Everything you need to know about Bruges, Belgium before your trip, from currency to language, local festivals, time zones & safety of the water. Plus great ideas about what to see, do and eat while there!
..
@ a glance essentials:
Language:
French
+ Dutch
Most locals can speak English
-
Water safety
Generally Safe to Drink
Currency:
Euro
Local Transport
Metro, Bus, Tram & Trains are sufficient for the cities. Remote areas require a car
.
The first fortifications of the coastal city🔍 (against pirates) were built in the 1st c under Julius Caesars. It later became the capitol of medieval Flanders which is when its now famous canals were built. It is also the home of the world's first Stock Exchange, founded by Napoleonic decree in 1801 (the Bourse, source of the European words for stock exchange even today; börsen, Børs Börse, Börs, børs Borsa valori, bolsa etc.)
a bit of background...
CHECK OUT THE:
....................... De Halve Maan Brewery* built a 2 mile beer pipeline 120+ ft deep (avoiding private land to prevent tapping!) for it's Brugse Zot beer - meaning "fools of Bruges" - a 15c nickname given by Maximilian of Flanders, (once held prisoner in Craenenburg House.) When Bruges later requested a new mental hospital, he said the town was all fools, so they only need lock the city gates.
FUN FACT:
A popular tourist attraction for it's medieval architecture since the 19c, it's profile rose even higher with 2008 dark comedy In Bruges about Irish hitmen forced to hide & sightsee in the beautiful city after a botched job - and it's name recognition & appeal in the UK & USA was greatly boosted by the film.
I'm glad I made the time to visit this amazing city, despite the sporadic heavy rain that had me ducking into random buildings for cover; there are sites here you can't find anywhere else, but it was crowded even on my bad weather off season day. So be prepared.
* De Halve Maan have been brewing in the same location since 1856
Moules-Frites (Mussels & Fries)† with mayonnaise or andalouse ∞ Waterzooi - a Flemish creamy fish stew🔍
Belgian Gaufre (Waffles)†† with fruit & whipped cream or Liège Syrup, a sweet reduction of fruits
Crevettes Grises (Grey [tiny] Shrimp) in croquettes or tomatoes
Belgium is also well known for it's Chocolate rivaling Switzerland's & Beer as good the German's
➿➰➿
† There's a hot debate as to whether the French or the Belgians came up with fries, but when in Brussels....
†† Belgian waffles is a misnomer. There are 2 distinct styles - Brussels; rectangular, light and crispy & Liège; thick, chewy & sweet with sugar in the batter that caramelized when grilled
Must Try Local Cuisine:
SEE
DO TRY
&
VISIT
What to Where to Why . . .
Highlights:
📍 Historic Churches🔍 like Basilica of the Holy Blood 📸 (relic of Jesus’s blood) with a 16c
Gothic chapel & Romanesque cellar, virtually unchanged since the 12c
📍 Dumon Chocolatier for Belgian Chocolate & The Potato Bar for Belgium Frittes
📍 Atmospheric Graveyards🔍 like Centrale Begraafplaats, oldest in Belgium & home to the
moss covered Pirate Piet skull & tomb (really just a wine & textile merchant)
📍 Old Town with it's canals, cobble stones & 80+ bridges like Bonifacius Bridge 📸 &
steam wheeler, Lamme Goedzak, that sails between to Damme
📍 Le Trappiste, a preserved 13c cellar turned bar, & Vault Cafés in basements of
Taverne Curiosa and Bistro 't Zwart Huis
📍 Lumina Domestica lamp museum covering 400,000 years of lamp history & design, with
6,000+ lamps in there collection all the way back to clay 'genie' oil lamps
† St. Salvator's Cathedral, Church of Our Lady, St Anne's, Chapel of Our Lady of the Blind & St Magdalene's church/ coffee bar with a swing are all also worth a visit
Most Known For:
♦️ Grote Markt sq. c. 958 w/ Huis Bouchoute's giant weather vane, Provincial Palace,
13c Belfort Belfry ( 272ft/ 83m) w/ 47 tower bells. played @11am Wed, Sat & Sun
🔸 The Burg city square from 1376 with the vaulted gothic hall city hall (Stadhuis)
♦️ Bruges specific museums like: the Diamond Museum, the Chocolate Museum/ Choco-
Story, the Frietmuseum is the only museum in the world dedicated to the french
(or Belgian) fry, Bruges Beer Experience & Salvador Dali Exhibition
🔸 Smedenpoort Gate & Skull 📸 - A bronzed skull† of beheaded 17c traitor, François
van der Straeten, affixed to the medieval Smedenpoort, or Blacksmith's Gate, c. 1297
♦️ The Devil's Pants stone relief marking a visit of the Devil to a local boarding house††
🔸 Windmills c. 17-19c like Sint-Janshuismolen & museum which still grinds flour
♦️ Minnewater Lake, or “Lake of Love” - said to be named after doomed medieval lovers. If you cross the bridge with
your partner, legend is you’ll experience eternal love
† The skull went missing in the French Revolution, once found it was moved to the Archaeological Museum - a replica now hangs in it's place
†† The devil was discovered due to lack of fly in his pants & a tail hole in back. The inn-keep burned the trousers, so the devil burned down the inn
📽️ NOTABLE FILMS SHOT IN BRUGES:
⭐ In Bruges | 2008
🍿
..................... Spanjaardstraat 17, a former convent, is said to be haunted by a nun in white & a grim monk in black
- 2 skeletons & a dagger were found in the 1890's, in a tunnel connecting the home to a monastery under the canal.
A spiritualist conduct séances and said the nun told him a the monk used the tunnel to beg her to run away
with him, but she refused to break her vows so he stabbed her & himself. She said “I did love him. I couldn’t help it”
and asked for prayers for the soul of the monk.
🌀 Procession of the Holy Blood, from the Basilica of the Holy Blood on Ascension Day, practiced since the 13c
were the Brotherhood of the Holy Blood parades the relic through town in biblical costumes (with
biblical animals) and is said to become liquid again
🌀 Music Festivals like the Classical Bruges Festival of Flanders (October) & Medieval Musica Antiqua Festival
🌀 Flower Carpet Festival (August) - where millions of colorful flowers, 'woven' into themed patterned carpets
cover the city square
🌀 Tromso Bruges Beer Festival (February)
Close Enough to Visit:
🪧 Antwerp, BE - Diamond capitol of the world
🪧 Brussels, BE - home of the EU, La Grand-Place & Atomium
🪧 Ghent, BE - home of Carnaval De Binche
🪧 Mons, BE - home of Doudou, Ritual Ducasse (George & the Dragon Festival)
🪧 Dunkirk & Calais, FR - sites of significant WWII battles
Site Key:
Five Star Recommend
Make the Time!
Worth the Effort/ $
Going to visit
Make a DONATION of $5 or more and receive a FREE Thank You Gift of a FULL CITY TRAVEL GUIDE with even more favorites and the address/ contacts for all recommendations. Just include your EMAIL ADDRESS in the transaction description of your donation along with the word
Bruges
Bruges
UNMOORED DETAILS DESTINATIONS PLAN YOUR TRIP ON A BUDGET TRAVEL BLOG
YOUR HOST- JULIA EUROPE PLANNING, PACKING & PASSPORTS HISTORY & CULTURE
SPECIAL THANKS AFRICA & MID EAST BOOK TRANSPORTATION MYTHS, LORE & LEGENDS
PRIVACY & TERMS OF USE ASIA & OCEANIA SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS FRIENDS & ADVENTURES
CONTACT THE AMERICAS TRAVEL INSURANCE LOCAL FESTIVALS
Notices: Unmoored is not a licensed travel agency. The Site's intended to educate, inform & entertain and is not to be used as a source of official travel itinerary planning, or legal advice. It is merely the experiences and reflections of fellow traveler. - The site may contain affiliated links, (there is never any extra cost to you for using these links) but Unmoored only includes affiliated links for products/ companies that we would willing endorse on the site even without the affiliation.