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Bruges, Belgium

With beautiful squares surrounded by gingerbread houses and cobbled alleys running alongside pretty canals, Bruges is a city adored by lovebirds. They flock to the Belgian town for its picturesque parks, old world hotels and sentimental legends. The Minnemeer (Lake of Love), for instance, was named for the romance between Mina and her warrior sweetheart, Stromberg; their folkloric tale ends tragically with the girl’s death, but Stromberg buried her underneath the little lake, and now every couple that kisses on its bridge is promised everlasting love.

One of the best ways to explore Bruges is by boat ride on its web of canals, providing unique vantage point on the picturesque historic core. Float by the Jan Van Eyckplein and its Burgher’s Lodge, once the kow-tow place du jour for the city’s rich and influential. It’s a tourist classic, of course, but there’s no place like Bruges to embrace the corny.