hotel in Bruges

Museums in Bruges

• 1) Groeningemuseum,### 2) The Bruggemuseum(general name for 11 different museums in the city): Gruuthusemuseum, Church of Our Lady, Archaeological Museum, Gentpoort, Belfry, City Hall, Liberty of Bruges, Museum of Folklore, Guido Gezelle Museum, Koelewei Mill, Sint-Janshuis Mill. ### 3)Hospitalmuseums: Old St John’s Hospital, Our Lady of the Potteries. ### 4) Non-Municipal museums: Beguine´s House, Brewery Museum, Hof Bladelin, Basilica of the Holy Blood, Choco-Story, Lumina Domestica, Diamond Museum, English Convent, Frietmuseum, Lace Centre, St. George’s Archers Guild, St. Sebastian’s Archers’ Guild, Public Observatory Beisbroek, Ter Doest Abbey (in Lissewege) 

Exhibitions / Art galeries Bruges

• Arents House, Forum, Museum-Gallery Xpo, Bogardenkapel, De Bond, Jan Garemijnzaal 

Cultural activities in Bruges

• 1) Theatres: Aquariustheater, Biekorf, Concertgebouw ("Concert Building"), De Dijk, De Werf, Het Entrepot, Joseph Ryelandtzaal, Magdalenazaal, Sirkeltheater, Stadsschouwburg, Studio Hall, Zwart Huis.### 2) Festivals: Aristidefeesten, BAB-bierfestival (beer festival), Brugse Kantdagen ("Bruges´ Lace Days"), Chapter 2 (juggling convention), Choco-Laté (chocolate festival), Cinema Novo (film festival), Cirque Plus (circus festival), European Youth Film Festival of Flanders, Ice Magic (snow and ice sculpture festival), Jonge Snaken Festival, Midwinterfeest, NAFT (theatre festival), Razor Reel Fantastic Film Festival, Reiefeest (festival on the canals), Uitgepakt! (gay culture festival) 

Historic monuments in Bruges

• Basilica of the Holy Blood: A beautiful church on the Burg square, built in the Gothic style; which houses a relic; a vial of blood that is said to be that of Jesus  
• Saint-Salvator Cathedral: Originally built as a parish church, it was given cathedral status in the 18th century and has been constantly updated throughout its 700 year history  
• Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk: A fascinating church with architecture from the Romanesque and Gothic periods and in the east end of the church are very fine tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy 

Shopping in Bruges

• IMPORTANT : Most European tourists come for the weekend, so shops are open Tuesday through Sunday, but many shops and museums are closed on Mondays.Chocolate shops are plentiful and the standard is always high, so too are the boutique-style beer shops. Plenty of arts and crafts too, with some excellent local artists. The lacework is risky: if everything sold was produced locally, the entire town would be working in the lace industry! There is a school for lace though, where you can still get "the real thing". 

Day trip

• 1) Damme is a small village near Brugge: Some of the riverboats go there on a half-day cruise. It´s a very scenic trip, the landscapes are picturesque, and the village of Damme even more so. One can also go there by bike (special route) and by local bus. It takes about 15 minutes by bus and an hour by boat.
• 2) Leper is an important site of Great War battles, cemeteries, monuments and traditions such as the Last Post (every evening): Very popular among old veterans and young boys interested in wars.
• 3) About one hour by train, and a very scenic ride: Oostende is the monumental beach resort which king Leopold II (1865-1909) built before his attention turned to destroying inner-city Brussels to build his new capital. The quintessential cosmopolitan 19th century beach resort, full of endearing villas that have been classified as official monuments. About 20 minutes by train.
• 4) Close by, about 10 minutes by tram towards Raversijde, you can find the Atlantic Wall[39], two kilometers of trenches and galleries dating from both World Wars

Group activities

• 1) Belfry Climb: Grote Markt (the big square): 09:30 - 17:00, Closed Mondays. Climb the 366 steps to the top of the 83-metre high tower. Excellent views of the city, Grote Markt and hear the bells ring up close. €6 with Bruges card / €8.
• 2) Tour boats: It´s essential to take a ride on one of the tour boats around the canals - the multilingual guides provide a potted history of the city in just a few minutes - at only a few Euros, it´s the best introduction to Bruges: A boat tour will show you places which are otherwise unreachable, as not every canal runs next to a street. €6.5.
• 3) Horse drawn carts: Grote Markt: Carriages can be hired for a romantic 30 minute trip around the old city of Bruge. Carts can carry up to 5 passengers €34.