Bruges is considered the birthplace of exchange trade and many of the concepts that are now used in this trade. Even the very word "stock exchange" probably owes its origin to the city of Bruges: according to legend, visiting merchants gathered to solve their problems in a hotel owned by a man named van der Bursa (Borsa means "stock exchange"). Therefore, it is not surprising that today Bruges is the best of all Belgian trading cities. There are many shops here, where you can buy the best products of European quality.
Shopping Features
Shopping in Bruges is a very pleasant experience, even for those tourists who never fundamentally shop. The main shopping streets of the city are located between the Market Square and the old city gates; this is Smedenstraat, Vlamingstraat, Mariastraat, Zuidzandstraat, Steenstraat, Simon Stevinplein, Katelijnestraat, Gentpoortstraat and others. You can buy anything here. Shop L'Heroine offers customers clothes Belgian fashion brands, in stores Quicke and Noteboom you can buy things from leading fashion houses in Europe and the US. Boutique Parallax offers clothes for men, and Lunabloom - products for the youngest.
On Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 6 pm there are fish markets located along Dijver - by the way, besides fish, you can buy original souvenirs.
Chocolate and other sweets
Belgian chocolate is known all over the world, and chocolate in Bruges is one of the best in Belgium . There are only chocolate boutiques - almost 60, for a town with a population of 120 thousand people, the figure is very high. Here you can buy chocolate with any additives and fillings - with dried fruits and salted pistachios, with ginger and pepper, green tea, basil, dill. A box of chocolates or a chocolate bar will be a wonderful souvenir for your friends, relatives or co-workers. There are chocolate shops in the center of the city. Very popular are Chocolatier Van Oost on Wollestraat Street, Stef's on Breidelstraat, Dumon on Simon Stevinplein. And the most famous are The Chocolate Line, where you should definitely buy candies Apero, and Delices de Bruges, where chocolate hares are sold, eggs of all sizes, as well as bagels filled with caramel and many other incredibly tasty things.
And here is another sweetness, called Cuberdon (and the inhabitants of Bruges themselves often call it just "nose" because of the shape of the candy), you can only on the spot - the raspberry filling has a jelly-like consistency, and because of this, the candies are poorly stored and yet Worse, they are transported.
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Lace
In the 16th century lace produced in Bruges was famous throughout Europe. There are more than 50 shops in the city where you can buy products of local craftsmen: handkerchiefs, collars, aprons, napkins, tablecloths and such things that are quite unexpected for us (but quite traditional for Belgian women of fashion), like lacy umbrellas and handbags, as well as jewelry, tapestries and paintings of lace. All this is done manually, as evidenced by the relevant certificates.
Most of the shops are located on Brueghel. The Pikeri family and the Rococo are the most famous; in the first you will see the original floral patterns, in the second it is worthwhile to go if you want to be absolutely sure that the product you bought is unique.
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Cheese
Belgium "presses" Switzerland not only in terms of chocolate: the Belgian cheeses have firmly established themselves at the very top of the list of the best. Bruges is one of the most "cheese" cities in the country, the varieties of this product here can be counted no less than the varieties of chocolate, some of which are made only here, for example - "Old Bruges", known to gourmets around the world due to its exquisite bouquet and long term maturation (this process takes a whole year). There are a lot of "cheese shops" here. The most popular of these is the Diksmuids Boterhuis. Goat cheeses alone are represented by twenty-five varieties.
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Tea and beer
Near the Market Square, on Wollestraat Street, there is a shop Het Brugs Theehuis, which is definitely worth a visit to tea lovers: despite the modest size of the premises, more than a hundred varieties of this drink are offered here. And still here various teapots are sold, for example, in the form of musical instruments, doll houses, etc. So without buying from this store you definitely will not leave.
De Bier Tempel ("Beer Castle") is located on Philipstockstraat, 7. Here you will find a truly stunning selection of beer - over 600 varieties, as well as special glasses and other beer souvenirs.
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