Driving to Bruges means parking at the edge and walking in

The short answer

You can drive to Bruges, and plenty of visitors do, especially on longer road trips through Belgium and northern France. But once you arrive, the best thing to do with the car is to leave it. The city is clear that motor traffic is not recommended in the historic center, and the medieval streets, cobbles and one-way systems make driving inside the ring of canals slow and stressful.

The good news is that the city has made parking at the edge easy. Large car parks sit just outside the old town, park-and-ride sites wait on the outskirts, and from all of them the center is a short walk or bus ride away. This article explains how it works.

Think of it less as a restriction than as the price of a car-free old town. The streets you will enjoy walking are enjoyable precisely because so few cars use them.

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Getting there

Bruges is well connected to the motorway network. From the E40, which links Brussels, Ghent and the coast, take exit 8, Brugge, onto the N31. From the south, from Kortrijk and Roeselare, the E403 leads towards the city, and from Antwerp the N49 expressway joins the A11 and then the N31.

Unlike Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent, Bruges does not have a low emission zone, so you do not need to register your car to enter. That does not mean the center welcomes cars; it simply means the restrictions work through traffic rules and parking rather than an emissions permit. If your trip also includes Brussels, Ghent or Antwerp, check their low emission zone rules separately.

The two central car parks

Two large underground car parks sit at the edge of the center. Centrum-'t Zand lies beneath the big square on the western side of the old town, about ten minutes' walk from the Markt along the shopping streets. It is the closest large car park to the sights and convenient for the Concertgebouw.

Centrum-Station, beside Brugge station, is larger, with space for about sixteen hundred and ninety cars, and about twenty minutes' walk from the Markt. It has one particular advantage: on the day you arrive, the parking ticket includes a bus trip into the center and back for the driver and up to three passengers. De Lijn buses stop right beside it, and the free bus ticket can be collected by text message, through the De Lijn website or at the ticket office on the station square.

Both car parks are underground and covered, which is welcome in the rain and simplifies loading luggage.

Park-and-ride on the outskirts

For a longer stay, or to keep costs down, the city also offers free peripheral car parks and park-and-ride sites around the edge of Bruges. From them, buses run to the station or to 't Zand, and from there the Markt is a short walk.

Visit Bruges lists several. The Waggelwater park-and-ride, off the roundabout signposted for the Sint-Jan hospital, has space for about a hundred and ninety-five cars and is served by bus line 1 about every ten minutes. The Boogschutterslaan park-and-ride, by the church of Sint-Kruis, has about a hundred spaces, and there is another beside the Jan Breydel stadium.

Check the Visit Bruges parking pages before you set out, since sites and bus connections can change.

If you must drive inside

If your accommodation is inside the old town and you need to unload, drive in slowly and follow the signs. The whole historic center is a bicycle zone: cars may not drive faster than thirty kilometers an hour and may not overtake cyclists, and bikes are allowed to ride against the traffic in some one-way streets. Expect cyclists everywhere, pedestrians stepping off narrow pavements and horse-drawn carriages on the main squares.

Parking on the street inside the ring is scarce. Ask your accommodation in advance where to park, and whether it has spaces or an arrangement with a nearby car park. Once unloaded, take the car to one of the car parks at the edge and walk.

Coaches and groups

Tour coaches are not allowed into the old town at all. They drop passengers at the Bargeplein and park at the coach park on the Kanaaleiland, along the Bargeweg, about twenty minutes' walk from the Markt. Group leaders should plan the walk in and out as part of the visit.

Luggage, children and the last few meters

The walk from a car park into the old town is short, but it is over cobbles, and that changes how you pack. Bring bags that can be carried or rolled easily, and if you are traveling with young children, a sturdy pushchair copes better with the stones than a light folding one.

If you have a lot of luggage, drop it at your accommodation first, following the rules for driving inside the ring described above, and then park. Alternatively, from the station car park, the included bus trip into the center saves the longest walk on the day you arrive.

When you leave, reverse the plan: collect the car last, after checking out, and give yourself time for the walk back to the car park and the drive out through the narrow streets or around the ring road.

Once you have parked

From 't Zand, walk along Zuidzandstraat and Steenstraat to the Markt. From the station car park, take bus 1 or 2 into the center, or walk through the Minnewater park and the Beguinage, the most beautiful way into town. Everything inside the ring is then within walking distance.

Keep the car for what it does best: day trips into the countryside or along the coast. For trains, planes and coaches, see getting here; for moving around once you are in town, getting around; and if you are flying instead, the journal article on the train from Brussels Airport.