A Day Trip To Bruges: How To Visit The Venice of The North in One Day

Let's make something clear: a day trip to Bruges is fantastic, but this postcard-perfect town offers so much more that one day is hardly enough.

However, with our itinerary, you will get past the absolute major highlights of Bruges in one day if you don't have more time to spare.

Be it during the chilly autumn months or in the heat of July, Bruges is always worth a visit.

Elegant Flemish and Gothic facades, picturesque canals, cute little shops and restaurants, and some of my favourite beers brewed on-site make Bruges one of my favourite European destinations, together with Barcelona, Copenhagen and Valencia.

It's the perfect getaway when I need a quick break from work or want to show friends around who have never been to Belgium.

Here's a full itinerary for a day trip to Bruges.

Don't have time to read this now?

Pin it for later!

DISCLAIMER: This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we earn a small commission every time you book through one of our links at no additional cost to you. It just helps to keep this blog afloat.

What And Where Is Bruges?

Bruges in a nutshell

For a day trip to Bruges from Brussels without the hassle, check out this well-rated tour with an English-speaking guide that includes transportation to and from Bruges.

For a non-guided but still well-planned tour: continue reading 🙂

Read also | Day Trips From Split, Croatia: Our Top 3

How To Get Around in Bruges

This will be a concise one: by foot.

While it is possible to drive inside the historical centre, the streets are narrow, and everything is one-way.

If arriving by car, the best idea is to leave your vehicle in one of the numerous car parks around the city. They are within walking distance, but it's also straightforward to use public transportation if walking is too difficult.

More details on the car parks, including pictures of what to look for, can be found here.

If you happen to stay overnight, try to find a hotel with parking as we did at Hotel Aragon (which is excellent!) or Hotel Rosenburg (also very good but on the opposite side of the city). That way, you don't have to drag your luggage all over the paved city. 

Bear in mind that if you walk, you will do quite a few kilometres despite the historic centre not being huge compared to other cities.

Here's a map with all the stops you're going to make if you follow our guide for a fantastic day trip in Bruges:

1. - Start Your Day Trip in Bruges' Cultural Heart: The Markt

This should be everyone's starting point for a day trip in Bruges: right in the city's heart, where tourists, expats and locals mingle and where the medieval era is still very much sensible.

It's here that ships came to pick up all the riches to get the trade going, and it is still a central point for friendly gatherings, the weekly market (every Wednesday from 8.00 am to 1.30 pm) and people chilling on a terrace while listening to the carillons chiming in concert every evening.

Look around and take it all in. And pay attention to the different facades you encounter all around the markt: the neogothic Province Court from the 19th century, guild houses from the 17th century, and even one of the oldest residential buildings in Bruges, huis Boechoute from 1482.

2. - Go For a Quick Canal Cruise in Bruges

From the markt, walk down the Wollestraat, admiring the market halls along the way and stopping by the famous 'Beer Wall' until you reach the Dijver canal.

Here you can choose to make a half-hour round trip by boat where you get an ensemble view of the city with explanations. There are five departing points throughout the city, but they essentially all do the same route. The two closest ones in this area are De Meulemeester and Gruuthuse.

A canal cruise in Bruges gives an excellent overview of how these arteries link quarters together and how the people took advantage of the water as a means of transportation. It's also nice to have a different perspective.

Because the tour isn't very long, it is easily manageable, even if you only visit Bruges for one day. However, if you are travelling during the high season and are short on time, I suggest you skip this activity as it's impossible to book a spot beforehand.

For more information on the landing stages and opening hours, see here.

3. - Next Stop: Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk Via Boniface Bridge

Once you are back on land, head southeast towards a beautiful green area called Hof Arents. Don't take Groenige street but use the little path right through the park instead.

That way, you can cross the river (to the right) via the Boniface Bridge for a lovely picture. Get in line, though, as lots of people will have the same idea when it's high season.

While appearing quite old, this little bridge was only built in 1910, but from it, you get a nice view of some peculiar elements, including the smallest gothic window in the city!

It's hard to spot (it took me three visits to Bruges to finally see it), and that's because the Gruuthuse family built it to spy on everyone arriving at their landing stage.

On the other side, the impressive Church of Our Lady awaits. Look at that massive tower (115,5 meters, the second-highest in the world!) and walk towards it underneath a little gallery to get to the main entrance.

Step inside this magnificent building that holds pompous tombs, amongst which that of Mary of Burgundy and her father, Charles The Bold.

There is an extra fee to pay to see Michelangelo's world-famous 'Madonna With Child' (see framed below).

Now, walk down the Mariastraat, cross the Mariabridge until reaching Bruges' shopping street: Katalijnestraat.

4. - A Bit of Shopping: Chocolate And Comics

Belgian fries - let's make that stick

Here are some of our most famous specialities: beer, fries and chocolate.

Regarding the fries, let's make something clear: fries are not French. It's a purely Belgian invention that US soldiers encountered when fighting the Battle of the Bulge in... French-speaking Belgium.

Not knowing that Belgians and French aren't the same people, they called these fried potato sticks 'french fries'. So wrong. So, so wrong.

Chocolate and comics

Chocolate is another subject that ignites our Belgian fire when discussing it with non-Belgians.

Take Sebi, my fantastic partner, for instance. He's Austrian and grew up near the Swiss border. So naturally, to him and his Austrian friends, Swiss chocolate is the best.

But by now, he admitted several times that Belgian chocolate beats the pants off the Swiss one. To be fair towards our Swiss readers: I guess it's all just a matter of personal taste 😉

If you want to try deliciously sweet and bitter delicacies, take your pick at one of the numerous chocolatiers in the Katelijnestraat.

Another particularity of our beautiful little country is a very active comics scene. Belgian comics are an "integral part of our culture" and have gained international recognition over the last century.

I mean, Tintin or The Smurfs do sound familiar, don't they? And even Lucky Luke is a Belgian invention!

Here again, you will find many comic stores in Bruges' shopping street, with a particular mention of De Striep, where passionate owners have been selling new and second-hand comics for over thirty years.

5. - Take a Refreshing Break in The Minnewaterpark

After snooping on chocolate and inside the comics store, head down the Wijngaardstraat until reaching the Minnewaterpark.

This picturesque green oasis used to be a harbour but is now a romantic garden, with ducks paddling around and lush green trees bordering the water.

The Minnewater-bridge offers a picture-perfect view of the so-called 'lake of love' with the Sashuis, a lockhouse from the 16th century, sitting in the back.

Cross the bridge and travel back in the direction you came from, but now on the other side of the lake on the Begijnenvest.

Upon arriving at the Sashuis you saw from the bridge earlier, head north towards de Prinselijk Begijnhof Ten Wijngaarde (look for the signs).

6. - Sit On a Bench At The Prinselijk Begijnhof Ten Wijngaarde

Here's another oasis of calm to enjoy: the Princely Beguinage Ten Wijngaarde, a complex of white-painted row houses dating back to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

However, the beguinage itself was founded in the 13th century already.

A beguinage is a convent for a religious order of women who didn't take formal religious vows but wished to live in prayer and devotion.

What stroke me most was how quiet it was, standing in the middle of the courtyard lined with gorgeous trees, especially in autumn when tourists have gone, and the only sound remaining comes from the falling leaves.

Nowadays, the houses are inhabited by sisters of the Benedictine order and single ladies of Bruges.

7. - Have a Lunch Break in One of The Coolest Breweries in Town: De Halve Maan

Walk out of the Begijnhof through the opposite gate and cross the Begijnhof-bridge until reaching the restaurant Maximiliaan Van Oostenrijk where you head to your left.

Then another left into the Walplein and follow this street until you see a bright golden half-moon on the facade, next to a big doorway.

I give you: De Halve Maan, one of the few active city breweries. Six generations of the same family have been doing their business here.

The most exciting feature? A pipeline (literally!) that leads the freshly brewed beer all the way underneath the Old Town to their bottling plant a few kilometres away.

And their house beer happens to be one of my favourites: the Brugse Zot (though the Straffe Hendrik isn't bad either).

Try to get one of the tables on the patio and enjoy some typically Flemish dishes like stoofvlees (with fries, naturally), a kind of goulash made with beer (of course!).

Even if beer isn't your thing (no judgement here), at least have a tiny sip of the free Brugse Zot they offer at the end of the brewery visit.

Plus: they have an alcohol-free alternative to the house beer that I enjoy too, the Sport Zot.

From De Halve Maan brewery, head up north until reaching the Zonnekemeers that you follow on the left until you cross the river again and turn right.

It's not the most beautiful walk as you traverse a big parking lot, but you get past Lio's Brugge, where you can stop for a drink on their lovely terrace if you like.

If not, continue until reaching our next highlight: The Old St. John's Hospital.

8. - Admire The Work of The Sisters At Sint-Janshospitaal

The Old St. John's Hospital is one the oldest and most significant buildings of the so-called 'Brick Gothic' in Belgium and should therefore be a mandatory stop on every day trip to Bruges.

From the 13th and 14th centuries on, sisters made it their life's mission to attend to sick pilgrims and travellers.

Visit the three hospital halls, some of Europe's oldest, and imagine them lined with hospital beds and nurses moving from one patient to the next.

Later, the complex expanded and a monastery, a convent, and a brewery were added.

Finally, during the 17th century, parts of the building got converted into a pharmacy, which kept its original appearance.

Inside the complex museum, you can find an extensive collection of medical tools, art objects and paintings by Hans Memling - who was a patient here.

Don't skip the impressive attic with the massive wooden beams and the old sleeping hall.

Walk through the park of the Sint-Janshospitaal up north until reaching the Goezeputstraat, where you turn right.

Then take the next left, following the Heilige-Geeststraat until you see another massive church, the St. Salvator's Cathedral.

9. - Visit Bruges' Oldest And Most Important Church: Sint-Salvatorskathedraal

Inside Bruges' oldest church St. Salvator's Cathedral, built somewhere in the 12th century, you will admire exquisite Brussels tapestry, colourful stained glass windows and a treasury chock-full of Flemish artwork from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Though initially not built as a cathedral, the church had to adapt to this new role in the 19th century while competing with the much bigger Church Of Our Lady.

Therefore, the focus was put on the interior by adorning the walls and ceilings with ostentatious elements.

Leave the cathedral on the Sint-Salvatorskoorstraat and follow it until reaching the Oude Burg street that will lead you to the Wollestraat.

Continue to the left until you see a pedestrian alley called Breidelstraat and follow it until reaching the burg.

10. - Another Highlight on Your Day Trip To Bruges: Burg And The Basiliek Van Het Heilig Bloed

Bruges' oldest parts

Pick up a delicious waffle-on-a-stick from Go.fre (Breidelstraat), head to the Burg plain, the oldest part of the city, and take a bit of time to grasp the finesse of Bruges' City Hall in front of you. Its construction started in 1376, but it took 55 years to finish.

It is allowed to get inside to admire the Gothic hall with the impressive ceiling, and it still serves as the main administration building in the city (that's roughly 600 years of activity!).

In case you were wondering why this plain is called burg, it's pretty straightforward: the first Margrave of Flanders, Baldwin I, built his fortress in this spot, from where the rest of the city developed. And 'fortress' translated in Dutch is... burg.

The Basilica Of The Holy Blood

See the small but conspicuous and flamboyant dark Neo-Gothic facade in the corner of the City Hall? That's the Basilica Of The Holy Blood; a church built for the Count of Flanders in the 12th century hosting a unique feature: a tiny phial said to contain a piece of cloth with a few drops of the (weirdly never disappearing) blood of Jesus Christ.

Given that there are probably thousands of these phials worldwide, there must have been a few hundred Jesuses to extract blood from.

In any case, this relic is still revered, and a procession has taken place on and off since the 13th century but every year since 1921 on Ascension Day.

There are actually two chapels inside the church: the blood-relic is in the upper, Gothic-styled chapel of the 16th century. In contrast, the lower chapel, dedicated to St. Basil, shows a remarkable example of the more modest Flemish Romanesque of the 12th century.

The Vanished Sint-Donaatskathedraal

On the opposite side of the City Hall, there once stood the most important church of Bruges, the St. Donatian's Cathedral.

Built in the 11th and 13th centuries and destroyed during the French Revolution in 1799, there is little left to see on site.

However, turn around, and you will spot the (ugly) Crowne Plaza Hotel. Politely ask to see the remains of the old cathedral, and they will lead you down to their cellar: here are some church foundations left and vestiges of Bruges' 1000-year-old city walls.

There are even a few graves left to admire with still-preserved paintings.

Now, cross the Burg plain through a little gallery towards the southeast and continue until you cross the water again.

11. - Stop By The Huidevettersplein And The Vismarkt

You have now arrived at the Huidenvettersplein, a square where the poor people of Bruges bought their freshwater fish while the rich and famous had more money to spend at the Vismarkt for the saltwater-delicacies.

Thanks to numerous restaurants covering the square with chairs and tables during summer, it's easy to miss the stone pole in the middle of the court, where once hung the fish scales.

There was another activity on this particular square, though, huidenvetter being the old Dutch word for 'tanner'. Try to find the stone figure on the corner of one of the houses, gurning in a way that's very representative of that smelly profession.

Right behind the Huidenvettersplein is the covered fish market that has been active since 1821.

If you plan on bringing back fresh fish, you will need more than just one day in Bruges: the fish market takes place every day from Wednesday to Saturday, but only in the mornings.

12. - Finish The Day With a Local Beer & Cheese in De Garre

Now it's time to get back to the Burg plain, cross it again to get to the Breidelstraat (remember, where you bought the waffle-on-a-stick) and find the entrance to De Garre to end the day with a locally brewed beer and some cheese snacks.

The tiny cul-de-sac where this café is located used to be open on both sides to act as a firebreak between the houses with access to the river. But a local baker whose storage cellar opened on this street got so annoyed by drunk people coming here to pee that he first barricaded the end himself and ultimately asked the city to shut it permanently.

Nowadays, people come to De Garre, which means 'cleft' in West-Flemish dialect, to savour the house beer (Tripel De Garre, 11%) or one of the 130 ones inside the quirky little café and enjoy the mix of locals and tourists.

A Day Trip in Bruges: What You Should Remember

The best advice I can give you is to extend your planned day trip and make it a city trip of two or even three days in Bruges.

What you got here is manageable in one day, but if you really want to appreciate the entire atmosphere in this unique European city, you need more time in Bruges.

This would allow you to spend more time getting familiar with the history, savour the food and drinks without having to rush to the next stop, and stroll over the main squares in the crisp evening while admiring the musicianship of the ringer of the carillons in the belfry.

That last one is also an excellent visit, but here again, getting up the 366 stairs alone (for an insane view) requires more than one day in Bruges.

Again: if you can, plan more time.

Bruges is worth it.

Feel free to comment or contact us with any question or remark regarding a day trip to Bruges (or something else) and please pin and share this post to support us.

As ever

xx

Cyn

Don't forget to subscribe to get our latest blogposts, useful travel hacks or just some entertaining stuff!