Brugge die schone

As my first recommendation I will start with a city which has a special place in my heart: Bruges. Bruges is the capital of the province West Flanders in Belgium, it has approximately 120.000 inhabitants. The city is also know by the name of Brugge die schone (Bruges that beauty) or Venice of the North. Bruges thanks these names because of his medieval history and his many canals in the city. Bruges is also a part of the Unesco world heritage. In this post I will present the major cultural attractions, accommodation and transport.

  Venice of the North (I do not own this picture)

Cultural attractions 

Bruges that beauty, but why should you visit it? Well in this post I will try to convince you why you should visit Bruges before you die! The first thing that I will present are the cultural attractions. As I said, Bruges has a medieval history (founded in the 12th century, and has been Europe's richest city for ages) so the amount of historic buildings are (to say it with the famous words of Jimmy McMillan) too damn high!

• Grand Market

The Grand Market is the place to be for all the people who visit Bruges. At the Grand Market you'll find the Belfry. the belfry formerly housed a treasury and the municipal archives, and served as an observation post for spotting fires and other danger. The bells in the tower are used to announce the time, fire alarms, work hours, and a variety of social, political, and religious events. At this day, there are still 47 bells in the Belfry, together weighing around 27.5 tonnes. Also at the Grand Market you will find the Provinciaal Hof (Province Court) is a Neogothical building. It is the former meeting place for the provincial government of West Flanders, used until 1999. 

In the center of the square you'll find the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck. They were both fighters during the Bruges Matins (massacre) which was a revolt against the French ruler. The revolt led to the Battle of the Golden Spurs, which saw the Flemish militia defeat French troops on 11 July 1302.

Note: when you want to go to the top of the Belfry you'll have to pay 8 euros for an adult, 6 euros per person for youths until 25 years and people who are older than 65 years. 

Grand Market of Bruges (I do not own this picture)

• basilica of the holy blood

In this minor basilica you'll be able to find a venerated relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace. 

Note: the basilica is free to visit, the museum and treasure chamber is 2 euros per person. 

Basilica of the holy blood (I do not own this picture)

• Beguinage

Ten Wijngaerde the only preserved beguinage in the of Bruges. There are no more Beguines living there, but since 1927 it functions as a convent for Benedictines. 

Note: when you visit the Beguinage, there is no entrance fee, you only need to be quiet! ;) 

Beguinage of Bruges (I do not own this picture)

• Churches

Since we're in Western Europe, you will find churches. In Bruges there are alot of Churches but the 2 most famous churches are the Our Lady Church and the Saint-Salvator's Cathedral. The Our Lady Church was established in the 9th century (small chapel) and 12th century (main church). In the church you will find the world known sculpture Madonna and child from Michelangelo, the only sculpture that left Italy when Michelangelo was still alive. The Saint-Salvator's Cathedral is the main church of the city and is one of the few buildings in Bruges that have survived the onslaught of the ages without damage. It was established in the 10th century. 

Our Lady Church (I do not own this picture)

• Bruges canals

These are the small canals that float through the city of Bruges and is named after the Reie, the old river that floated through the city. Because of the amount of the canals and small bridges, Bruges is named the Venice of the North. 

The famous Bruges canals (I do not own this picture)

Accommodation

Apart from the historical buildings is Bruges also a city for real Burgundians. In the city you will find alot of pubs and bars where you will be able to try our Belgian specialities such as Beer, Chocolate and French Fries (yes this is a Belgian invention, damn you French people!). 

The city has also alot of eating facilities. You have the fast food chains such as McDonalds, Quick, Subway, Panos but you also have restaurants where you will be able to have an enhanced dinner. And for the people who love to have a culinary sublime dinner, then you have to go to de Karmeliet, it's 1 of the 3 Belgian 3 michelin stars restaurants. 

As for the sleeping facilities, you will have plenty of choices. The city has a huge offer of budget friendly hotels (Ibis hotel) and more luxury hotels (Pand Hotel Small Luxury Hotel). 

And last but not least, for the people who love to go shopping: Bruges is is one of the famous shopping cities in Belgium. You have a huge variaty of clothes, shoes and electronic stores. 

Transportation

Bruges is one of the most famous cities in Belgium so it's easy to get there. For a radius of 80 km you will find 3 airports: Ostend airport, Brussels South aiport (Charleroi) and Brussels national airport. From these airports you're able to go to Bruges by train or by bus and train (when you arrive in Charleroi). Once you're in the city, you don't need to use any public transportation because everything is easily accessible by foot or bike. 

So this was my first post of my travel guide, I hope you enjoyed it and that I have convinced you to visit the beautiful medieval Venice of the North!

Hope to see you soon with another beautiful place to visit! :)
Also you should should take a look at my twitter: https://twitter.com/LRSVGT