Belfast Travel Reader Offers

Venice of the North

Four days from €469 per person

Regular departures June to October 2012

There can be few places left where you can totally switch off for a few days from the pressures of modern day living so completely as Bruges. Its beauty and tranquillity are outstanding, as befits the most perfectly preserved medieval town in Europe. Its atmosphere is totally unique, whether it’s a stroll by one of the canals, indeed Bruges is also known as ‘Venice of the North’, sipping a coffee in the Old Market Square with the 13th Century Flemish chimes ringing out from the belfry in the background, or perhaps a gentle trip around the town by horse and carriage. Its serenity will captivate you and it has something for all tastes.

For art lovers, Bruges is a must – Jan Van Eyck being the city’s most famous resident. There are three excellent museums housing many fine works by Dutch and Flemish artists including Van Eyck himself, Rembrandt, and many more. In the church of Our Lady can be seen the carving of the Madonna and Child by Michelangelo, perhaps the greatest sculptor of them all. In the Basilica of the Holy Blood is a phial, said to contain Jesus’ blood, which was brought back from the Holy Land after one of the crusades. The richness of the interior decoration will amaze you.

Bruges is also very famous for its chocolates, some of which are still hand made from the finest ingredients including cream, strawberries, nougat and nuts. The results are absolutely mouth-watering. They do not do very much for your waistline but they do for your taste buds! The food in Belgium, and Bruges in particular, combines the best in cuisine: French quality and flair, with German sized portions. The speciality is mussels; there are forty ways of cooking them, and of course Belgian chips topped with mayonnaise are recognised the world over as the best there are.

Fully escorted price includes:

Return scheduled flights from Dublin
Three nights bed and breakfast accommodation at a four-star hotel in a superb location, right in the heart of the old preserved town
Guided walking tour of historic Bruges, arguably the most perfectly preserved medieval town in Europe
Visit to a traditional chocolatier
Visit to Ypres and a tour of the First World War battlefields
Services of an experienced tour manager