Summer in the city

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23 JUNE 2004
Bruges, Belgium
With shimmering spires, crooked gables and willows mirrored in the canals, and every now and then a swan – the symbol of this delightful place – gliding through the ripples, Bruges is as pretty as a picture. The Belgian city really comes to life in summer when the leafy waterways provide cooling shade, the cafés and bars move into the squares under colourful awnings, and the jazz cellars and clubs throb till dawn.

Don’t miss: Take a 40-minute boat trip on the canals under the 100 or so humpbacked bridges and you’ll see why they call Bruges “the Venice of the North”. Or clip-clop around the tiny alleys and gothic squares, ablaze with geraniums, in a horse-drawn carriage.

Select your chocolates individually at Godiva or Leonides, and buy your souvenir lace in Breidelstraat – but beware: a handkerchief can cost £100 and you should look for the tourist board sign that the lace is genuine. Finally, no trip would be complete without mussels and chips, washed down with some of the 300 beers on sale in the bars and cafés around the historic Great Square.