Chocolate & Beer, Bruges Belgium
September 6, 2023 - by Muriel Dassen
Belgium, and Bruges in particular, is famous for its beers ánd chocolate. As the historic city centre of Bruges is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO it attracts many tourists all year round. Therefore we thought that Bruges would be the perfect central point for our Chocolate & Beer tour. We ourselves were even - pleasantly - surprised by the rides. You will notice that we are more interested in the beer than the chocolate part of this tour. We found some true nice biker roads in this area which is mainly flat. Of course we added some nice stops to the rides for you to enjoy during your Chocolate & Beer tour.
Of course you can download the GPX / ITN files and full e-books of the 2 rides we have in this tour via our roadtrip planner but you can already find the info in this blogpost.
The old market square is the beating heart of the city of Bruges and you will find the most beautiful buildings surrounding it, some nice restaurants and terraces on the square. You can also find the Historium, the Duvelorium and the Belfort here. More information on the Historium and the Duvelorium can be found on this website. Don't forget to walk around the square right next to the market, the Burg, especially nice at sunset. At the Rozenhoedkaai you can catch one of the touring boats and in the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk you can see Michelangelo's world-famous “Madonna and Child". As this is the Chocolate & Beer tour, why don't you visit Choco-story or the Halve maan brewery? Or both? Please visit the websites for more information on Choco-story and the Halve maan brewery. And for more information on the beer cafe De Garre, visit this website.
Recommended hotels:
Rating on Booking.com: Fabulous 8.8
With private parking garage, reservation needed and fee applicable
With bar and tea/coffeemaker in rooms
In city centre Bruges
Rating on Booking.com: Superb 9.1
With private parking garage (with carlift), reservation needed and fee applicable
With tea/coffeemaker in rooms
In city centre Bruges
Rating on Booking.com: Superb 9.2
With private parking garage, reservation not needed, fee applicable
With bar and tea/coffeemaker in rooms
In city centre Bruges
Rating on Booking.com: Exceptional 9.6
With private parking garage nearby, reservation needed and fee applicable
In city centre Bruges
Rating on Booking.com: Fabulous 8.6
With on site - not overed - parking, reservation needed and fee applicable
In city centre Bruges
Rating on Booking.com: Good 7.9
Interparking Station public parking in front of hotel, fee applicable
Parking on top - not covered - is closest to hotel
With public pool next to campsite
15 minute walk to centre Bruges
Rating on Booking.com: Exceptional 9.6
With free on site - not covered - parking
With tea/coffeemaker in rooms
20 minute walk to centre Bruges
Rating on Booking.com: Fabulous 8.8
With free on site parking, ask in advance to park in the shed
10 km / 6 miles outside of Bruges
15 minute walk to village of Damme
Ride 1
In ride 1 of the Chocolate & Beer tour we are taking you to the Flanders part of the Netherlands. We will be crossing the border a few times. Although this part of Belgium and the Netherlands is mainly flat, we did find some nice biking roads. We ourselves were pleasantly surprised by the ride! Of course we also added some nice stops for drinks and food, one being in theme of this tour. With 200 km / 125 miles a fun ride to explore this area.
Cadsandria
The first stop of this ride is in Ijzendijke at the former beer brewery Cadsandria. After the war, the building was in disrepair, but luckily it has been restored. You can see pictures of this process in the attic. Nowadays it is a lovely stop to have a drink, so a perfect coffee stop "in theme".
Hulst
We added a bike parking beside the market square in the Dutch city of Hulst, proclaiming to be the most Flemish city in the Netherlands. You will find plenty of bars and restaurants surrounding the market square. We can recommend the Zeeland mussels if you have a gap to fill.
Breskens
Breskens is the city at the far North-East point of the Flanders part of the Netherlands that is only attached to Belgium. From Breskens ferry services used to run to the other parts of the Netherlands. With the construction of bridges, dams and the Westerschelde tunnel the ferries have been made redundant. Nowadays you can only go on a ferry tour on foot or with a pushbike. You can visit the Fishing museum here, or have a fish snack or just a drink, overlooking the marina. Although in Dutch, please find the website of the museum here.
Damme
With only 5 km / 3 miles to Bruges, we addes one last stop in Damme in case you are ready for your first beer of the day on one of the nice terraces you will find in this lovely town. A nice way to end a perfect ride!
Ride 2
With ride 2 of the Chocolate &Beer tour we have 200 km / 125 miles of very nice riding to do in Belgium East and South of Bruges. We added 2 beer related stops and of course enough possibilities to have a drink or some food. We even found a few hills! To end this ride in style we will be taking you to a true biker place, just outside the city centre of Bruges. Enjoy!
Van Steenberge Brewery
Our first stop of this ride is in the vilage of Ertvelde where you can find the Van Steenberge brewery, famous for its Piraat and Gulden Draak beer. Visiting the brewery is unfortunately only for big groups and during limited hours. The website does tell you a lot about the brewing process, so still nice to visit if you are interested. You will find some coffee shops and bars near the brewery if you fancy a coffee or drink. Please find the website of the brewery here.
Ooidonk Castle
For our lunchstop we are taking you to the castle of Ooidonk. There is a grand cafe in the former carriage house, which is closed on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Don't miss the view that you will get from the pathway in between of the carriage house and the castle! For more information, see this website.
Omer vander Ghinste Brewery
In the village of Bellegem you will find the Omer brewery. You can visit the brewery, although the tours in English will only be held for a minimum of 10 people. This brewery has been here in Bellegem since 1892 for 5 generations of Omers, as it is a tradition that the first born son is named Omer. Otherwise they would have had to change all the stained glass windows they used as a promotion. You can see the windows at the opposite cafe Sportwereld. For more information and a nice video on the brewery, go to the website of the brewery.
Baliekouter
If you think the last stretch of the ride, 70 km / 45 miles, is to long to do in 1 go, we have added the parking at the Baliekouter natural park and tearoom. In case you'd want to stop for a drink or maybe even a short walk.
Hermanus Motorcycle Lifestyle Store
We are ending this ride at a true cool biker stop, just outside the city centre of Bruges: Hermanus, motorcycle lifestyle store. "Beer,Bikes, Burgers, Barber." Sounds cool, doesn't it? And it is! You can do some shopping, have a drink or a meal. We can definitely recommend having a beer and burger here after a perfect Chocolate & Beer ride! We have a separate video on this biker stop here!
Go on your own QUAZY RIDE
You can download the GPX / ITN files of the rides and the full e-books via our roadtrip planner and then we hope you will enjoy the rides you will be doing in this Quazy Rides Chocolate & Beer tour and your stay in Bruges.
If you are posting on social media, don't forget to tag Quazy Rides or use the #QuazyRides, because we LOVE to see you having fun with our rides.
