favorite restaurant in Brugges is called The Sixties, but it is out of your price range.

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The trip to Damme is very nice. For 6 euros I think you can do better visiting chocolate shops and getting samples and buying some chocolatea! We did not like Choco Story at all. Perhaps you could see some of the museums or the churches.

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Thank you all, good info. I personally do not want to visit the choco museum as I have been to one in switzerland (Nestle factory) but there are others to consider, so I might stay behind and enjoy the choco-shops! while they bore themselves in the museum.

Will let you knowhow it went

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