How surreal it is to be in Bruges. The mediaeval streetscape is just amazing. I can see why people describe it as the most romantic city in Europe! It has that picture postcard quality that comes from church spires, preserved mediaeval buildings, cobblestone paving and canals. Winter is the perfect time to come, not only to avoid the crowds but to experience the quieter side of this city. It also conjures up the ‘In Bruges’ movie set with its narrow quiet alleyways and nighttime fairy lights.

You do miss out on some attractions when you travel in Winter. There are no canal boat rides from the end of November and many shops and restaurants seem to close their doors in the first half of January. The St Anna Church, reputably the most beautiful church in Bruges, is closed. Other themed museums such as the Friet (fries) museum are also closed.

But, on the plus side, the late-rising sun helps you catch up on your beauty sleep; you can rug up in hat, scarf, boots and long coat and take a bracing walk along the many canals; you can lunch in cafes with gas fireplaces, eat a warming Flemish stew or wonderful seafood and drink full-bodied dark beers or flavoured genever (gin); revel in quiet streets and pretend you are the only tourist in the city; and appreciate those few bright sunny days!

Small unique museums
Bruges has many small museums and galleries.

We visited the Historium, the history of Bruges museum. It’s a timed exhibition which takes you on a journey to mediaeval Bruges. It’s based around Van Eyck’s painting ‘Virgin and child with Canon van der Peale’ which is the Groeningemuseum in Bruges and tells the story of Van Eyck’s apprentice, his model and a green parrot. You listen to the audio and are led up and down stairs into themed rooms with videos which augment the story. It was expensive but gave you a good sense of the history of Bruges.

Both the Groeninge Museum and Arentshuis are situated on land belonging to the formal Eeckhout Abbey so are worth the visit for the gardens and setting alone. The district in which they stand has been called ‘Groeninge’ (because of its greenery) since the thirteenth century. The ticket entry of 8 euro gets you into both museums. The highlights of the Groeninge Musuem were the Dutch primitives and Van Eyck’s ‘Virgin and Child with Canon van der Peale’. Arentshuis had the restored ‘Last Judgement’ by Jheronimus Bosch and an extensive collection of works by Frank Brangwyn an English artist who painted in Bruges.

We are staying in the Lady Anna/ St Anna quarter which is one of the loveliest neighbourhoods that very few tourists get to see. Just around the corner from us is the Adornes domain which consists of the beautiful 15th century Jeruzalemkerk (Jerusalem chapel), the Adornes mansion and a row of almshouses which have been converted into a museum. The chapel is the legacy of the Anselm Adornes, a rich and devout Bruges merchant who went on pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem and it was modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. It is still owned by the family. It’s a real gem and we had the place to ourselves as we were the only visitors!

The food
Bruges has wonderful fresh produce which we saw at the local Wednesday produce market which was set up on the market square.

Our best meals in Bruges were:
 – our first dinner at a local bistro in the Lady Anna neighbourhood for Flemish stew and bouillabaisse, full-bodied dark beer, fruit beers and genevier
 – European style bread which we bought from St Paul’s bakery and ate buttered with tinned anchovy fillets at home with a bottle of beer
 – seafood lunch at Den Gouden Karpel
 – 100gm of chocolate-coated orange peel from Julie’s eaten from the bag