Bruges is the ninth friendliest city in the world, writes the American travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler, which compares the West Flemish provincial town to a fairy tale city.
Each year the American travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler asks a hundred thousand readers which are the friendliest cities in the world. On the ranking of 2016, Bruges came in ninth. The magazine describes walking around Bruges as walking in a fairy tale. According to foreign visitors, the city owes its charm to the boat trip on the canal and the friendly coachmen telling stories about the history of the city and its inhabitants. The readers also thoroughly enjoy the many cafes which serve hot waffles with chocolate sauce.
The mayor of Bruges, Renaat Landuyt, was not surprised to see Bruges in the top 10. "The people of Bruges are very friendly by nature, but every day our employees in the tourism sector go the extra mile to be welcoming", he says. "For example, we ask our taxi drivers and captains to always be hospitable." That strategy is clearly paying off. In 2015 almost eight million people visited 'the Venice of the north'.
