36 Hours in Bruges, Belgium: Things to Do and See

Start out with a cappuccino (€4.40) and a slice of the cake of the day (€4.20) at Avi ’38, an artisanal coffee shop with disco balls in the bathroom. Then get your bearings with a walk down Geldmuntstraat, a busy street lined with boutiques and shops, and its continuation, Noordzandstraat, until you come to ’t Zand square, where on Saturday mornings you’ll find the city’s main open-air flower and food market. From here, walk south past the Concertgebouw, continuing until you come to the cozy brick houses and calming atmosphere of the Begijnhof, a convent and home for women founded in 1245 and still operational today. From here, you can either follow the canals and narrow lanes northeast until you get to Markt, or take a moment to relax on the shaded green in nearby Minnewaterpark, beside the Lake of Love.

Go deep on the origin of Belgian frites, or fries, as well as the global cultural history of the potato, at the remarkably detailed Frietmuseum (€12). In the Saaihalle — built in 1399 to house Genoese trade representatives — the museum illuminates lesser-known facts about the vegetable, from its Andean origins to the apocryphal role of the English statesman Sir Walter Raleigh in exporting the crop to Virginia and Ireland around the end of the 16th century. Once you’ve completed a lap, head to the basement fry shop for classic frites (€3.50, or €3 with museum entry) and a surprisingly refreshing Patatje ale (€3.50) — made with potatoes — by the local brewery Fort Lapin.

Bruges’s burger scene reached its apex last year with the arrival of Mosh, a corner cafe where dishes highlight local ingredients — like the ultra-gooey Raclette Attack burger (€19.50), made with cheese from Van Tricht, a well-known Belgian affineur. Co-founded by Tom Degroote, a host of the Dutch-language cooking show “Open Vuur,” Mosh has a modern, youthful vibe, where friends linger over second helpings of what just might be the best frites in town (€5). The O.G. (€15), a double smashburger with cheddar, pairs nicely with the lightly bitter house beer, brewed by Dok Brewing Co. in Ghent (€5), while groups might splurge on a large bottle of Burning Plumz, a barrel-aged mix of ales and wine grapes, from the local producer Dust Blending.

There are plenty of high-end clothing boutiques on the main shopping drags, but cool, well-curated vintage shops are less common. Among the best is the local outpost of Think Twice, a Belgium-based chain that sells select secondhand clothes and accessories. Peruse the collection of leather clutch purses and handbags (from €7), try on soccer jerseys from the 1980s and 1990s (from €12) and sift through the colorful silk scarves (from €7) until you find one that matches your outfit.

For singular souvenirs and gifts, stop by Greet Verbeke’s namesake antique shop, where the proprietor herself will readily give you a tour of her favorite pieces. Ask about the framed prints of cultural figures, like the stylized portrait of the fin de siècle French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (€1,400), and Ms. Verbeke will tell you all about the maker, the British artist Kate Boxer. The shelves are filled to overflowing with cool curios, but don’t miss the crystal perfume bottles, which range from entry-level finds like the 1940s F. Millot Crêpe de Chine (€250) to prizes like a 1930s Molinard Calendal flask, designed by the master glassmaker René Lalique (€1,700).

Increasingly, the chefs behind Belgium’s fine-dining restaurants are highlighting quality fare from North Sea fisheries in their multicourse tasting menus. For similar flavors in a less time-consuming format, try the local favorite Breydel De Coninc, a mussels-focused restaurant just off Markt with beautifully prepared lunch and evening meals, all served in a casual, unpretentious atmosphere. Start with a golden ale from the Flemish brewery Duvel, founded in 1871 (€5.85), and a crispy, tempura-battered fried scampi (€13) before moving on to one of the hearty mains, which might include young turbot with capers and tarragon (€45), roasted eel with tartar sauce (€37) and classic bowls of steaming North Sea mussels, served in a rich, shallot-scented broth along with a generous helping of frites (€31.50).

Join the audiophiles for a nightcap at the six-month-old Shibuya, a Japanese-style cocktail bar, which serves excellent small plates alongside unexpected drinks like the Sakura Sensation, a tart-sweet mix of sake, pisco, cherry blossoms and raspberries (€14). Then head west, turning a few more corners until you hear the disco soundtrack thumping at Bar Ran. From the same owners as Shibuya, the trendy boîte is famous for its King Kong Milk Punch, made of Jamaican rum, passion fruit, almonds, coffee and lime (€15). End at the cocktail bar Groot Vlaenderen, a dark and luxurious lounge where the friendliness of the bartenders belies how seriously they take their craft. You can’t go wrong with any of the weekly specials, nor with a contemporary classic like a St.-Germain spritz (a.k.a. Hugo spritz), the elderflower-flavored drink of the summer (€13).