BRUGES

I was here: by the end of November 2008.
Number of days: 1.
My rating: 5/5.

It’s name comes from the Flemish word “brug” which means “bridge”, which is very appropriate, as there are many bridges, canals and tiny piers. The streets are cobbled, and the buildings are made of stone and ocher brick, with triangular facades the houses and gothic towers the churches. Bruges does not have a world-famous symbol or building, but it is an extraordinary medieval-classical city itself.

Paris, Prague, Venice, Kyoto, Nara, its neighbor Ghent… few other cities that I know can boast that you can walk for hours and enjoy each step, which is particularly commendable in Bruges considering its small size. Everything has some kind of charm, and it is a shame to visit it in half a day, as the hordes of tourists do. Winter is therefore a good time to go; the day I was there was particularly cold, but the absence of tourists and the autumnal landscape provided a very authentic look. In any case, coming to Belgium and not stopping even a few hours in Bruges, is unforgivable.