Day 1 – Arriving to Bruges from Amsterdam

Our train arrived at the Bruges train station around 2:30pm. We lugged our suitcases to our Airbnb, which was about a 20 minute walk. This walk to our Airbnb was absolutely gorgeous with the cobblestone, quiet streets. We dropped our bags and made our 12 minute walk to the city center for a quick bite and caffeine. We walked around aimlessly and stumbled upon the most picturesque canal! We spent about an hour here just taking in its beauty and LOTS of pictures.

On the train, I had bought us tickets to climb the Belfry for €16/person @ 5:15pm. Beforehand, we stopped at a Belgian chocolate shop then made our way to the entrance of the Belfry. It is 366 stairs to the top where you are rewarded with a stunning view of the city! I would recommend this as it is only about 45 minutes of your time and you get an incredible view of the town. As a reward, we went to an outdoor patio within The Markt for cocktails with a view of Provinciaal Hof. We ended the day with dinner at Casa Di Kaspi.

Day 2 – First Full Day – Ghent

We slept in a little to prep for our day trip to Ghent! We started the day with brunch at That’s Toast – fabulous breakfast spot. Apparently this is a very popular spot but we finished eating before a line formed outside. Now that we were full and caffeinated, we made our walk to the Bruges train station for our 25 minute, $10 train to Ghent (Gent-Sint-Pieters). The Ghent train station is about a mile walk from the city center.

Once you arrive to the city center, you are welcomed with endless gothic buildings, cathedrals, and castles! It’s a tiny town but FULL of classic European charm. We did a lot of window shopping, thrifting, and walking. We found a nice spot for about an hour across Havenhuis to admire the canal and buildings surrounding us. I have never felt more present than this.

At last, we made it to the Gravensteen Castle, and it was absolutely stunning! Situated right along a canal on a blue-sky day, this castle took my breath away. We didn’t go inside, but we walked all around it. Lastly, we went to Dulle Griet, a popular bar where you can exchange one shoe for a 1.2 liter of beer. You only get the shoe back if you finish it. While we opted out of that part, we did get to watch countless people with one shoe drink these huge beers. We were back on the train by 5:30pm, grabbed dinner and our nightly ice cream, and went to bed.

Day 3 – Second Full Day – Brussels

Morning

Sad to leave Bruges, it was time to pack up and head to Brussels for one night. Before heading out, we stopped for a Parisian breakfast at Juliette. Think belgian waffles, eggs, fresh bread, lattes – it was incredible quality food for a great price. We bought train tickets morning of for $21/person. The train was only an hour and got us to Brussels-Zuid train station.

Our Airbnb was in a secured apartment building just an 8 minute walk from the train station. The instructions to get into the apartment were like a scavenger hunt, but surprisingly got in easy. We were able to check-in early and drop our bags before heading out to see the city. Brussels very quickly started to feel like NYC almost. It was cleaner and nicer than NYC but it was the first time on this trip we felt a little uneasy. People approached us in weird ways and it just didn’t have the same charm we felt in Bruges or Ghent.

Luckily we were only here for one night, so we saw the must-see sights. We got incredible Belgian waffles at Maison Dandoy across from the City Hall. Grand Place is quite stunning, but very crowded with tour groups in the middle. After some souvenir shopping, we walked quickly through Les Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert to admire the architecture. There is a lot to do in here, but we opted out of any of that.

Evening

Far from St Michael & St Gudula Cathedral, we made it here and toured the inside for free right before closing. Finally, the last touristy thing we wanted to see was the Manneken Pis – a landmark sculpture of a nude boy peeing into the fountain. It’s as crazy as it sounds, and they dress up the sculpture throughout the year. There are countless funny souvenirs of this sculpture as well.

For dinner, we walked closer to where we were staying and had magnificent pasta at Pasta Divina. It’s literally a 2-page menu of different pastas. Me and Kellie were salivating over how incredible this pasta was! The night was still young and we wanted cocktails, so Kellie found Bar Magritte within Hotel Amigo. When I tell you this is the most beautiful, chic bar I’ve been to, I can’t even describe how gorgeous it was. We spent 2 hours here drinking, being chic, chatting, and laughing – one of my favorite memories of the trip.

Day 4 – Leaving for Amsterdam

Our train back to Amsterdam was at 10:49am, so we didn’t have too much time to do anything in the morning. We felt like we saw everything we needed to anyway. We went to the grocery store next door to the apartment to get some souvenir snacks and pastries. After grabbing our luggage, we made our way to the train station, grabbed a ham and cheese croissant and farmer-carried our hefty suitcases down to the platform. Now I know why people put everything in those huge backpacks instead of suitcases. And finally, we made our 2-hour journey back to Amsterdam.