Markt and Burg
First-timersThe two central squares with the belfry, the town hall and the Holy Blood chapel. Busiest by day, empty by night.
Bruges city guide
Things To Do In Bruges
A medieval trading city preserved because it went broke, with canals, a belfry and eight million visitors a year. Stay the night and you get it almost to yourself.
11
Hostels in the city
8.9
Average, from 39,897 reviews
366
Steps up the belfry
8m
Visitors a year, most of them day trippers
1
Michelangelo sculpture outside Italy, here
Preserved by five centuries of failure
Bruges was one of the richest cities in Europe in the fourteenth century, trading wool and cloth through a channel to the sea. The channel silted up, the money went to Antwerp, and the city spent 400 years too poor to knock anything down — which is why it looks the way it does.
That preservation is now the entire economy. Eight million people a year come through, most on coaches for the day, and between eleven and four the Markt is close to unwalkable.
The trick is simple: stay over. After the last coach leaves, the canals empty, the lanes go quiet and the city becomes genuinely lovely. Anyone who tells you Bruges is a tourist trap saw it at two in the afternoon.
Two days, or one night done properly.
Where to stay
The whole historic centre is inside an egg-shaped canal ring, and it is small.
Sint-Anna
Quiet and localNorth-east of the centre: windmills on the ramparts, almshouses and residential streets ten minutes from the Markt.
Near the station
ValueSouth of the centre by the Minnewater park, with cheaper beds and a twenty-minute walk in.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 8 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Bruges
Climb the belfry. It is 366 narrow steps to the top of a 83-metre tower over the Markt, tickets are timed and it sells out, so book online the day before. The carillon of 47 bells plays from just below the platform, which is loud and worth timing for.
The Church of Our Lady holds Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, the only sculpture of his to leave Italy in his lifetime, bought by a Bruges merchant in 1504.
The Groeningemuseum has the Flemish Primitives — Van Eyck and Memling — painted here when this was the richest city in northern Europe.
A canal boat is €15 for half an hour and is worth it once. Go at the first or last departure to avoid the queue.
The Begijnhof, a walled courtyard of white almshouses, is free and is the quietest corner of the city.
Free things
Free things to do in Bruges
Walking the city at eight in the morning or after nine at night is free, and it is the best thing here — the same lanes and canals without the crowds.
The Begijnhof courtyard and the Minnewater park beside it cost nothing.
The ramparts walk runs around the old city wall line past four surviving windmills, and takes about an hour.
The Burg square's town hall facade, the Markt's guild houses and the canal views from Rozenhoedkaai — the most photographed spot in Belgium — are all free.
Chocolate shops give samples freely and without much resistance.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Bruges
The Markt restaurants with picture menus and people outside waving you in are the ones to walk past. Two streets away the same moules-frites is €8 cheaper and better.
Flemish stew — beef in dark beer — and waterzooi, a creamy chicken or fish stew, are the local dishes at €18 to €26.
Chocolate is serious here. The good shops make on site and will tell you so; the ones selling identical pralines in identical boxes on the main streets are not those.
De Halve Maan is the last working brewery in the centre, with a tour and a beer at the end, and a two-mile underground pipeline that pumps its beer to the bottling plant outside the city — which is a genuine thing and not a joke.
Nightlife
Going out in Bruges
Modest, and it is not why people come. A handful of good bars around the centre — 't Brugs Beertje with 300 beers is the one beer drinkers make the trip for, and Le Trappiste in a thirteenth-century cellar.
Most places close by one or two, and Bruges is a city that genuinely goes to bed.
A beer is €4 to €6, and the abbey ales here run strong.
For a real night out, Ghent is 25 minutes away by train and has 70,000 students. Plenty of people stay in Bruges and go there for the evening, and the last train back is late enough to make it work.
More on nightlife in Bruges
Getting around
Getting around Bruges
You walk. The historic centre is about two kilometres across and closed to most traffic, and nothing is more than twenty minutes from anything else.
The station is a twenty-minute walk south of the Markt, or a short bus ride at €2.50.
Trains reach Ghent in 25 minutes, Brussels in an hour and Antwerp in an hour and a half. The Weekend Ticket halves national fares on Saturdays and Sundays.
Bikes are the local transport and rental is €10 to €15 a day, which is the best way to do the ramparts and to reach Damme along the canal.
Horse carriages cost €60 for 30 minutes and you can walk the same route in twenty.
Costs
What Bruges costs
Expensive for Belgium, because everything is aimed at eight million visitors. Dorms are €25 to €45, a main €18 to €26 in the centre, and a beer €4 to €6.
A day is €60 to €95.
The savings are straightforward: eat two streets off the Markt, buy chocolate where it is made rather than on the main drag, walk instead of the €60 carriage, and use the free things — the ramparts, the Begijnhof, the early morning.
Museum entry is €12 to €15 each, and a combination ticket covers several if you are doing more than two.
Safety
Staying safe in Bruges
Bruges is very safe, including at night when the centre empties, and serious crime affecting visitors is rare.
Pickpocketing happens in the Markt crowds in the middle of the day, which is the one time the city is packed.
The canals have no railings along much of their length and the cobbles are uneven and slippery in rain. People do fall in, usually after a few of the strong local beers.
Cyclists move fast through the lanes and have right of way in marked areas, and the centre's narrow streets mean you will hear a bell behind you. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Bruges
The coast, a windmill village and two better cities, all within an hour.
Ghent
The same canals with 70,000 students and a fraction of the coaches. Many people prefer it.
Damme
A small town at the end of a tree-lined canal, reached by bike in half an hour. The ride is the point.
Ostend
The North Sea coast: a long beach, a promenade, and the tram that runs the entire Belgian coastline.
Ypres and the Salient
First World War battlefields, cemeteries and the Last Post sounded under the Menin Gate every evening at eight.
What's on
What is on while you are there
One procession dates to 1304 and is UNESCO-listed.
Staff pick
11 October
Athora Bruges Marathon
The Athora Bruges Marathon is a major annual running event in Bruges, Belgium, drawing thousands of runners from both Belgium and abroad. Participants enjoy…
Staff pick
8 November
Accordion Festival
Accordion Festival in Bruges, Belgium, brings together accordion enthusiasts and musicians of all ages for a lively celebration at the Magdalena Hall. The event…
11 October
Abba4U Tribute
Experience the magic of Wembley 1979 with Abba4U in a lively tribute show celebrating ABBA's world tour highlight at Wembley Arena. The performance includes…
11 October
Will Tura
Will Tura, known as the emperor of Flemish song, is celebrated through a tribute by the band El Bandido. The show takes you on…
25 October
Derek Ogilvie
Derek Ogilvie is a Scottish medium and television personality known for his live psychic demonstrations. He’s built a following with his emotional readings and…
10 November
Pink Floyd Experience
A Pink Floyd experience returns to theater venues with an impressive live band, sound, and light show enhanced by new video projections. The Belgian…
21 November
Fair Priced Vintage Day 1
Fair Priced Vintage Day 1 is a large vintage clothing market held in Europe. You can explore a wide range of vintage apparel and…
8 May – 3 Nov
Refik Anadol
Refik Anadol brings a groundbreaking exhibition to BRUSK, showcasing his pioneering digital art created with artificial intelligence. The exhibition transforms the city of Bruges…
Hostels
Where to stay in Bruges
A small scene, and staying over is the single best decision you can make here. Live from Hostelworld.
Hotel Gulden Vlies
See dates and book
Sustainable
Snuffel Hostel
Dorms from €24 a night
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St Christopher's Bruges - The Bauhaus
Dorms from €21 a night
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Sustainable
HI Europa Brugge
Dorms from €31 a night
See dates and book
D28
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Hotel Jose
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Lybeer Travellers' Hostel
Dorms from €20 a night
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Het Wit Beertje
See dates and bookWhen to go
Shoulder months, and always stay over. The city is a different place after the coaches leave.
Jan
Cold, quiet and the cheapest beds of the year
Feb
Still quiet. Good for museums and empty canals
Mar
Improving, and the crowds have not started
Apr
Good. Blossom, and Easter is the first busy weekend
May
Excellent. Warm enough for terraces, manageable crowds
Jun
Long evenings. Day-tripper numbers climbing
Jul
Peak. The Markt is unwalkable in the middle of the day
Aug
The same. Book beds well ahead
Sep
The best month. Warm, and the coaches thin out
Oct
Good value and atmospheric in the mist
Nov
Grey and quiet. Markets open at the end
Dec
Christmas market on the Markt, and an ice rink. Busy weekends
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. The crowd calendar matters more than the weather here — any month is pleasant if you are out before ten or after seven.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Transport is low because you walk everywhere. Museum entries at €12–15 each are the main variable.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Bruges travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Bruges a tourist trap?
Between eleven and four, yes. Eight million people a year come through and most are on coaches for the day. Stay over and walk the same streets at eight in the morning or nine at night and it is one of the loveliest cities in Europe. The difference is that stark.
How long do you need?
One night done properly, or two days. The centre is two kilometres across and you can see the main things in a day — the value is in the hours when the day trippers are not there.
Bruges or Ghent?
Bruges is prettier and busier; Ghent has the same canals, 70,000 students, better nightlife and half the coaches. They are 25 minutes apart, so do both — and consider sleeping in Ghent if nightlife matters to you.
Do I need to book the belfry?
Yes. Tickets are timed and sell out, so book online the day before. It is 366 narrow steps and the carillon of 47 bells plays from just below the top.
Is the canal boat worth it?
€15 for thirty minutes, and yes, once. Take the first or last departure of the day — the queues in the middle of the day are long and the canals are crowded with other boats.
Is Bruges expensive?
The most expensive city in Belgium for visitors. Dorms €25 to €45, mains €18 to €26 in the centre, and a day around €60 to €95. Walking two streets off the Markt cuts food costs by a third.
What is the beer pipeline?
De Halve Maan brewery in the centre pumps its beer through a two-mile underground pipeline to a bottling plant outside the city, because the medieval streets could not take the lorries. It is entirely real.
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