Holiday in Bruges

About Bruges

Bruges is the best-preserved medieval city jewel in Europe — a city where time seems to have stood still in the 15th century. The entire historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage site and enchants with a labyrinth of canals, Gothic brick facades, cobblestone streets, and quiet courtyards, earning Bruges the nickname Venice of the North. The Grote Markt with its 83-meter-high Belfry (Belfort) is the heart of the city: 366 steps lead to the observation platform with a 360-degree panorama over the rooftops of Bruges and the flat Flemish countryside. The colorful gabled houses of the former guilds line the square, and on the ground floor, brasseries invite you to enjoy Belgian fries and Stoofvlees (beef stew with beer). The canals are Bruges' lifelines: boat trips pass under stone bridges, alongside brick houses with stepped gables and the Beguinage, a quiet convent complex from the 13th century, where Benedictine nuns still live today. The Minnewater Park with its Lake of Love is the most romantic spot in the city. Bruges is Belgium's chocolate capital: over 50 chocolatiers work in the old town, including masters like Dominique Persoone (The Chocolate Line), who combines chocolate with wasabi, bacon powder, or Colombian pepper. The Choco-Story Museum tells 4,000 years of cocoa history from the Maya to the Belgian praline. The Groeningemuseum houses masterpieces of the Flemish Primitives — Jan van Eyck's Madonna of Canon van der Paele (1436) and Hans Memling's Altarpiece of St. John are among the most significant paintings in European art history. These works were created in Bruges itself when the city was one of the richest trading cities in the world in the 15th century.