Brussels to Brugges

I am considering taking my cousin on a day trip from Brussels to Brugges, however, it might be quite nice to see the ocean as well. Is it possible to do both in one day? If we can only do one, which is better?

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It is possible to do both on one day as the fastest trains to Brugge all go to coastal towns - Oostende, Blankenberge or Knokke - so you could go straight to the coast and then stop in Brugge on the way back. If you do this you must ask for a ticket to, say, Knokke, VIA Brugge, to be able to stop off there on the way back. It doesn%26#39;t cost any extra but if VIA is not printed on the ticket, if there is a control after you get back on the train in Brugge they could ask you to pay again.

Another, possibly faster/more flexible, possibility would be to take bus 169 from Brugge station to Zeebrugge. In this case, you could see how long you want to stay in Brugge before deciding whether or not to carry on by bus, I don%26#39;t think the trip would take you more than 20-30 minutes.

However, if you are indeed %26quot;Italytravelers%26quot;, you are almost certainly going to be disappointed by the Belgian coast. In my opinion you would do better to spend your time in Brugge, as to really see anything worthwhile at the coast you would need more time than you have.

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Dear qaminari,

Thank you for your advice. Well noted on the time issue. I am not so concerned about myself on this trip as I am in impressing my cousin who is from the center of the U.S. with little access to the ocean. In this case, would you think that she would be impressed with one of these seaside towns?

Further, would you recommend another town for a daytrip, or is Brugges so breathtaking that it is worth the trip? It would be such a shame to take her so close to the ocean and not be able to smell the sweet scent of salt in the air.

Thanks for you help!!

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I don%26#39;t consider the Belgian coast to be at all impressive, it is 70 km of largely concrete jungle, and like many things in Belgium its charms take time to winkle out, which you apparently don%26#39;t have (e.g. the Zwin nature reserve at Knokke-Le Zoute). The North Sea is almost always grey, although naturally on a hot day it is nice to be beside it.

Here is a picture of Zeebrugge, for instance: www.brodyaga.com/pages/viewlarge.php…

Tourists to Belgium seem almost universally to consider Brugge to be the highlight of their visit, it is a sweet medieval city with considerable charm, but I would not describe it as %26quot;breathtaking%26quot; - it isn%26#39;t Mount Everest or anything! Have you done no research at all in guidebooks or on the internet to see what the place looks like and what there is to do there? (See also the item %26quot;Brugge attractions%26quot; in the list on the left, when in the Brugge forum.)

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That is helpful, thank you. I have done some research, mostly in books however Belgium is not greatly covered in books and there are not great internet sites as there are for Germany or Italy, for example. I also have a friend who is from northern Belgium who has helped me a bit. I just like to feel out people on tripadvisor because I find their opinions to be honest and usually true.

Thanks again for your assistance.

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