Bruges travel guide

"Brugge die Scone," beautiful Bruges, the "Bruggelingen" - the 35,000 inhabitants who live in the historic city center - call their beloved burg. No other city in Flanders has so many well-preserved old buildings. The facades are playfully reflected in the canals, the towers rise majestically out of the skyline. The splendor of the city derives from the importance of its port in the Middle Ages. At that time, Bruges was the hub between the Hanseatic towns of nothern Europe and the cities of southern Europe. Merchants and bankers hired the greatest artists of the time. But silt eventually blocked the access to the North Sea, and the city fell into a deep slumber. Only in the 19th century did the city wake up, thanks to the new port in Zeebrugge. Old and new combine to form a harmonic backdrop. Behind the facades are countless works of art waiting to be discovered -- and, in the evening, cultural and entertainment too.