View from the St. Bonifaciusbrug.
It's a very well-preserved medieval town with gorgeous stone bridges over quaint canals all over the city center.
This bridge sits just across from the old vismarkt (fish market) and leads to the pretty Burg Square.
Like Maastricht, the main part of the old city is very small, so nothing is out of walking distance.
We stayed very close to Markt Square, which is the main square in the city. This is where the Belfort is, a beautiful old tower with 366 stairs you can climb. And climb it we did!
I have a fear of going up steep, high things (I can't explain it, it developed in the last 5 years and it's a complete mystery to me) so I was very anxious about going up. Luckily, there are four different stops on the way up to take a break.
Each one has something interesting. And the stairs don't get too scary until the top quarter. Up until then, the stairs are fairly wide, deep, and shallow. But once you get closer to the top, they become narrow and steep. And the very last 33 steps are extremely narrow and steep. Those were the ones causing a mini panic attack. But we did it!
The view is great and definitely worth the climb. The bells were ringing while we were up there, which was VERY loud but added to the experience.
The other goal we had was to walk along the outer canal and see the 4 still-standing windmills and some of the old city gates. We had nice weather for most of the trip so the walk was really nice.
For the rest of our stay, we mostly wandered around the city and enjoyed all the beautiful old buildings, bridges, and canals.
Above is a picture of the St. Bonifaciusbrug, in the Arentshof Park. The bridge has the nickname "lover's bridge" and it is definitely a quaint, romantic spot. Go in the evening, if you're staying in the city, in order to have some time there without hoards of tourists.
This photo (above) shows the tower over-looking Minnewater lake. Another romantic spot, this lake is nick-named "lake of love". I found a short and simple explanation of why here: https://bezoekers.brugge.be/en/minnewaterpark
We also had to stop at the Koningin Astrid Park, which plays a big role in the movie.
The beautiful gazebo (above) has an appearance in the movie, but it's a gorgeous spot even if you don't care about that. The playground area (below) plays a huge role in the movie and we just had to try and figure out the angle of the major scene. We think Ray is sitting on a bench facing the playground about here.
The city is beautiful, the food is great, and the drinks are delicious. Michel was in beer heaven, and the hot chocolate and chocolate mousse are just the best. I miss them already.
If you get a chance to go, it's definitely worth it to be in Bruges.
TONS more pictures here: https://goo.gl/photos/uiWExkq49GG4JCJL8
