Flemish Region · Belgium
Where to stay in Bruges
Bruges is a city in Flemish Region, Belgium, home to about 119,000 people. This guide covers 1 hotel in Bruges, with about 112 rooms between them.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 1
- Best months
- June, July and September
- Nearest airport
- OST24 km · Ostend-Bruges International Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Brussels
- Language
- Dutch, French, German
About
About Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in Belgium.
In the 2nd century AD there was a Gallo-Roman settlement, but the city got its foundations in the 9th century when the Vikings landed. The name Brugge indeed likely comes from the Old Norse "bryggja", translating to harbor or jetty, and was first mentioned between 850 and 875. During the following centuries there were strong connections to the north, and Bruges became one of the trading points of the Hanseatic League. Interestingly, the historical Hanseatic harbour of Bergen is also known as Bryggen.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Bruges
See
Bruges was known as a "dead city" for centuries. The sanding of the harbour and the difficulties of digging canals in the sand caused heavy economic burdens on the city between the Middle Ages and the 20th century. The population managed to survive but did not grow as there was no new industrial activity during that period. As a result, once over the encircling canal and inside the city walls, Bruges closes in around you with street after street of charming historic houses and a canal always nearby. The newly cleaned houses and the small canals should however not confuse you; they are truly centuries old.
- Grote Markt
- Groeninge Museum
- Basilica of the Holy Blood (Heilige Bloed Basiliek)
- Brewery De Halve Maan
- 2-be Beer Wall and Bar
- Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk
- Simbolik - Open Studio and Expo of Nathalie Beelprez
- Jerusalem church
- The Beguinage (Begijnhof)
- The Hospital of St John
- Choco-Story Museum
- Diamond Museum
Do
- Grote Markt and Belfry Climb
- Canal Tour
- Horse drawn carts
- Ambassadors Tours Bruges
- Bruges Ballooning
- Cycle
- Running
- Jan Breydel stadium
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Bruges
1 place to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Hotel Brugge-Oostkamp hotel | 112 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
Where to stay
Which part of Bruges to stay in
During the summer Bruges is a very popular tourist destination; reservations are probably preferable. During the winter (Nov-Mar) a number of hotels offer a midweek promotion: 3 nights for the price of 2, if you arrive on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
More hotels in Bruges
18 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel De Tuilerieën | 0.3 km | |
| Crowne Plaza Brugge | 1991 | 0.2 km |
| Herberg Heidelberg | 1763 | 7.9 km |
| Hôtel Ibis | 17.2 km | |
| Hôtel Windsor | 16.9 km | |
| Memlinc Palace Hôtel | 17.0 km | |
| Oud Stadhuis | 15.5 km | |
| Strand Hotel | 17.2 km | |
| Adornes Hotel | 0.6 km | |
| Gasthof Groenhove | 1.7 km | |
| Guestroom Aquarius | 1.3 km | |
| Het Wit Beertje | 1.3 km | |
| Hostel 28 | 0.5 km | |
| Hotel Gulden Vlies | 0.9 km | |
| Hotel Jose | 13.6 km | |
| Hotel Malleberg | 0.3 km | |
| Hotel T Putje | 0.6 km | |
| Inn Brugas B&B | 1.2 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Bruges
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Bruges are June, July and September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; October is the wettest, with about 86 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Bruges: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST), about 24 km from the city centre in a straight line; Lille Airport (LIL, 72 km) and Antwerp International Airport (Deurne) (ANR, 86 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Bruges shares its airport with Ostend (OST). The Ostend-Bruges International Airport has a long runway and a seaside location providing for a picturesque approach, but its passenger traffic is pretty much limited to seasonal flights to holiday destinations. It is also a major hub for cargo airlines, so planespotters may find it of interest. More viable as a point of entry is the Brussels National Airport (BRU), Belgium's largest, as well as Charleroi (CRL Brussels South) and Lille (LIL), so getting to Bruges by train is by far the easiest way.
Getting around
The historical centre is not so big and thus quite walkable (be sure to wear comfortable shoes). The only mode of public transport inside the city is bus. They are operated by the Flemish public transport company De Lijn. They frequent nearly all major points of interest plus the train station.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
OST · Ostend-Bruges International Airport
LIL · Lille Airport
ANR · Antwerp International Airport (Deurne)
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Bruges
Eat
If you are looking for a great place to eat in Bruges, avoid all of the restaurants in the central market square ("Grote Markt"). No matter how pleasant the view from there may look, they will offer you low-quality, overpriced food, served to you by waiters who are as rude and as slow as they are underpaid. One tactic used by such tourist trap restaurants at the central market is to present items (e.g. bread) as if they were free with your meal, then charge you for them.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Bruges: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Bruges?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Bruges are June, July and September. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 23 °C; October is the wettest, with about 86 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Bruges?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST), about 24 km from the city centre in a straight line; Lille Airport (LIL, 72 km) and Antwerp International Airport (Deurne) (ANR, 86 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Bruges?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Bruges
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.