If you want to feel like you’ve stepped into a snow globe that smells like waffles, go to Bruges. This town is so ridiculously medieval that it’s basically a movie set from a Harry Potter spin-off about a very chubby wizard who only casts chocolate spells. December dusts its cobblestones with snow, turning every canal into a postcard that screams “Eat me, I’m on holiday.”
But here’s the secret: Bruges has more chocolate shops per capita than any city on Earth. You will stumble into a store that sells chocolate shaped like body parts, cartoon characters, and your own inevitable regret after eating five truffles. The whole city smells like cocoa and lies—the lie being that you can “just have one sample.”
Real Talk
The Christmas market here sells mulled wine that will warm your soul and then trick you into buying a wooden clog keychain. It’s a trap. But a delicious one. Also, the mussels are the size of a toddler’s fist, so prepare to fight a marine battle at your dinner table.
