Brussels or Bruges???
 

Does anyone have an opinion about staying in Bruges as opposed to Brussels. Verona Italy is one of my favorite cities and I am hoping Bruges might be similar type experience.

If you have enough time why not go to both.

I was in both cities in August. I liked Brussels a lot - toured the palace, bought lots of chocolate, enjoyed the Grand Platz and of course went to see Mannequin Pis. Pretty nice cathedral there too.

Brugge is not a far drive. It was quaint and charming, but also pretty touristy. Kind of reminded us of Carmel in that sense. You can get a pretty good sense of both cities by spending just a couple of days in each.

Letiole is right, Brugge is not far from Brussels. One or two days are enough for Brugge (and Gent, which is also nearby). Brugge is a nice pictures town, almost like a living "museum", and you should not miss it. They have guided tours from Brussel to Brugge.
However, it's not like Verona. Verona has more "life".

I did all 3 cities this past December. I tend to tour quickly, so I took 24 hours for Brussels, then took the train to Gent (spent about 2 hours there), and then trained to Brugge. Brugge is very nice, albeit touristy, but in that fairy-tale way. Stayed at a very nice Relaix & Chateau hotel about 10 minute walk from the town square.

Between Brussels and Brugge- BRUGGE! (I'm the tourist type, maybe http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...um/biggrin.gif)

I stayed there too. It's De Snippe. The restaurant is supposed to be top notch. I didn't try it because they had nothing for vegetarians, but if you like seafood it's supposed to be wonderful.

I wouldn't miss Brugge, very picturesque quaint and medieval. I reccomend the Crowne Plaza in Brugge. New and modern, centrally located. Additionally you can use UA 50% discount certs.

Well, you didn't tell us what you like in a destination, so I'll assume you are into chocolate and should go to Galler (just off the Grand Place), Neuhaus (all over), Marcolini (on the Sablon, et al.), and even Godiva (their European product is almost entirely different than their American junk).

At Galler: try Extrême, Chiba (very nice almond praliné), Thé Noir (Earl Grey Tea), Mazagran (heart-shaped coffee caramel), Turque (whiskey- and coffee-flavored cream), Martiniquais (ganache with rum & raisins), Anglaise (ganache with a little raspberry flavor (could be raspberry eau de vie)).

At Marcolini: try anything with caramel! Great stuff. Also the violet piece.

At Neuhaus: Pagode, Astrid, Caprice, Tentation, Prestige, Ephemere (you can compare these last two to Marcolini's caramels), Bonaparte, Satan, Sapho, Eden Rock Lait, and Black & White.

Of course it's best to get about a half-kilo assortment at each place and sit down with one or two other people and share each piece to determine your favorites. You'll be amazed at how reasonable the prices are. My travel companion and I brought back about 15 kilos in October and froze about 5 kilos. To do that, put the box in a freezer bag, squeeze out most of the air, seal it, put it in another freezer bag, remove air, seal, and freeze. Take it out of the freezer and leave it in the bags at room temperature for 6-8 hours before opening it. I've left it in the freezer as long as three months, and it has still tasted great!

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My personal preference is Brussels. I like to stay one night in Bruges, visit Ghent and then on to Brussels.

My preference for Chocolate is Leonidas. If you stay away from the touristy places you can have wonderful food in Brussels. It's harder to avoid the tourist spots in Bruges.