Visiting Bruges, Belgium

Bruges:

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Like Gante, Bruges is a very important Belgian city, especially in terms of tourism. It is more famous than its sister city (Ghent) which is situated 30 km away. Bruges is a very touristic city. Maybe a bit too touristy for me, thus I prefer Ghent as it is less well-known and there are less people there (at least during the low season, as in peak-season they were equally busy, every swarmed with people and that's that). But this shouldn't stop you from going there. It's definitely a must-do trip, more so than Brussels or other Belgian cities. On the other hand, if you only have a day to see the city and you don't like having lots of people around you, I recommend that you go to Ghent instead (as I said above). It is smaller, but perhaps a bit less pretty as there are less canals (but they do have some), but there are less tourists. It's up to you to decide. It all depends on what you prefer.

To get to Bruges, you can take the train. I would recommend buying a go-pass. It's a card for ten journeys going from the city of your choice to another city of your choice. It only has to include one Belgian city. It costs 50 euros to buy it and it is valid the whole year. If you're from Erasmus, you're definitely going to be using it all year long. But, if worst comes to worse, you can sell it on the university website; as there are always advertisements for people who are selling their ones, as they are not going to use it more and don't want them to expire. The station is situated at the side of the city centre (old town) and I advice you to walk there because you will see beautiful buildings on the journey.

In Bruges, there are so many things to see. You could easily spend two days here, especially if you visit museums. Personally, I'd recommend not following a map but to wander around and let yourself get lost down the little streets. There are surprises all over the city. Let go of your natural instincts and wander through the streets. All roads lead to Rome, as they say. You can't get lost.

What makes it so charming?

Bruges is a city crisscrossed with canals. In fact, the city is situated only 30 minutes away from the coast. This is the first important thing: the canals, the bridges that pass above them, the lights in the evening, the routes that you can take above or below...

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After the canals, come the houses. They are all medieval style houses and reflect the Nordic and Gothic architecture. The roofs are triangular shapes but the stones are not lined up diagonally. The roof goes up upwards in a stair-like pattern, with a jagged edge. The stones are old ones, either white or painted. Most of the houses are small.

Lots of films have been shot in Bruges. I particularly recommend watching the film "Besos de Brujas" it is really great to see the city in detail.

What is there to do here?

The central square, the Market Square (Grote Markt in Dutch), which includes the Belfry of Bruges (a tower which has panoramic views of the city (you can go up to the top via stairs, but you have to pay the entrance fee which is like 5 euros). From the top there is a beautiful view, you can see a bell structure, including the musical instrument the Carillon which contains around about 40 tiny bells. Of course, you need to motivate yourself a bit, because there's a lot of stairs to climb.

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Just next to the Belfry you can find an art gallery in the Bruges City Hall if I'm not mistaken. It is located in Burg Square. So the small square which is attached to the Market Square. I recommend doing the audio tour around the town hall. It is interesting, there are stories about the people in the paintings and the painters themselves. There is a really cool painting of Napoleon. On the floor above, there is also a big room with lots of paintings which are just as pretty as the others. Get your first look at Flemish art. Flemish painters are famous worldwide, and there are also other artists like those who make the pieces of fabric that you put up on the wall (tapestries). Next to the town hall, there is a chapel. In reality, it is the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Which you can enter for free. It is pretty, well decorated with paintings on the wall. Go take a look. To the left of the town hall, there is another small building that you can visit.

Apart from the Basilica, there are lots of cathedrals to go and see in Bruges. I'm not going to make a list of theme because it would be boring.

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You can visit the Sint-Janshospitaal. It is a big building. Nowadays, it is a museum where you can see paintings by Van Eyck, a famous Flemish Painter from the 15th or 16th century. I did this tour using the audio guide and I recommend doing it. But maybe you'll leave a bit frustrated because you won't have time to look at everything listening to the audio tour. Or well, you could have the time but it would take you a day, and so I stayed there for around 3 hours listening to the whole audio guide and yet I only saw a bit of it. It is really big. Some people had fold-able chairs with them to sit down whilst listening to the tour! But well, it was worthwhile seeing, it was cool.

Then I suppose you'll go in front of the Beguinage. They are really small houses all attached to one another. And all white. They are very small. There is a museum inside that you can visit. There is also a room with a small exposition. When I was there, you could see a man's collection (I don't remember his name). It was a collection of cool and original things (old games, old tools... ). There was also a cafe. It's cool to stop by and have something to drink here. The cafe was inside the string of houses. In a kind of garden situated just like a Roman patio.

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If you like windmills, and you've spent a good part of the day looking at everything in the centre, you can go towards the end of the city. Here, there are windmills. Only one thing: be prepared to walk a lot because it takes minimum 20 minutes to get there, and afterwards you have to make your way back.

If you want to see other important museums, I recommend the Geoning Museum (with works by Van Eyck) and the Gruuthouse. But I didn't visit any of these. I only saw the outside.