Bruges, Belgium Tourism and Vacations 2015 - Bruges, Belgium Trips 2015 - Bruges, Belgium Travel Guide Travel Videos HD, World Travel Guide http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=World1Tube Bruges is a town in Flanders, the northern part of Belgium. Relatively cosmopolitan and bourgeois given its compact size, it is one of the best preserved pre-motorised cities in Europe and offers the kind of charms rarely available elsewhere. Bruges is a postcard perfect stop on any tour of Europe. See in Bruges, Belgium ===================== 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. In recent years, the city has turned so much towards tourism the locals sometimes complain they are living in Disney-land. The newly cleaned houses should however not confuse you; they are truly centuries old. And if you can get away from the chocolate-shops, you can visit some more quiet areas s.a. St. Anna, and imagine what life in the late middle ages must have been like. The Bruges Card provides discounts to most of the major attractions (as well as to performances at the Concertgebouw, and can be picked up at any of the hostels around town. It is available for either 2 or 3 consecutive days. The reduced rate cannot be used in conjunction with a student rate (both student and Bruges card rates are identical) and hence is most useful for older travellers. It is also possible to buy a combined ticket to see all Musea Brugge museums, which is good value if you intend to visit more than 2. highlights in Bruges, Belgium ================== Groeninge Museum, Dijver 12, B-8000, . 7 days 9:30AM-5PM. Known as 'The city museum of Fine Arts', it houses a collection of artworks that span several centuries (14th-20th), focusing mainly on works by painters who lived and worked in Bruges. €8 / €6 (audioguide and ticket Arents House and Forum+ included in the entrance). Basilica of the Holy Blood (Heilige Bloed Basiliek), Burg 10, [9]. Apr-Sep 9:30AM-11:50AM & 2PM-5:50PM, Oct-Mar 10AM-11:50AM & 2PM-3:50PM. A beautiful church on the Burg square. It houses a relic - a vial of blood that is said to be that of Jesus - and was built in the Gothic style. Try and get there early so you can view the chapel when it is quiet and not filled with tourists. And don't forget to visit the chapel underneath, in heavy Romanesque style - a contrast to the lovely light Gothic above. Free. Brewery De Halve Maan, Walplein 26, ☎ +31 50 332-697, [10]. Apr-Oct M-Sa 11:00-16:00, Su 11:00-17:00. This brewery annex beer museum offers a tour of the beer making process. A history of the brewery is provided, as well as an overview of the city from its tower. The tour lasts for 45 minutes and is a good way to get a feel for Belgian beer making. The tours start at the exact turn of the hour, be at least fifteen minutes early as there is a maximum amount of people that can join. The entrance price includes one drink of Brugse Zot or Straffe Hendrik and is served after the tour at the outside terrace or indoor bar. €7.00 including 1 beer. Onze Lieve Vrouwkerk, Mariastraat. A fascinating church with architecture from the Romanesque and Gothic periods. In the east end of the church are very fine tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy - in contrasting Gothic and Renaissance styles, despite their superficial similarity. The church also houses one of the few Michelangelo sculptures outside of Italy, the "Madonna with child". Currently 2 euro to see the Michelangelo. Jerusalem church, In a quiet area of the city, a highly unusual church with octagonal tower built by the Adornes brothers, merchants of Italian extraction. It includes a fine black tournai marble tomb, late Gothic stained glass, and a tiny and rather spooky chapel containing an effigy of the dead Christ. The entrance fee also covers the Lace Museum in the former Adornes mansion, where you can see local women and girls learning this traditional craft. The Begijnhof. Also known as the convent, between the centre of the city and the station, with white painted small houses and fine plane trees, is a quiet place to walk - groups are discouraged. edit The Hospital of St John, [12]. 09:30 - 17:00, Closed Mondays. Sint-Janshospitaal contains a museum of six paintings by Hans Memling, within the early medieval hospital buildings. €6 with Bruges card / €8. Choco-Story Museum, Wijnzakstraat 2 (Sint-Jansplein), ☎ 050/61.22.37, [13]. 10AM-5PM. This museum, on several floors of a period house, describes chocolate's transition from cocoa into chocolate. It is run by the Belgian chocolate manufacturer Belcolade. Stay for the chocolate making exhibition to get some excellent samples. €6 with Bruges card / €7.

• published: 25 Dec 2014
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