Access BrugesStepped gables, still water, and a belfry over all of it.
The Dijver canal and the Belfry of Bruges seen from above at dusk
BRUGES · WEST FLANDERS

The sea left Bruges five centuries ago. The medieval city stayed.

A merchant city of the Middle Ages that stopped growing when its channel to the sea silted up: two squares under a belfry, quays of brick gables on the canals, hospitals and almshouses, and the paintings of Van Eyck and Memling.

Giles Laurent, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What Bruges is

Bruges — Brugge in Dutch — is a city of about 119,000 people in West Flanders, in the Dutch-speaking north of Belgium. Its old center sits inside an oval ring of canals and ramparts, and nearly everything a visitor comes for lies within it; the choice between the quiet streets and the ones near the squares is most of where to stay. Trains stop at the station just outside the ring, about a quarter of an hour's walk from the Markt (getting here), and inside it you get around on foot.

What you walk past

The city received its charter in 1128. A storm in 1134 opened a channel to the sea at the Zwin, and for three centuries Bruges was one of the great ports of the north: Genoese and Hanseatic merchants traded here, and a bourse opened in 1309. The dukes of Burgundy held court in the city in the 15th century, when Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling painted in it — the story of the Flemish masters. After 1500 the Zwin silted up and the golden age ended; Bruges grew poor and built little new, and much of the medieval city survived. In both world wars it came through almost undamaged.

Read the city

Schematic of Bruges: the old town inside its ring of canalsthe canal ringthe Reiestation, south-west1Jan van Eyckplein2The Markt3The Belfry4The Burg5Basilica of the Holy Blood6Groenerei7Rozenhoedkaai8The Dijver9The Canal Boats10Gruuthuse Museum11St. Salvator's Cathedral12Church of Our Lady13St. John's Hospital14The Beguinage15Minnewater16Jerusalem Church17The Kruisvest Windmills18The City Gates
  1. Jan van Eyckplein
  2. The Markt
  3. The Belfry
  4. The Burg
  5. Basilica of the Holy Blood
  6. Groenerei
  7. Rozenhoedkaai
  8. The Dijver
  9. The Canal Boats
  10. Gruuthuse Museum
  11. St. Salvator's Cathedral
  12. Church of Our Lady
  13. St. John's Hospital
  14. The Beguinage
  15. Minnewater
  16. Jerusalem Church
  17. The Kruisvest Windmills
  18. The City Gates

Schematic, not to scale; the numbers are the sights below.

What it is known for

For its canals, the reien, seen from an open boat or the quays (the canals), and for a historic center on the UNESCO list since 2000. As one of the first tourist cities of the 19th century, and for Georges Rodenbach's novel Bruges-la-Morte of 1892. For beer, stew and chocolate (eating and drinking). Begin with the sights, see what is worth booking ahead, pick a season and an itinerary, and keep a day for the day trips to Ghent, Damme and the coast.

Seven panels, north to south

A walk through the city

Jan van Eyckplein: gabled merchants' houses at the end of the Spiegelrei
Jan van Eyckplein: gabled merchants' houses at the end of the SpiegelreiCalips, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
1

The merchants' square

Start in the north, at Jan van Eyckplein, where the Spiegelrei canal ends among merchants' houses. This was the harbor quarter; the square was laid out after 1787, named after the painter in 1844, and given his statue in 1878. The slender tower on its west side belongs to the Poortersloge, where the city's burghers once met.

The Belfry seen straight up from the Markt
The Belfry seen straight up from the MarktPietervdvn, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
2

Under the Belfry

Five minutes south, the Markt opens under the Belfry, begun around 1240 and given its octagonal top in 1483–1487. It stands 83 meters high, leans a little to the east, and holds a carillon of 47 bells; 366 steps lead to the top. Gabled houses line the north side of the square.

The Burg in the evening, the Gothic City Hall lit on the right
The Burg in the evening, the Gothic City Hall lit on the rightMarc Ryckaert, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
3

The Burg

A short street leads to the Burg, the square of government. Its City Hall, built between 1376 and 1421, is one of the oldest in the Low Countries. In the corner, the Basilica of the Holy Blood sets a Romanesque chapel of 1134–1149 beneath a later Gothic one. Tradition says a crusader count brought the relic in 1150; no record places it in Bruges before the 1250s.

The Rozenhoedkaai bend with the Belfry above the brick houses
The Rozenhoedkaai bend with the Belfry above the brick housesFrDr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
4

The rosary quay

Round the corner, the Rozenhoedkaai bends along the water with the Belfry rising behind its roofs — the view most photographs of Bruges are taken from. For centuries it was the salt quay; the name comes from the rosary stalls that stood here in the 18th century. The canal boats leave from landing stages close by.

The apse and brick tower of the Church of Our Lady above the garden beside it
The apse and brick tower of the Church of Our Lady above the garden beside itJakobHosp, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
5

Our Lady's tower

Along the Dijver, past the museums, the brick tower of the Church of Our Lady climbs to 115.6 meters. Inside is a marble Madonna and Child by Michelangelo, bought in Italy by two Bruges merchant brothers and given to the church in 1514. Opposite stands St. John's Hospital, founded in the 12th century and a hospital until 1977.

White beguines' houses round the lawn of the Beguinage
White beguines' houses round the lawn of the BeguinageRicardalovesmonuments, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
6

The beguinage

South again, a bridge and a gate lead into the Beguinage, founded around 1244 for beguines — laywomen who lived together without taking vows. White houses stand round a lawn of tall trees; since 1927 Benedictine nuns have lived here, and visitors are asked to keep their voices down.

The Minnewater, with the spire of Our Lady beyond the trees
The Minnewater, with the spire of Our Lady beyond the treesCalips, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
7

The Minnewater

Beyond the beguinage the canal widens into the Minnewater, a reservoir dug in the 13th century to steady the water flowing into the city. Guides call it the Lake of Love; that is a romantic legend, and the origin of the name is still argued over. A brick powder tower stands at its southern end.

The altarpiece, closed

Three things to know first

Belgium · West FlandersAbout 119,000 peopleDutchEuroCity charter 1128UNESCO World Heritage since 2000

Eleven practical questions, and the journal

The guide, section by section

  1. Eighteen places, one page eachThe SightsFrom the Belfry to the windmills on the ramparts: what each one is, what you see, and how long to give it.The Sights
  2. Rail, air, coach and carGetting HereThe station outside the center, the trains from Brussels and Ghent, and where a car should stop.Getting Here
  3. A city for walkingGetting AroundAn old center you cross on foot, the buses from the station, and bikes on the ramparts.Getting Around
  4. The reien, from the waterThe CanalsHow the canals made the city rich, where the boats leave from, and the quays to walk instead.The Canals
  5. Van Eyck, Memling and their cityThe Flemish MastersWhere the paintings made in 15th-century Bruges hang today, and the streets they were made in.The Flemish Masters
  6. What to arrange firstBooking AheadThe few things in Bruges worth fixing a time for, and the many that need nothing.Booking Ahead
  7. The year in BrugesWhen to ComeDaffodils in the beguinage, the Holy Blood procession, and winter evenings, month by month.When to Come
  8. Stew, beer and chocolateEating & DrinkingFlemish dishes, the brewery in the center, and where the city eats.Eating & Drinking
  9. Inside the ring, and just beyondWhere to StayEach part of the old town for a night or a week, drawn on a map.Where to Stay
  10. One day, two days, threeItinerariesRoutes by the length of your stay, planned around what closes when.Itineraries
  11. Ghent, Damme, the coast, BrusselsDay TripsWhere the trains, bikes and roads out of Bruges lead in a day.Day Trips
  12. Questions answered at lengthThe JournalVisitor questions about Bruges, answered in full, with new pieces as they are written.The Journal
Numbered as on the drawing

All eighteen sights

The two squaresThe Markt and the Burg, a minute apart

  1. The Markt2The Markt
  2. The Belfry3The Belfry
  3. The Burg4The Burg
  4. Basilica of the Holy Blood5Basilica of the Holy Blood

Along the DijverSouth of the squares, museums on the water

  1. Rozenhoedkaai7Rozenhoedkaai
  2. The Dijver8The Dijver
  3. The Canal Boats9The Canal Boats
  4. Gruuthuse Museum10Gruuthuse Museum
  5. Church of Our Lady12Church of Our Lady
  6. St. John's Hospital13St. John's Hospital
  7. St. Salvator's Cathedral11St. Salvator's Cathedral

The quiet southWhere the canal widens into a lake

  1. The Beguinage14The Beguinage
  2. Minnewater15Minnewater

The merchants' northThe old harbor quays

  1. Jan van Eyckplein1Jan van Eyckplein
  2. Groenerei6Groenerei

East to the rampartsAlmshouses, mills and gates

  1. Jerusalem Church16Jerusalem Church
  2. The Kruisvest Windmills17The Kruisvest Windmills
  3. The City Gates18The City Gates

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