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If you’ve never been to Bruges, we hope the things we learned on our first trip to Belgium will help you with your visit to this lovely city. For the most part, the basic things were pretty much the same as it’s neighboring European countries, but there were a few things we picked up on that we thought others should be aware of as well. We give insight into tipping, the best waffles, relaxed business hours and more.

Bruges, the charming Belgian medieval city

1. No Tap Water

Every restaurant or cafe we dined at in Bruges did not have an option for tap water. We always had to order a bottle of water. We visited Bruges right after Amsterdam, where we were able to order tap water like the U.S., and since we were only three hours away from Amsterdam, we thought they had the same policy. Well, turns out they don’t. We suggest always having a bottle of water with you, so you won’t have to pay the premium prices at restaurants. You can get bottled water for under $2 at a convenience store or your hotel may provide free water.

2. Tipping

Tipping is not very common in Belgium, however, it is acceptable if you receive exceptional service. Since we live in the U.S., we feel guilty not leaving any tip at all even if the service wasn’t outstanding. After asking one of the servers about tipping, we were informed that tipping is usually rounded up when the server brings the handheld credit card machine to your table. They will not round up unless you say so, so if you don’t have any cash on hand, remember to do so before your card gets swiped.

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3. Credit Card Payments

If you want to pay your bill with a credit card, your server will bring a portable handheld credit card machine to your table. We’ve seen other countries do this, but in the U.S. we don’t have this system, so it was a bit strange at first. As mentioned earlier, if you want to leave a tip, you’ll need to let the server know beforehand before they swipe your card.

4. Busy Restaurants

Bruges is small and a popular tourist destination, so most of the establishments get full at peak hours. If you have a favorite restaurant you want to try while you’re in Bruges, get there early, make reservations or visit at off-peak times.

Cambrinus is a very popular restaurant in Bruges, so if you would like to eat there, this is one of the restaurants we suggest making reservations. We arrived for dinner here around 5pm and they were already at full capacity. Luckily, one of the reserved tables wasn’t showing up until 6pm, so we were able to snag a seat there.

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5. Breakfast

We always like to get breakfast early so that we can start our day before the streets get crowded. There were only two restaurants that we found (with good reviews) that opened before 9 AM - That’s Toast! and Juliette. That’s Toast! was excellent but a bit on the expensive side. If you want to save some money, Juliette will be a better choice. Or if you want to quickly grab something to go, McDonalds is always open early.

Delicious toast packed with flavor at That’s Toast!

6. Business Hours

Sometimes the hours posted online did not matter. We’re not huge fans of establishments not being punctual as it messes up our plans for the rest of the day, but in Bruges, we quickly learned that we just had to go with the flow. We showed up to a few places that were not open at the times that were listed online due to various reasons. One place said they were opening late since they were short-staffed and another place had no reason and decided to open an hour later.

We couldn’t always trust the business hours in Bruges

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7. Waffles

Unlike the U.S., in Belgium, there are two different kinds of waffles: Brussels and Liege waffles. The Liege waffle is small with rounded edges, whereas the Brussels waffle is larger, and has a rectangular shape. We both really enjoyed the Liege waffle over the Brussels waffle and highly recommend having a Liege waffle at Albert Chez. It was so yummy that we went there more than once. We tried a ton of waffles in Bruges and Albert Chez, hands down, had the best waffles.

8. Bruges vs. Brugge

When we first started researching Bruges, we were a little confused with the correct spelling and pronunciation. Half the time, the city’s name was spelled as Bruges (pronounced brooj) and other times, it was spelled Brugge (pronounced broo-gha). We later learned that Bruges is the English and French spelling and Brugge is the Flemish spelling. Either one is correct.

9. Chocolate Souvenirs

There were so many chocolate shops in Bruges that we were a little overwhelmed with which one we should stop by. We don’t eat much chocolate, so we wanted to make one stop at the right chocolate shop. Luckily, one of our friends helped us narrow it down and suggested that we go to The Chocolate Line. Dominique Persoone is the creator of The Chocolate Line and he is known for concocting unique chocolate creations like Havana Cigar, Sake, Wasabi and more. His shop is mentioned in the Michelin guide and although it was expensive, it was worth buying chocolate souvenirs here.