Bruxelles-Midi/Zuid (Brussels South) Station
Trains from Brussels to Bruges depart from a few main train stations across Brussels as the mainline interconnecting track runs right through the city. These are Bruxelles-Nord (Brussels North), Bruxelles-Central (Brussels Central), and Bruxelles-Midi (Brussels South). I departed from Bruxelles-Midi as it was a 15-minute walk from my hotel on the south side of the city centre, which is the same station that the Eurostar trains from Brussels to London depart from. The station has entrances on both sides that lead into a large ground-level concourse situated beneath the platforms that’s filled with plenty of food and coffee shops and a large departure board. There are toilet facilities that cost 50c to use (in both Brussels and Bruges stations), so if you can wait until the train arrives you can use the toilets on there for free. Bruxelles-Midi railway station is also connected to the Brussels Metro station called Gare du Midi/Zuidstation, so don’t get confused by going down any stairs or escalators like I did!
The small departure boards on the platforms only show the final destination of the train, not the stops, so you’ll have to float around the central departure board to check the ticker that shows all the stops of the journey. Always check the departure boards at the station, or if in doubt, ask someone at the information desk. In most major destinations the information staff usually understand basic English.
The trip from Brussels to Bruges (Brugge)
Our double-decker yellow and white SNCB train bound for Blankenberge rolled into the platform. We hopped on the train onto one of the second-class carriages, where you can choose to sit anywhere on the upper or lower deck as you can’t reserve a seat on SNCB trains. The carriages were fairly basic, but very clean and spacious. There were toilets in every second carriage, but not a lot of room for luggage. The seats are in a 2-2 configuration and all had pull-down tray tables, and there are also a few compartment-style seats split by a central table which are great for families or small groups.
As the train pulled out of the platform, we passed through the city outskirts for around 10 minutes until we reached the beautiful green countryside and a load of large barns and cottages. As the train reaches top-speed, we made our way past a load of fields laden with wind farms before passing a small town called Melle, where you can see a large church spire and water tower. A few minutes later we pulled into Ghent (Gent), the second-largest city in Belgium. As you’re pulling in to the famous Gent Sint Pieters station, look out to the right of the train for a large round red brick clock tower at the front of the station and some amazing castle-like buildings. As you pull out of the Ghent station, look into the distance, also on the right side of the train, where you can see the multiple church spires including the famous Belfry of Ghent.
A short while after pulling out of Ghent, my phone reception faded out, so I stared out the window at the rolling green fields which had some snow left over beside the tracks after some recent early-December snowfall. I kept checking the LED displays inside the carriages to see where we were, but the writing was all in Dutch as this is more commonly spoken in the North of Belgium. The screen kept flashing things like “Bestemming: Blankenberge” (which means Destination: Blankenberge), “De volgende halte is…” (which means The next stop is…) and “We komen aan in…” (which means We arrive in…) as you pull into stations. Frustratingly these screens didn’t show the rest of the stops on the line, so at one point I had no idea whether I was still on the right train as I had no phone reception to check where we were on the map.
After just one hour on the train, we pulled into Brugge station (Bruges station) which is situated on the west-side of the town. The walk from the station to the town centre is a brisk 15-20-minute stroll down some long cobble streets that make you feel like you’re walking through a fairy-tale village. The architecture in Bruges in spectacular along the walk into town so don’t bother taking the taxi – It’ll save you a few pounds and it’s definitely worth the walk!
The verdict
Making the trip from Brussels to Bruges by train on our weekend Belgian trip was definitely an amazing idea. Bruges is an incredible place that resembles every fairy-tail you’ve ever watched, and you can very easily see it all in a day as the train trip only takes around an hour each-way. The second-class carriages are comfortable, had plenty of seats and clean toilets, which is all you need for an hour-long trip. You can also catch the bus from Brussels to Bruges too which takes around double the time (around two hours each-way), but the trains got us straight back to Bruxelles-Midi station where we had to go to catch our Eurostar back to London which was very convenient. The only reason for not giving this five-stars is the fact the train LED displays and platforms don’t show the stops each train calls at until you get there, but apart from that, it was excellent.
About Michael
Michael, a former Trainline employee, chose to share their experience of the journey between Brussels and Bruges.
