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Bruges

Belgium

Bruges

Provided byJan Darthet/Visit Bruges
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BrugesGuide was updated:
Places that stir all your senses and that pluck your heartstrings are extremely rare. These are the places that touch you deeply, yet whose secrets you can’t unlock completely. Bruges happens to be such a unique place. Cultural and artistic, cosmopolitan, unashamedly Burgundian, mysteriously medieval, and a Unesco World Heritage site to boot. Strolling along the narrow alleys, picturesque canals and verdant ramparts you cannot help but fall hopelessly in love with its elegant mysteriousness.
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Facts
Population:Inner city — 19,881 [2020] Greater Bruges — 118,610 [2020]
Currency:Euro €
Emergency Numbers:112 — This free number is used in all member states of the European Union to contact the emergency services: police, fire brigade or medical assistance. The number operates 24/7. Police General telephone number: +32 50 44 88 44 Emergency police assistance: 101
Newspapers:De Standaard De Morgen
Website:www.visitbruges.be »
Opening Hours:Cafés and restaurants have no (fixed) opening hours. Sometimes they will remain open until the early hours of the morning and other days they will close earlier: it all depends on the number of customers.
Tourist Information:Tourist Offices Markt (Historium) Open daily 10am–5pm Today van 10:00 tot 17:00 't Zand (Concertgebouw) Open Mon–Sat 10am–1pm / 2pm–5pm Stationsplein (Station) Open daily 10am–5pm

Do & See

Some places are so special, so breathtaking or so unique that you simply have to see them. Bruges is filled to the brim with wonderful witnesses of a prosperous past, whether they be peaceful and picturesque, spiritual or, on the contrary, extremely entertaining.
Groeninge Museum

Groeninge Museum

The Groeninge Museum provides a varied overview of the history of Belgian visual art, with the top-class paintings by the world-renowned Flemish Primitives as the highlight. In this museum you can see, amongst other masterpieces, Madonna with Canon Joris Van der Paele by Jan van Eyck and the Moreel Triptych by Hans Memling. It is one of the most beautiful collections in the world, containing many landmark works from the history of European art. You can also marvel at gems from Renaissance and Baroque masters, Bruges neo-classical canvasses from the 18th and 19th centuries and masterpieces by the Flemish expressionists.

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Gruuthuse Museum

Gruuthuse Museum

After its thorough renovation, the palace of the lords of Gruuthuse now leads you through three crucial periods in Bruges’ history: the Burgundian heyday, the lesser-known 17th and 18th centuries, and the historical ‘reinvention’ of the city in the 19th century. These periods are brought to life through a varied collection of objects, each one telling its own story. Don’t miss out on the authentic medieval prayer chapel, which overlooks the choir of the Church of Our Lady.

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Belfry

Belfry

The most striking tower in Bruges dates back to the 13th century. It is 83 metres high and is protected as a world heritage site. Anyone who climbs all 366 steps will be rewarded with a stunning view over the city and its surroundings. On your way up, you can pause at the treasury, which held the city’s charters, seals and coffers during the Middle Ages. A few steps further on you will see the impressive music drum that operates the carillon and the keyboard used by the city carillonneur to play the tower’s 47 carillon bells. Bruges’ Belfry has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1999.

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City Hall

City Hall

The monumental City Hall (1376-1421) is one of the oldest in the Low Countries. It is from here that the city has been governed for more than 600 years. An absolute masterpiece is the Gothic Hall, with its impressive vault and 20th century murals depicting the history of Bruges. The adjacent historic hall sheds further light on the governance of Bruges over the centuries, using original documents and paintings. On the ground floor, you are brought face to face with life-size portraits of the city’s rulers and can also learn more about the evolution of the Burg.

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