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Brugge Travel Guide, Belgium

Brugge Travel Guide – The Little Cultural Jewel

Brugge is the capital city of the province of West Flanders, Belgium, and it has a northwestern position in the country. Alongside with nearby Amsterdam, it is often called the “Venice of the North”, due to its large number of canals. It has a relatively small population (117.000), out of which about 20.000 inhabit the old historic centre. The historic centre in Brugge has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000, which makes it an important historical and cultural destination.

Brugge is also famous for its coastal area at Zeebrugge (Sea Brugge) and its port gave it considerable economical importance. The city’s cultural life is also sustained by the College of Europe, a private elite university that has its headquarters and main buildings in the historical area of Brugge. It was established in 1949 and it gives the highest level of certifications in European Studies for 400 post-graduates each year.

Brugge Travel Guide – Specificities of Transportation

Brugge has one of the best networks of transportation, as it is very easily linked to the rest of Belgium and Europe. Six motorways surround the city and the railway station provides hourly transportation to all cities in Belgium as well as to Lille in France. The town policy is to offer free public transportation for everyone who parks their cars in the railway station car park and bus connectivity is great, linking the centre to all the suburbs. Efforts are being made to restrict car traffic in the historical centre as much as possible, although cyclists and pedestrians are usually given priority. This is something you’ll get used to when in Bruges, the city has thousands of cyclists and an eco-friendly attitude. The port of Brugge is the most modern in Belgium and it handles over 42 million tons of cargo each year.

Brugge Travel Guide – Interesting Facts

The biggest sport event in Belgium, which is held in Brugge, is the Ronde van Vlaanderen cycle race, and the city also has a 30.000 seat stadium for its first division football teams, Club Brugge K. V. and Cercle Brugge K. S. V. Brugge has a reputation for its lace industry and breweries, being an important spot on the Belgium beer map.

Brugge Blond, Brugge Tripel or Brugse Zot are just a few of the beers which have been named after Brugge. Curiously, the city has been the setting to many international fictional novels or movies, out of which the best known is In Bruges, a brilliant and weird film from director Martin McDonagh which is entirely set in Brugge. This film will surely make you want to visit Brugge, so if you’re not already convinced you should definitely see it.

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