Insight Guides Explore Bruges (Travel Guide eBook)
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Insight Guides Explore Bruges
Travel made easy. Ask local experts.
Focused travel guide featuring the very best routes and itineraries.
Discover the best of Bruges with this unique travel guide, packed full of insider information and stunning images. From making sure you don't miss out on must-see, top attractions like De Halve Maan, Flanders Fields Museum and Astrid Park to discovering cultural gems, including seeing the work of the Flemish Primitives, cruising along the canal network or taking a tour in one of Bruges' iconic fiacres, the easy-to-follow, ready-made walking routes will save you time, and help you plan and enhance your visit to Bruges.
Features of this travel guide to Bruges:
- 15 walks and tours: detailed itineraries feature all the best places to visit, including where to eat and drink along the way
- Local highlights: discover the area's top attractions and unique sights, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Historical and cultural insights: immerse yourself in Bruges's rich history and culture, and learn all about its people, art and traditions
- Insider recommendations: discover the best hotels, restaurants and nightlife using our comprehensive listings
- Practical full-colour map: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy
- Key tips and essential information: packed full of important travel information, from transport and tipping to etiquette and hours of operation
- Covers: City highlights; The Three Towers; Around the Burg; Markt to the Museums; Memling to the Beguinage; Sint-Anna; Fish market to Astrid Park; Merchants' Quarter; Langerei and St Giles; Princes' Court and Donkey Gate; Around 't Zand; Damme; Ostend; Ypres; Ghent
Looking for a comprehensive guide to Belgium? Check out Insight Guides Belgium for a detailed and entertaining look at all the country has to offer.
About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.
Insight Guides
Insight Guides wherever possible uses local experts who provide insider know-how and share their love and knowledge of the destination.
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Book preview
Insight Guides Explore Bruges (Travel Guide eBook) - Insight Guides
How To Use This E-Book
This Explore Guide has been produced by the editors of Insight Guides, whose books have set the standard for visual travel guides since 1970. With top-quality photography and authoritative recommendations, these guidebooks bring you the very best routes and itineraries in the world’s most exciting destinations.
Best Routes
The routes in this book provide something to suit all budgets, tastes and trip lengths. As well as covering the destination’s many classic attractions, the itineraries track lesser-known sights, and there are also excursions for those who want to extend their visit outside the city. The routes embrace a range of interests, so whether you are an art fan, a gourmet, a history buff or have kids to entertain, you will find an option to suit.
We recommend reading the whole of a route before setting out. This should help you to familiarise yourself with it and enable you to plan where to stop for refreshments – options are shown in the ‘Food and Drink’ box at the end of each tour.
Introduction
The routes are set in context by this introductory section, giving an overview of the destination to set the scene, plus background information on food and drink, shopping and more, while a succinct history timeline highlights the key events over the centuries.
Directory
Also supporting the routes is a Directory chapter, with a clearly organised A–Z of practical information, our pick of where to stay while you are there and select restaurant listings; these eateries complement the more low-key cafés and restaurants that feature within the routes and are intended to offer a wider choice for evening dining. Also included here are some nightlife listings, plus a handy language guide and our recommendations for books and films about the destination.
Getting around the e-book
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights mentioned in the text are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map] just tap this to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of the destination. Simply double-tap on an image to see it full-screen.
© 2020 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd
Table of Contents
Recommended Routes For...
Art enthusiasts
Escaping the crowds
Children
Food and drink
Green spaces
Historians
Rainy days
Romantic Bruges
Explore Bruges
Geography
History
Golden Age
Decline
Modern era
Climate
Politics and economics
Flemish autonomy
Devolution
People
Food and drink
Local cuisine
Where to eat
Restaurants
Brasseries
Bars and cafés
Tearooms
Drinks
Beer
Genever
Mineral water
Tea and coffee
Shopping
Shopping areas
Beer
Chocolate
Lace
Books, music and art
Fashion and design
Entertainment
Music
Classical
Carillon
Contemporary, rock and jazz
Theatre and dance
Film
Nightlife
History: Key Dates
Early period to the Middle Ages
Burgundian rule to the Enlightenment
Modern era
Post-war, Europe and Federalisation
City Highlights
Markt
Burg
Jan van Eyckplein
Groenerei
Tanners’ Square
Dijver
Mariastraat
Walplein
Beguinage
St Saviour’s Cathedral
’t Zand
The Three Towers
Belfry
The climb
St Saviour’s Cathedral
Interior
Treasury Museum
Church of Our Lady
Church museum
Around the Burg
City Hall
Basilica of the Holy Blood
Story of the relic
Basilica Museum
Liberty of Bruges Palace
Renaissance Hall
St Donatian’s
Refreshment options
Chocolate museum
St Walburga’s Church
Inside the church
On to St Anne’s
Markt to the Museums
Markt
Market Halls
Provincial House
Guildhouses and mansions
Military Chapel
Dijver
Groeninge Museum
Flemish Primitives
Renaissance
17th and 18th centuries
19th century
20th century
Arentshuis
Gruuthuse
Memling to the Beguinage
Archaeology Museum
Hospital Museum – Memling in St John’s
Walplein
Beguinage
Beguinage enclosure
Beguine’s House Museum
Beguinage Church
Minnewater
Powder Tower
Minnewater Park
De Vos Almshouse
Diamond Museum
More almshouses
Sint-Anna
Sint-Anna
Jerusalem Church
Lace Centre
Museum of Folklore
English Convent
St Sebastian Archers’ Guild
St John’s House Mill
Holy Cross Gate
Guido Gezelle Museum
Café Vlissinghe
Fish Market to Astrid Park
Fish Market
Rosary Quay
Tanners’ Square
Groenerei
Along the Coupure
Bistro option
Conzett Bridge
Ghent Gate
Astrid Park
Merchants’ Quarter
City Theatre
Merchants’ houses
Fries Museum
Ter Beurze House
Venetian and Florentine Houses
Jan van Eyckplein
Old Customs House
Spiegelrei and Spinolarei
De Rode Steen House
Spanish Quay
Augustinians’ Bridge
Phantom House
Bladelin Court
Langerei and St Giles
Potterierei
Episcopal Seminary
Our Lady of the Pottery
Dampoort
Koelewei Mill
Langerei
St Giles
St Giles Church
Gouden-Handrei
Princes’ Court and Donkey Gate
Muntplein
Princes’ Court
Court history
Minstrels’ Chapel
Hof Sebrechts Park
Pastor Van Haecke Garden
Ezelstraat
Carmelite Church
St James’s Church
Around ‘t Zand
’t Zand
Sculpture fountain
Concert Hall
Our Lady of the Blind
Blacksmith’s Gate
Nieuw Waterhuis
Boeveriestraat
Damme
Town Hall
Tijl Uilenspiegel Museum
Herring Market
St John’s Hospital
Church of Our Lady
Old ramparts
Ostend
Museum Ship Amandine
Visserskaai
Fish Market
Around Langestraat
Museum of Local History
James Ensor House
Casino Kursaal
Albert I-Promenade
Royal Ostend
Museum by the Sea
Leopoldpark
Wapenplein
Church of SS Peter and Paul
Marina
Ypres
Grote Markt
Cloth Hall
In Flanders Fields Museum
St Martin’s Cathedral
St George’s Church
Menin Gate
Ramparts
Ramparts Cemetery
City Museum
Ypres Salient
Sanctuary Wood and Hill 62
Passchendaele Museum
Tyne Cot
German Soldiers’ Cemetery
Ghent
St Nicholas Church
Belfry
Cloth Hall
St Bavo’s Cathedral
Mystic Lamb
Vrijdagmarkt
Jacob van Artevelde Statue
Guildhouses
Socialist headquarters
Patershol District
Folklore Museum
Castle of the Counts
Design Museum
Korenlei and Graslei
St Michael’s Church
Accommodation
Bed and breakfast
Centre
South
West
North
East
Bruges outskirts
Ghent
De Haan
Ostend
Restaurants
Centre
South
West
North
East
Damme
Ostend
Ypres
Ghent
Nightlife
Music, theatre and dance
Film
Nightlife
Festivals (in date order)
A-Z
A
Admission charges
Age restrictions
B
Budgeting
C
Children
Climate and clothing
Crime and safety
Customs
E
Electricity
Embassies and consulates
Emergencies
Etiquette
G
Green issues
Carbon-offsetting
H
Health
Healthcare and insurance
Pharmacies and hospitals
Telemedicine
Hours and holidays
I
Internet facilities
L
Language
Left luggage
LGBTQ
Lost property
M
Maps
Media
Print media
Radio
Television
English-language publications
Money
Currency
Credit cards
Cash machines
Tipping
Taxes
P
Post
Public holidays
R
Religion
S
Smoking
Student travellers
T
Telephones
Mobile (cell) phones
Time zones
Toilets
Tourist information
Tours and guides
Bike tours
Canal rides
Horse-drawn carriages
Bruges–Damme by paddle-steamer
Battlefield tours
Transport
Airports and arrival
By sea
By rail
By road
Public transport
Travellers with disabilities
V
Visas and passports
W
Women
Language
Useful phrases
General
On arrival
Sightseeing
Emergencies
Dining out
Shopping
Days of the week
Numbers
Online
Social media
Menu reader
Appetizers
Fish
Meat and poultry
Vegetables
Fruit
Cheese
Dessert
Books and Film
Books
Early writers and dramatists
Pre-20th century
20th century and beyond
Film
Recommended Routes For...
Art enthusiasts
Admire Flemish Primitives, Bosch and the Symbolists at the Groeninge (route 4), see Hans Memling’s work in St John’s Hospital (route 5), and marvel at van Eyck’s altarpiece in Ghent (route 15).
Gregory Wrona/Aps Publications
Escaping the crowds
Follow the lapping waters of the Langerei to the charming museum of Our Lady of the Pottery church (route 9), wander the district west of ’t Zand (route 11) or cycle up the canal to peaceful Damme (route 12).
Gregory Wrona/Apa Publications
Children
Wander along canals past fishermen and houseboats on the way to the Astrid Park (route 7), visit the adorable Museum of Folklore (route 6) or take to the beach at Ostend (route 13).
Glyn Genin/Apa Publications
Food and drink
Chocoholics will get a tasty treat at Choco-Story (route 3), while beer-lovers should sample the only beer still brewed in Bruges at the Half Moon Brewery (route 5). For seafood, nothing beats Ostend (route 13).
Glyn Genin/Apa Publications
Green spaces
Discover a real secret garden, the Hof Sebrechts Park (route 10), enjoy a picnic in the shade at tranquil Astrid Park (route 7) or explore a village surrounded by green fields and polder in Damme (route 12).
iStock
Historians
Stalk the haunts of medieval merchants (route 8), inspect the crusader’s trophy that inspires religious devotion at the Basilica of the Holy Blood (route 3) or revisit the tragedy of World War I around Ypres (route 14).
iStock
Rainy days
Situated side by side, the Groeninge and Arentshuis museums are ideal for an indoor day (route 4), or travel to Ypres, for the excellent In Flanders Fields and Sanctuary Wood museums (route 14).
Bruges Tourism
Romantic Bruges
Watch swans glide over the mirror-like Minnewater, the ‘Lake of Love’ (route 5), or set out early to enjoy uninterrupted views from the Rozenhoedkaai and along leafy Groenerei (route 7).
Bruges Tourism
Explore Bruges
Medieval Bruges is one of Europe’s most romantic destinations. Canals meander around gabled almshouses, Gothic churches, world-class art galleries and boutique hotels, all packaged in a central district less than 2km (1.25 miles) across.
Bruges – Brugge to its residents – is a provincial town that hit the big time with its cloth trade in the Middle Ages, riding high for 400 years before sinking into oblivion, cut off from the world. Centuries on, 19th-century heritage enthusiasts chanced upon the time-capsule city and shook it from its Sleeping Beauty slumber, restoring it to a splendour that celebrates the Gothic and Baroque, Renaissance and modern.
The city may live off its past but it is not content to reside there. A startlingly modern music venue, incessant property renovation, chic new restaurants and a lively programme of contemporary dance, experimental music and film disprove accusations that it is little more than a museum piece. Yes, tourism dominates the city, but it is fantastically easy to escape the crowds.
The canals are just as atmospheric at night
iStock
Geography
This city of around 117,000 people, 20,000 of whom live in the city centre, is located 11km (7 miles) from the North Sea coast and is the capital of West Flanders, a province that contains the entire 67km (42 miles) of Belgium’s coastline and is bordered by France, the Netherlands and the provinces of Hainaut (in French-speaking Wallonia) and East Flanders.
With the reclaimed polders of the maritime plain to the north and west, and sandy pastoral land to the east and south, the municipality of Bruges includes three distinct areas: the historic centre (a Unesco World Heritage Site), contained by a 7km (4-mile) -long ring canal along the line of the former city walls; the suburbs, named after historic parishes situated outside the walls: Sint-Michiels, Sint-Andries, Sint-Jozef and so on; and a tongue of land stretching north to the sea, including the village of Lissewege and the port of Zeebrugge.
As long as you are within the centre, and there is little reason to venture outside, the only sensible means of getting around is on foot or by bike.
History
The city grew up from a Gallo-Roman settlement, Bruggia, first mentioned in AD 851. It rose to prominence as a cloth town and trading hub, its weavers renowned for their skill in transforming English wool into the finest tapestries and garments in Europe.
Fortunes waxed and waned with time and tides. Fierce coastal storms opened and closed the city’s access to the sea starting in the 11th century, when silting prevented ships from sailing directly into the centre. A flood in 1134 created a new sea route from the Zwin inlet to Damme, 7km (4 miles) to the north-east. Bruges made Damme its outer port, and dug canals to ferry goods to and from the city on small barges.
The Procession of the Holy Blood occurs every year on Ascension day
Bruges Tourism
Golden Age
From 1200–1400, the city was an important member of the Hanseatic League, a network of trading cities across Europe. Foreign merchants built grand consulates and settled here, trading metals, fur and wine for locally produced cloth. The city saw the birth of the world’s first stock exchange, and became a cultish place of pilgrimage, inspired by a supposed relic of Christ’s blood brought back from the Crusades (and still presented for veneration in a basilica built for the purpose). The Gothic City Hall and many churches and mansions survive from this period.
Wealth and religious devotion promoted a flourishing artistic community: painters Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling made Bruges their home, catering to the court of the dukes of Burgundy, successors to the counts of Flanders and great patrons of the arts. Their rule was renowned as a period of refinement and festivities: banquets, tournaments and processions helped local craftsmen diversify into illuminated manuscripts, lace and other luxury items.
Also noteworthy, the first printed book in English was produced in Bruges in 1473 by William Caxton for Margaret, duchess of Burgundy and sister of English kings Edward IV and Richard III.
Decline
Protracted conflicts between the royal houses of England and France eventually took their toll on a city ruled by the French yet dependent on English wool. The silting up of the sea-channel compounded disputes between the citizens and their rulers. By the early 16th century, Bruges was effectively cut off from the world. Courtiers and merchants abandoned the town, while religious wars and persecution forced many skilled craftsmen to flee.
Disaster then has brought riches today, as centuries of decline left many historic monuments untouched. By the mid-18th century, the much-dwindled population survived by making lace, a cottage industry that was eventually decimated by industrialisation.
Bruges rooftops and stepped gables
iStock
Modern era
Belgian independence and the arrival of the railway brought early tourists travelling from Ostend to Brussels – many of them English people en route to the Waterloo battlefield – who came across this time-warped city. A heritage movement was launched, Gothic buildings and historic monuments were repaired, and the tourist industry took off.
Climate
Bruges has the warm summers and mild