A centre you cross, not cover
From the station it is a fifteen-minute walk to the Markt. From there almost everything sits inside a twenty-minute circle. The Belfry closes the square at 83 metres, with 366 steps, a carillon and a view that makes the flatness of West Flanders obvious. Climb it early, before the coaches arrive, and the city reads as one piece: canals, roofs and the brick tower of Our Lady's church.
Walk through the Burg, past the town hall, down to the Rozenhoedkaai, where most photographs of Bruges are taken. Follow the water to the Begijnhof and the Minnewater, the long pond at the southern edge of the old town. The Groeningemuseum holds the Flemish Primitives; the Church of Our Lady holds Michelangelo's Madonna, carved in Florence and installed here in 1506. Both are worth the ticket.
Bruges is not a city to cover. It is one to cross and re-cross, noticing the same bridge from a different angle, the same canal at another hour. The centre is small enough that a wrong turn costs three minutes. That is the pleasure of the place, and also the reason it fills up so quickly. Come back the same way after dark and it is a different town.
Two breweries, many bars
De Halve Maan, on the Walplein, is the brewery the city is known for: brewing on the same site since 1856 and in the same family for six generations. Brugse Zot and Straffe Hendrik are the local beers worth ordering. The brewery tour is one of the most visited in Belgium, which tells you what demand looks like in a city of this size.
The bars carry the beer culture. De Garre sits at the end of an alley off Breidelstraat, pours a house tripel at 11% and limits each customer to three. 't Brugs Beertje has a long bottle list and a brown room that has not changed its habits in decades. Café Vlissinghe has been licensed since 1515 and keeps a pétanque court in the garden. Le Trappiste occupies a vaulted cellar near the Burg. Bourgogne des Flandres, beside the canal, brews a Flemish red on site.
This is a town that lives off visitors, so the middle of the market is weak: menus in five languages, mussels priced for the Markt. The rule is to drink where the list is long and the room is dark, and to eat one street away from the square. The difference in both price and quality is immediate, and it costs nothing but a short walk.
Practical
Bruges station sits on the edge of the centre, a straight fifteen-minute walk down Oostmeers or a short bus ride. Belfry tickets are timed and sell out at weekends; the staircase is narrow and shared with people coming down. The climb is steep, and not suitable for anyone who dislikes enclosed spaces, low doorways or a single-file staircase. Wear shoes with grip.
Cruise passengers arrive from Zeebrugge in waves from mid-morning until late afternoon. The Markt and the Rozenhoedkaai are miserable at those hours and calm at eight in the morning. November to March is cold, quiet and cheaper; museums stay open, bars keep winter hours, and you can eat without booking. Weekends bring Belgians in for the day, which is a different crowd and a fuller one.
Cash still matters in the smaller cafés, though cards are widely accepted. Restaurant prices on the Markt are a tax on not walking. Book dinner in summer, and do not plan a long night: most kitchens close by ten, and the last trains leave before midnight. Taxis are few and the ranks are not where you expect them. Assume you will walk back.