Bruges
The fairytale city of Northern Europe, Bruges is a city to visit and make memories that last.
What you need to know about Bruges
Language: In Belgium a number of languages are widely spoken. Depending on the part of the country you are in you will find that locals speak French or Flemish at their mother tongue. English is also very well understood. Bruges is after all a very well frequented city for travel and tourists so the locals are unsurprisingly synced in with this and speak English in most restaurants, bars and attractions.
Currency: Belgium uses the Euro (€) as their currency, and you can find currency exchange places in the city, the airport and major hotels.
Banking: ATMs are typical in shops, super markets and on most streets. All major bank cards are accepted by retailers.
Weather: The weather is temperately warm in the summertime making Bruges a very pleasant place to stroll around. Brace yourself for gothically cold winters when the city can see frequent bouts of light snowfall as well as a cold mist engulfing its streets. The positive of that is that winter is beautiful to see and makes Bruges’ canals even more photogenic.
It’s a fairytale city with cobbled streets, ancient buildings and canals winding through it, making Bruges an absolute joy to explore. It also offers an excellent insight into Belgian culture and cuisine, with a slightly slower pace than you’d get in Brussels.
This charming city offers many adventures, too, like exploring the city in a horse-drawn cart, sampling chocolate, beer and chips, Belgium’s favorite things to eat and drink, and learning how lace is made. Put on your walking shoes and discover Bruges’ magic on foot, tripping over cobbled streets in winding alleyways in the UNESCO-listed Old Town or shopping for bargains including antique clothing in Markt Square or the fleamarket on the Dijver Canal.
By night, enjoy fine dining or stick to waffles and chips at street stalls – it’s all up to you. Wash down your meal with one of the 400 beers brewed here and you have the quintessential Bruges nightlife experience. That’s the way residents spend their evenings, enjoying a pint or two in a pub, so soak up the atmosphere and the brew for a traditional vibe.
The entire city is a magical place, and you will certainly feel that you’ve stepped back in time as you discover its sights. Start by climbing Bruges’ iconic Belfry Tower for a panoramic view of the city below, to familiarize yourself with your surrounds. Then wander at will. The historic beauty, the atmosphere and the people won’t disappoint.
Best time to visit: Spring (May), when it’s much less crowded and airfares and hotels are cheaper. The summer months, June to August, are peak season, so it’s busy and more expensive at this time. Music festival lovers should visit in July. Unfortunately, the other in-between season – fall (September to November) – is rainy, so many visitors avoid coming at this time. Sometimes September surprises visitors with constant sunshine – it’s a gamble, though.
Visiting in peak winter time means a cold temperature but the city does look pretty magical with a smattering of snow and a festive feel, so if you don't mind the cold weather then it can also be a great option.
Also on New Year's Eve the city gathers in one of the old squares for a singalong and a very cosy, lovely celebration of the new year.
Best Area for Sightseeing: The Old Town & The Canals Explore the city’s canals on a boat tour – it’s the best way to get to know the Old Town. Alternatively, take a horse-drawn taxi to one of the sights and enjoy seeing the city slowly going by.
Shopping in Bruges T’ Zand, Dijver Canal market & Markt Square These are Bruges’ 2 main shopping areas, along with Steenstraat, Geld Montstraat and Jakobstraat. Lace goods and chocolate are your best bests in Bruges – rather leave shopping for other items for a trip to Brussels. For bargain clothing, head for Markt Square on a Saturday or the fleamarket on the Dijver Canal throughout the weekend.
Food & Restaurants in Bruges: Chocolate, waffles, chips and mussels are the highlights of a trip to Belgium, and Bruges is no exception. But the city also boasts some excellent restaurants worth sampling, too. And lest we forget – more than 400 beers are brewed here, too!
Nightlife: The Old Town Forget clubs – in Bruges, it’s all about the beer. And in the Old Town you’ll find plenty of pubs offering every type of brew imaginable. The medieval style De Garre is one of the best, although the beer, also called De Garre, is so strong you’re only allowed to order 3. For a taste of 300 different beers, head for ‘t Brugs Beertje in the heart of Bruges. And that, as they say, is just a taste…
Things to do in Bruges:
- Visit the Frites Museum, the only museum in the world dedicated to chips, Bruges’ favorite food.
- Enjoy canoeing or kayaking along Bruges’ waterways.
- See Michelangelo’s iconic Madonna & Child in the Church of Our Lady.
- Take a boat ride of Bruges’s canals to see the city’s sights from a different perspective.
- Explore the city’s oldest brewery, De Halwe Maan, in the Old Town.
- View the spectacular medieval carved ceilings at Bruges City Hall.
- Observe how lace is made at the Kantcentrum (Lace Center).
- View incredible Flemish, Dutch and Belgian masterpices at the Groeningemuseum.
- Climb to the top of the Belfry of Bruges tower for a panoramic city view.
- Explore the Basilica of the Holy Blood in Burg Square.
Best way to get around: On foot. Put on your walking shoes and stroll through this romantic city’s cobbled streets to really get to know Bruges. Alternatively, rent a bicycle and cycle around the city. If you’re feeling lazy, get in a taxi.
Best Area for Families: The Magdalena Quarter Located south of the city center, this residential neighborhood is quiet and safe, with leafy parks and playgrounds and some popular city attractions including the Church of Our Lady, Groeningemuseum and the Halwe Maan Brewery.
Bruges is an impressively tall place to visit
The moment you arrive you will be struck by the tall buildings, churches and gothic architecture that make travel to Bruges like stepping back in time. There may be modern sights, sounds and things to do on every street in the city but you can still look up and marvel at the centuries-old engineering feats that loom over the city centre.
Most impressively of all is the bell tower of the Belfry of Bruges that has become the iconic symbol of Bruges. Highlighted in the Colin Farrell movie ‘In Bruges’ (hilarious and a must-watch!), the belfry can be climbed by working your way up 366 steps. It is not the easiest of climbs (easier than the climb to the top of St Peter’s Basilica however for sure) but when you reach the top at a whopping 83 metres high you will be glad you made the effort; a birds-eye view of the whole city will be your reward. If you are physically able to do so then you simply must add it to your list of things to do in Bruges.
Float through the historic arterial canals
Once you have worked up a sweat climbing the belfry and seen it from the top you deserve a bit of a rest, and there is a fantastic option to unwind on a canal boat that will show you Bruges from its lowest vantage point on the water. Sharing the canals with majestic swans that glide past, there is a certain serenity to seeing the city from the water. It is also possible to jump off the boat at a different point to where you embarked from so you can use the canal boat almost like a one-off marine taxi ride.
View of beautiful old buildings from a Bruges canal boat
Explore the alcoves and see the less well known side of Bruges
One of the nicest things to do when you visit Bruges is to get your comfy shoes on and join a walking tour. You can of course go it alone and seek out the sight by yourself, but a local guided tour comes with the added bonus of an expert in every nook, cranny and alcove in the city. Want to know about a particular statue? Chances are the guide can fill you in on the story of the person immortalised. Keen to find the best chocolate shops? Your guide will undoubtedly take you to one as part of your tour. Be aware that some tours have agreements with retailers to bring tour groups into certain shops in exchange for a commission or percentage of any purchases the group makes. Regardless though that should not put you off at all and a good guide can be worth their weight in gold in a winding, labyrinthian city such as Bruges. Whichever way you choose to explore, there are great little shops and points of interest to be found.
Eat and drink the night away
Expect to find yourself gorging on delicious meaty dishes washed down with a fine drink of Belgian beer. Leffe Blonde is the Globedge favourite but there are tipples to suit all tastes.
At weekends and on any occasion day, be sure to try to book in advance, especially in the Old Town area but if you would rather just rock up and grab a table on a whim you can still find a suitable place to eat in Bruges, some probably coming with a slight wait at the bar while a table clears. At less peak dining times you can grab your table of choice no problem at all.
The Globedge favourite, Leffe Blonde