Talk to natives and expat residents in Belgium and they might just whisper the truth to you: at its best, Belgian cuisine is better than French. The challenge in Bruges is to separate the tourist chaff from the real thing, but you won’t go wrong if you try seafood at cosy Chagall (Sint-Amandsstraat 40, 050 336 112) or rabbit at three Michelin-starred De Karmeliet (Langestraad 19, 050 338 259, www.resto.be/karmeliet, closed Mon). Parkrestaurant (Minderbroederstraat 1, 050 346 462, www.parkrestaurant.be) is an elegant, romantic restaurant housed in a grand mansion; try the snails, scampi dosed in riesling, or the chicken stewed in Leffe beer.

Mussels and light French fries are served everywhere, as are all the wonderful lambic beers – good tipples include the locally brewed Brugse Tarwebier, Straffe Hendrik and Tripel. Bars with a huge range of beers include Brugs Beertje (Kemelstraat 5, 050 339 616, www.brugsbeertje.be) and De Garre (De Garre 1, 050 34 10 29). Waffles and fine chocolate are also ubiquitous.

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