Brugge, Belgium (*cruise tour) Nearby:
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Bruges (Dutch: Brugge) is a picturesque city in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. Once Europe's richest city, now both cosmopolitan and bourgeois in its compact size, it is one of the best-preserved pre-motorized cities in Europe and offers the kind of charms rarely available other than in Europe.
The area of the whole city amounts to more than 13,840 hectares, including 1,075 hectares off the coast, at Zeebrugge. The historic city center is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval and about 430 hectares in size. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 616 km2 (238 sq mi).
Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Stockholm, it is sometimes referred to as The Venice of the North. Bruges had a significant... Read more
Bruges (Dutch: Brugge) is a picturesque city in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. Once Europe's richest city, now both cosmopolitan and bourgeois in its compact size, it is one of the best-preserved pre-motorized cities in Europe and offers the kind of charms rarely available other than in Europe.
The area of the whole city amounts to more than 13,840 hectares, including 1,075 hectares off the coast, at Zeebrugge. The historic city center is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval and about 430 hectares in size. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 616 km2 (238 sq mi).
Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Stockholm, it is sometimes referred to as The Venice of the North. Bruges had a significant economic importance thanks to its port and was once one of the world's chief commercial cities. Bruges is well known as the seat of the College of Europe, an elite university institute for European studies regarded as "the EU's very own Oxbridge.
The historical center is not so big and thus quite walkable (be sure to wear comfortable shoes). The only mode of public transport inside the city is the bus. They are operated by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn. They frequent nearly all major points of interest plus the train station. Taxis in the marketplace and station are available. Bicycles are easy to rent and make getting around the city very speedy, although the cobblestoned paths can make rides a little bumpy and uncomfortable.
Cycling in Bruges is the perfect way to discover the historical center. Bruges citizens make fanatical use of their bikes. Up to 60% of all incoming traffic in the city center are cyclists. Bruges can be described as a city where cycling is familiarized and where the local government puts a lot of effort to improve cycling in this city. According to Bruges Major cycling is the main point of attention in all parts of the infrastructure, city plans, permits, etc. In 2012 Bruges received a nomination for ¨Belgium cycle city of the year¨. Also, for 15 years Bruges has been the starting point for the Tour of Flanders.
When you’re planning to visit Bruges, you can easily hop on a bike and start to discover the city. There are various bike rental companies spread over the city, and some of them also offer the opportunity to do a guided bike tour. A local guide will take you across Bruges highlights within a few hours. Two good bike tour companies are Baja Bikes and Quasimundo.
Bruges has been known as a "dead city" for many years. The sanding of the harbor and the difficulties to dig canals in the sand caused heavy economical burdens on the city between the Middle Ages and the 20th century. The population managed to survive but did not grow as there was no new industrial activity during that period. As a result, once over the encircling canal and inside the city walls, Bruges closes in around you with street after street of charming historic houses and a canal always nearby. The newly cleaned houses and the small canals should however not confuse you; they are truly centuries old. And if you can get away from the chocolate-shops, you can visit some more quiet areas such as St. Anna, and imagine what life in the late Middle Ages must have been like. UNESCO has listed the historic center of Bruges as a world heritage site.
The Brugge City Card provides free admission to most of the major attractions and can be picked up at any of the hostels around town. The reduced rate cannot be used in conjunction with a student rate (both student and city card rates are identical) and hence is most useful for older travelers.
Several Youth Hostels (Bauhaus), and probably the train station and tourist information offer a useful map with some very interesting, 'non-tourist' places to see during the day and some unique places to visit at night. It provides a good way of getting an authentic feel for the town while avoiding the tourist hotspots and allows you to find some hidden gems.
Some highlights:
Bruges is visited by a huge number of tourists, and it sometimes becomes quite annoying, especially around the Markt and Burg squares. The important thing to remember, however, is that very few tourists venture far away from the main shopping area, so if you want some peace, you should simply explore the many small cobbled streets away from the main squares.
Restaurants are not always cheap or wonderful, although mussels and frites or fricadellen, frites with mayonnaise are outstanding here. Stay away from the central market place ("Grote Markt") and Burg Square when eating. Tourists are easy victims here. One tactic used by tourist traps is to present items (e.g., bread) as if they were free with your meal, then charge you exorbitantly for them.
You will, however, find great food if you wander off the beaten track. Find a street with more locals than tourists and ask somebody. The locals will be glad to help.
Chocolate shops are plentiful, and the standard is always high. A fairly cheap option is Stef's on Breidelstraat (between Markt and Burg). If you are willing to spend a little more, Chocolatier Van Oost on Wollestraat is a must for high-quality artisanal chocolate. Next to that is Het Chocoladehuisje where they sell chocolate breasts (large and small, used to be patented). Word on the street is that you can get anything covered in chocolate and molded. There is a particular vast amount of chocolate shops at the Kathelijnestraat. Another good option is The Chocolate Line. For the true gourmet, inform if the chocolate is artisan (hand-made) or industrial. This also explains differences in price.
For those who do not wish to buy chocolate in the chocolate shops, the local supermarkets also sell a good variety of mass-produced chocolate at fairly low prices. For the frugal, you can buy 100-200g gourmet bars of chocolate. Good brands to buy are Côte-d'Or and Jacques; both are Belgian. If you don't want anything more than a sampling of the most famous Belgian beers, supermarkets (not night shops!) are probably your best choice. They even have gift packs with glasses. There are also many boutique-style beer shops that sell high-quality gift packs of Belgian beer.
There are plenty of arts and crafts shops too, with some excellent local artists. The lacework is risky: if everything sold was produced locally, the entire town would be working in the lace industry! There is a school for lace though, where you can still get "the real thing."
Most European tourists come for the weekend, so shops are open Tuesday through Sunday, but many shops and museums are closed on Mondays. Be sure to plan.
LOCAL TIME
8:48 pm
January 21, 2021
Europe/Brussels
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LOCAL CURRENCY
EUR
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We are walking around Bruges and taking pictures of everything. I do not know why there are so many holes. You can get to Burg Square through this arch. This is a building of The Old Civil Registry. This is the Town Hall located nearby. We came to the square called Grote... |
We arrived in the city of
Bruges
to this bridge. On the right, you can see our guide with a closed white umbrella.
There is such a wonderful lawn near the bridge. Acacia is blossoming!
We went all together to
the city of Bruges
.
We crossed the bridge to the other... |
Do you remember the movie 'In Bruges"? Today we'll climb a local bell tower, where the movie was filmed, pass through quiet streets and visit countless chocolate shops. Then, we'll dine on the Atlantic coast...
The drive was a little less than three hours. We parked near the square with a... |