Christmas Markets in Bruges sounded wonderful so, when I decided to book my little getaway, I booked for four nights at the 3* Het Putje hotel with the Eurostar from St Pancras. We started our journey with a glass of champagne and a bowl of strawberries in the Champagne Lounge and this pretty much set the tone for the holiday. Check-in for the Eurostar was easy and we quickly boarded and were on our way. The seats on the Eurostar were comfortable and I was pleased to be able to order something to eat and drink.
We had to change trains in Brussels and, desite my worrying about how difficult it would be, it turned out it was all rather simple and as we had a bit of time before catching the next train, we decided to do a little chocolate shopping at the station.
On arrival in Bruges, we weren't sure how far our hotel was from the station, so we grabbed a taxi and 2 minutes later arrived at our destination, so fortunately the taxi fare wasn't too expensive. After checking in at our hotel we dumped our luggage in our room, which was situated in an annex across a small street from the main hotel, then headed on into the dining room for an early evening meal. The food was delicious and the average price for the meal was about 20-30 Euros. They had a huge fire going with lovely comfy chairs around it and we had to push ourselves to depart from this wonderful ambiance in order to go and discover Bruges by night.
The streets were filled with people enjoying the many stalls of the Christmas Market, and finding little trinkets and ornaments or Christmas decorations was easy shopping. But no shopping is worth it unless you start with a little Christmas coffee, which as so delicious that it was hard not to go back for more, again and again and again.... Ok I think you've got the picture!
Over the next couple of days we discovered the rest of Bruges, visiting the pubs and tasting the very many different beers, the chocolate shops, the biscuit shops and, of course, for a little more serious shopping the antique shops, lace and gift shops.
We wanted to try a canal boat trip but I was rather pleased we decided to leave that for when we return in spring or summer as it looked bitterly cold on the water at that time of year.
I fell in love with Bruges at Christmas time as it felt so magical and I can't wait to discover its beauty in a different season.
Travel Blog by Debbie Smith
Phone Debbie: 01989 562555
Email Debbie: debbie.smith@milesmorgantravel.co.uk
Visit Debbie:12 Market Place, Ross On Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 5NU
