To facilitate visiting the city, two excursions are indicated, both of which start from and return to the Grand'Place.
In Belgium, the churches are generally closed from noon to 2 p.m. The chapels, in which the works of art are kept, can be visited at specified hours, for a small fee. The same applies to the Hôtel-de-Ville.
Before starting to visit Bruges, obtain particulars from the Bureau Officiel de Renseignements, Grand'Place, underneath the Belfry (3 minutes from the station).
FIRST EXCURSION.
The Grand'Place.
The Grand'Place or Grand Marché is in the centre of the city. The "Halles" occupy the south side, and the Hôtel du Gouvernement Provincial and General Post Office the western side. On the northern side is a row of remarkable gabled houses (photo below), while to the east, at the corner of the Rue St. Amand, stands the Hôtel Bouchoute which, in 1839, was surmounted with a metal ball indicating the meridian line. In the centre is a monument by the sculptor Paul de Vigne, erected in 1887 to the memory of the famous communists Breydel and de Coninck.
Bruges. Ancient houses in the Grand'Place.
General View of Bruges, seen from the top of the Belfry.