If you’re about to travel to Belgium and want to know which are the most beautiful cities to visit, you can’t miss the enchanting city of Bruges. This lovely little town in northern Europe has kept much of its medieval look, with its typical brick houses with stepped gables and its Gothic bell towers.
If you want to plan a romantic surprise, know that Bruges has earned the title of the most romantic city in Flanders, and its culinary specialities are not to be underestimated either.
Below I recommend a few things to do and see in Bruges, based on my own experience.
Eager to discover them in more detail?
Let’s go!
1 – The Markt
You can think of the Markt as the old commercial centre of Bruges in medieval times. Today it’s one of the city’s most important squares and one of its top tourist spots. Here stand the typical stepped-gable houses of Bruges: once the seats of the guilds, like on the Grand Place in Brussels, today they house pretty restaurants and cafés where I recommend stopping for a quick break.
But what to see?
From here you can admire the civic tower of Bruges, which in the Middle Ages guarded the city’s treasury and markets. The Belfry (that’s the name of the massive tower) is 83 metres tall, dates to the 13th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as part of the belfries of Belgium and France).
To climb to the top there are 366 steps up a steep, narrow staircase. I went up, and the view of Bruges from above is truly striking. Inside the Belfry there’s also an old carillon with 47 bells.
From the top of the tower you can also see the Provinciaal Hof, the former provincial palace in neo-Gothic style that dominates the square.
2 – The Burg, the ancient heart of Bruges
Staying on the theme of squares, a visit to the Burg is a must: this is where the city’s fortified castle once stood, built by the counts of Flanders to protect the population from Viking raids, on what in Roman times was already an important hub.
Nothing remains of the castle, but today you can admire the Town Hall and the beautiful Heilig-Bloedbasiliek, the Basilica of the Holy Blood, built as a private chapel by the counts of Flanders in the 12th century. The upper basilica, restored in the 19th century, holds the deeply venerated relic of the Holy Blood of Christ, brought, tradition says, from the Holy Land in the time of the Crusades. I also recommend the lower chapel, far plainer but more authentic.
The Town Hall of Bruges (Stadhuis) is 14th-century and one of the oldest in the historic Low Countries. Inside, the Gothic Hall is worth it, with its wooden vault and late-19th-century murals depicting the most important events in the history of Bruges.
3 – Michelangelo’s Madonna
It seems incredible, but in the lovely church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) you’ll find a stunning Madonna and Child by Michelangelo.
But what is a masterpiece by Michelangelo doing in northern Europe?
Simple: the work, in Carrara marble, was bought around 1504 by the Mouscron family of merchants, who did business in Florence, for their chapel in Bruges. It is the only sculpture by Michelangelo that left Italy during the artist’s lifetime. And it has had an adventurous history: it was stolen twice, by French revolutionaries in 1794 and by the Nazis in 1944 (who wanted it for Hitler), before being recovered by the Monuments Men in 1945, a story told in the film of the same name. Today it’s in the right side aisle, protected by bulletproof glass.
You also can’t miss the massive brick tower, 115.5 metres tall, the second-tallest brick tower in the world. Built in Gothic style between the 13th and 15th centuries, it’s a testament to the extraordinary skill of the Flemish craftsmen.
Another monument worth mentioning is the Cathedral of St Saviour (Sint-Salvator), the oldest parish church in Bruges, much reworked over the centuries.
4 – St John’s Hospital
When I was weighing up what to see in Bruges, I wasn’t sure whether to visit St John’s Hospital (Sint-Janshospitaal). As soon as I stepped in, I was delighted I’d put it on my list.
It’s a building from the mid-12th century, one of the oldest hospital buildings in Europe, which sheltered and cared for the sick, pilgrims and the poor for centuries (it stayed in service until 1977!). The complex and its wooden interiors will amaze you with their simple beauty. There’s also a section on old surgical instruments that gave me a little chill… who knows what future generations will make of our “modern” scalpels.
But above all, St John’s Hospital holds important masterpieces: it houses the museum dedicated to Hans Memling, the great 15th-century Flemish painter, who made some of his most significant works right here. Among them, my favourite is the Shrine of St Ursula (1489), a refined wooden reliquary with six panels telling the story of the young martyr: a true jewel of the Flemish Primitives.
5 – The museums of Bruges
Still looking for what to see in Bruges?
I recommend its museums! There are many, for every taste.
The Groeningemuseum is devoted above all to Flemish art and holds genuine masterpieces by the Primitives, such as the Madonna with Canon van der Paele by Jan van Eyck. The Gruuthusemuseum is dedicated to period furnishings and applied arts. At the Diamond Museum you can discover how the stones are cut (Bruges was one of the cradles of the diamond trade), and there’s even a curious Fries Museum (the Frietmuseum), a tribute to one of Belgium’s national glories.
When to visit Bruges
Bruges is a real jewel of northern Europe, but it has the drawback of having become a “too” touristy destination.
Because of its small size, in summer you often can’t walk the streets for the crowds, and photographing the canals and finest views becomes almost impossible. It’s still worth it, but it’s better to choose a quieter time, in spring or autumn. Winter makes it gloomier and more melancholy, with its leaden sky and cold: recommended only for those who want to see it in its true northern light.
How to get to Bruges
If you want to reach Bruges by train, the city is superbly connected to Brussels, about an hour away. I bought an all-day integrated ticket and took the chance to see the beautiful city of Ghent too (which I warmly recommend).
The station is just outside the historic centre, but a few minutes on foot are enough to find yourself among its cobbled lanes and canals. The city is an open-air museum: perhaps that’s why Bruges is considered the Venice of the North.
If you like small medieval towns preserved whole, the Catalan equivalent of Bruges is Girona: Carolingian walls, an intact Jewish quarter and the widest Gothic nave in the world.
And you, which corner of Bruges would you put at the top of the list?
