Bruges Alone cover

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Bruges
Alone

A solo travel guide for women 50 and over
By Jennifer Brandt

Brick houses reflect in Bruges's canals while the Belfort's carillon carries over the rooftops. The center is small enough to circle back to a favorite stretch of water.

$6.99 ebook

Buy the ebook, $6.99Read a sample

Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

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Where you might stay

  • Mid-rangeHotel Navarra Bruggeindoor pool and a jazz bar
  • A treatGrand Hotel Casselberghwellness area in historic cellars

Two places to eat alone

  • Locàle by Kok au VinRelaxed counter dining lets you watch the kitchen work.
  • That's ToastDaytime room suited to a solo traveler.

SAMPLE

At a Glance

The train from Brussels takes about an hour. From the station, a fifteen-minute walk north crosses a small park and passes the Minnewater, a lake so still it might be painted, and then the medieval city opens around you: the white-walled houses of the Beguinage, brick facades five hundred years old reflected in the canal, and the Belfort above the roofline, its carillon marking the quarter-hour.

What sets Bruges apart from most medieval cities in northern Europe is a quality of quiet. Ghent is louder and Brussels is a capital. Bruges peaked in the fifteenth century, declined for four hundred years, and was preserved because it was forgotten, so what you see is a medieval city, largely intact and still lived in.

A free excerpt from Bruges Alone.

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

Budget Dining

Dining quality rises and prices fall as you move east and north from the Markt. Langestraat, running east into Sint-Anna, is the clearest case: it holds two Michelin-recognized kitchens (Sans Cravate, Zet’Joe) alongside plainer cafés serving the dagschotel, and it lies beyond the radius most day-trippers walk. Ezelstraat, running northwest, works the same way. Lunch is the other lever: many serious restaurants offer a fixed lunch menu at a fraction of the evening price, and the Belgian institution of the dagschotel (the day’s dish, posted on a chalkboard) is the plain, generous standby of every local café. Eating your main meal at midday and keeping evenings light (a soup, a salad, a beer and cheese at a café) suits eating alone anyway: the midday table is easier to get without a booking, and the walk home is in daylight if you want it to be.

A free excerpt from Bruges Alone.

Inside this book

  • Bruges Awaits
  • A City Shaped by History
  • Planning Your Escape
  • The Solo Woman’s Bruges
  • Where to Stay
  • Neighborhood by Neighborhood
View the chapter contents
  • Bruges Awaits
  • A City Shaped by History
  • Planning Your Escape
  • The Solo Woman’s Bruges
  • Where to Stay
  • Neighborhood by Neighborhood
  • Days in Bruges
  • Art, Culture & Creativity
  • The Pleasures of the Table
  • Evening & After Dark
  • Retail Therapy
  • Beyond the City: Day Trips
  • Conversation Notes
  • Practical Matters

BUY THE GUIDE

Bruges Alone

Brick houses reflect in Bruges's canals while the Belfort's carillon carries over the rooftops. The center is small enough to circle back to a favorite stretch of water.

$6.99 ebook

Buy the ebook, $6.99

Ebook · Updated Q4 2026

Instant download · Secure checkout by Payhip

THE GUIDE + YOUR OWN PLANS

Ready to settle your plans?

Two of its three day plans: “Museums and the Flemish Primitives” and “The Belfort and the Burg”.

See inside the Bruges kit →
A page from the free sample of the Bruges kitRead the free 3-page sample (PDF) →
Do I need the kit as well?

No. The guide stands on its own. The kit is a separate, optional pack of decisions, day plans and a booking list. Read the free 3-page sample to see whether it suits the way you plan.

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