Bruges is a beautiful and well-preserved city of about 120,000 in the northwest of Belgium. There were settlements in the area during the Bronze and Iron Ages, and a fort was built on the site in the 9th century. Its proximity to the coast made the city an important and prosperous centre of trade. The modern North Sea port of Zeebrugge is a few kilometres to the north of Bruges.
Bruges’ medieval city centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city has attracted tourists since the 1800s and now hosts around 8 million visitors per year. We visited Bruges on a day-trip from nearby Ghent, in August 2019.
Markt. The central square in Bruges is surrounded by many prominent buildings, including the Provincial Court, the Post building, and the Belfort. The series of step-gabled buildings in this photo are fronted with canopied restaurant patios.
“Fucking Bruges!” On the south side of the Markt square soars the Belfort, or bell tower. If you have watched the 2008 dark comedy-drama In Bruges with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (and if you haven’t, you really should), this is THAT tower. Tourists can climb the 366 steps to the top of the 83-metre tower; entrance fee applies.
Venice of the North. Fleets of tour boats navigate Bruges’ network of canals, providing tourists with a relaxing way to see much of the historic city centre. Unlike the bridge in this photo, some of the bridges over the canals are low enough that tourists need to duck their heads when their boat passes beneath them. (Bruges, or Brugge is Old Dutch for bridge.)
Christ’s blood. Jammed between the 14th-century city hall and a chocolate shop is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Originally a private chapel for the Duke of Flanders, the 12th-century chapel holds a vial containing a cloth said to be soaked with the blood of Jesus Christ. The bloody cloth was preserved by Joseph of Arimathea, and brought from Jerusalem to Bruges during the Second Crusade of 1147-49.
Madonna of Bruges. Our Lady of Bruges Roman Catholic church was constructed in stages from the 13th to 15th centuries. The church houses a famous marble sculpture of the Madonna and Child. That sculpture by Michelangelo was completed in 1506 and is the only one of his sculptures to leave Italy during Michelangelo’s lifetime. This photo is of the church’s nave (the sculpture is in a chapel in the southern aisle.)
The Golden Carp. A bowl of hearty fish soup at the Gouden Karpel. The restaurant and its attached fresh-fish market are on Vismarkt (fish market) square. Our decision to eat lunch early proved to be a wise one—by the time we left the restaurant, there was a line-up of would-be diners waiting for a table.
Travel note: The Bruges train station provides frequent rail service to and from Brussels, Ghent, Ostend, and Lille (France.) Local buses run between the train station and the centre of Bruges; it is only 20 minutes by foot. Brussels Airport is the nearest major international airport, and is about an hour away by train. Bruges is a major tourist magnet— arrive early in the day if making a day trip to the city, and book well in advance if staying overnight.