Bruges #2: Architecture

I’m hoping the title of my second post on Bruges doesn’t sound too boring! The architecture of this city is really important to mention, as it was so medieval and preserved in a way that is rare to find in most of Europe.

Walking around Bruges, you can’t help but notice how similar all of the buildings look:

The horses and carts complete the feel. We didn’t opt for one of these, but you can take a tour by horse and cart of the city. One of the Museums even has it’s own ‘bus’ service!

We did take a boat tour of the canals though, which cost around 8 Euros for each of us. I’d really recommend this, as it was a great way to see more of the town:

Watch out for the insanely low bridges though!

Also added to this tour was a hilarious tour guide, who did the tour in both Dutch and English. He proceeded to tell us how one of his favourite hotels he had stayed in four times with his wife, “and I also have four daughters”….. thanks for that, captain!

We got some little nuggets of Flemish history, including this house where the colour was achieved by mixing Ox blood into the paint (urgh!):

 

Nice bald head...

For a while the city council also imposed a ‘window tax’, where residents paid tax according to the number of windows on their houses. As a result, lots of people boarded up windows, and you can see them on lots of the buildings:

Finally on the boat tour, we passed our hotel!

(We tried not to look smug, as it is beautiful. It’s also where Colin Farrell jumps out of the window in the film In Bruges)

When you’re not on the water, Bruges is full of streets that lead to open squares:

My favourite was this one, which had a very old two-story church (more on that later!)

Unfortunately, as with any European city, there are lots of day trips milling around. But unlike Venice, the town squares mean it is easy to get past them all, and it doesn’t bottleneck. No aggression necessary!

The architecture in Bruges was the main reason the city has so much charm. It makes you feel like you truly have walked into the past.

So why not take a trip?! 

x