Some information for visiting Bruges
I have talked about Bruges extensively in several articles but what I haven't told you about yet is how to get there. There are several ways, including that of rent a car, however, this provides that your trip is possibly longer than a simple weekend, maybe a ontheroad in flanders which would be a great and excellent idea.
By now direct flights to Brussels from Spain have relatively very low costs, so you often try to do a touch and go for maybe three days in which to visit Bruges as well. If you have it available from Friday to Sunday the weekend internet ticket.
But let's start getting to Brussels before explaining how to get to Bruges.
Here is another article that might interest you ... I'll tell you about all the things to see in Bruges, where to sleep and what to eat: Bruges what to see: discovering the pearl of Belgium
How to get to Brussels from the airport?
This Belgian city has become a particularly popular destination in recent times, thanks to the competitive rates that allow for a few euros to reach it from many Spanish destinations. There are two airports, Zaventem e Charleroi, and low cost airlines fly to both.
THEZaventem airport it is located north / east of the city center a few minutes by train away, about 16/17 minutes.
THECharleroi airport instead it is much further south of the city and you can reach Brussels by bus or train. One choice is the Brussels City Shuttle which for 14 euros each way (28 if you return) takes you to the Brussels Midi train station (about 1 hour) which if I have not misunderstood it corresponds to Brussels South. From here you can then take the train to Brussels Central or for Bruges.
THEbetter alternative è THIS PRIVATE transfer service that takes you directly to the hotel or to the place of your choice, even a station for example.
From Charleroi there would also be the train solution, but you should reach Charleroi station by bus and from there use the train. On balance it is easier to take the Brussels City Shuttle.
From Brussels to Bruges by train with the weekend ticket
Let's get to the gist of this post: how to reach Bruges from Brussels by train by spending half?
Belgian trains are efficient, clean and quiet… an excellent service corresponds to a price consistent with the service used, so it costs! But if you visit these two Belgian cities from 19pm on Friday until Sunday evening, magically costs are lowered by 50%.
I'm talking about the weekend ticket, a special travel ticket that allows those who buy it to get the strong discount I just told you about and this discount becomes essential if you want to visit Bruges during the weekend.
The weekend ticket can be bought both online and directly at the ticket offices. My advice is to buy it on the Belgian railways website: www.belgianrail.be
Generally the weekend ticket is made from the Brussels area to the area that you will indicate, in this case Bruges. So your ticket will have written Zone Bruxelles -> Zone Bruges (or Brugge).
If you arrive from Charleroi you cannot use the weekend ticket directly from the airport but from Charleroi station at the price of 23 euros round trip.
If you want to buy the weekend ticket to reach Bruges from Zaventem airport, you can do it and it costs 27,60 euros return.
Caution: when looking for the Zaventem departure station, select Brussels Airport-Zaventem and do not do like me who assumed that Zaventem was the airport. There is also the town of Zaventem which, however, is 5km from the airport and is located right on the direct railway line in the center.
Lines departing from Zaventem Airport often go to both Brussels Central and Midi. You can get off at both to take the connection to Bruges. I got off in Brussels Central and the frequency of trains to Ghent and then Bruges is very good. Usually one passes every hour and they are all clean and functional.
The train takes just over an hour to reach Bruges and passes through fields with horses, cows and houses with pointed roofs, the classic fairytale landscape that everyone falls in love with when they go to flanders.
To be precise, I would like to point out that the simple weekend ticket from Brussels to Bruges it costs € 15,60.
What happens once the weekend ticket is purchased?
Once you have completed the payment and the procedure you will receive an email with tickets to print, one for the outward and one for the return. Each ticket will have a barcode that you must place on the entrance turnstiles to the stations. Always keep your ticket with you as checks are frequent.
What if you want to stop in Ghent / Gent?
