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This is a guest post from one of our readers.
Bruges is one of the most visited medieval cities in the world. Beautiful, historic and famed for its chocolate, if you’re thinking of taking a break away in the Flemish capital, here are some useful facts to know before you go…
1. With more castles per square inch than any other country, about 50 of the 470 castles in the Flanders region are based around Bruges.
2. Also known as the Venice of the North, Bruges gets its name from the multiple canals that surround the city centre with more than 80 bridges, making it easy to explore on foot or by bicycle as well as on one of the boat tours.
3. In the middle ages, the wealth of waterways made Bruges the world’s ‘chief commercial city’ and was considered to be the wealthiest city in Europe.
4. Even though Bruges boasts more than 50 chocolate shops, mostly in the main square, not all of them stock their own sweets. To get your local fix, be sure to look out for a ‘handmade’ sign in the chocolatier’s windows.
5. Bruges values the importance of education, and is home to several colleges and two major internationally acclaimed universities. In fact, it’s against the law to leave school before the age of 18 throughout Belgium.
6. Like the country, the city is known for its liberal values and it’s mandatory for every citizen to vote. Not only has it recognised the institution of same-sex marriage since 2003, but it’s also legal to possess up to five grams of cannabis.
7. Belgian’s superhighway system, which stretches out to Bruges, is the only man-made structure on Earth that you can see from the moon. It’s thanks to the large lamp posts lining the network that it’s visible at night from that far away.
8. Wally de Backer, better known as the pop star Gotye, is originally from Bruges. Before the half-Australian, half Belgium singer was belting out hits across the globe, he spent two years of his life in the city – suppose you could say it’s ‘somewhere he used to know’.
9. The city’s not just known for its beer and chocolate, and is also famous for its lace and makes some of the most luxurious in the world. It’s able to produce such large quantities of fabric for the lace due to the vast amounts of Flax flowers that are grown in the Flanders region.
10. Bruges is the most popular destination for tourists to visit in Belgium. This is surprising as it is the country’s sixth largest metropolitan area.
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8 comments
Thank you for sharing these useful facts about Bruges. I think I have to visit this place this year. It’s just amazing.
I have often been comtemplating between bruges and brussells but most of the images always sells me on bruges!
I’ve been interested about medieval times since I don’t know exactly when. I think Bruges is the perfect place for me to witness the beautiful and historic castles/ buildings. After that, I might grab a piece of that chocolate.
I’m heading for a weekend in October, can’t wait to visit, it was one of hubby’s favourite city and I can’t wait to discover why.
Now, I did already know fact number 2 as I visited Bruges on a school trip when I was 10 years old – but hey, that’s still 9 new things that I learned today! Thanks for sharing – and a good tip about the chocolate 😉
I absolutely love Bruges! It is such a beautiful place and the chocolate is amazing.
Oh wow some interesting facts here. My only association to Bruges was that film….”In Bruges”. Even though the film was about assassination, I was thinking the entire time what a great place Bruges looks like. I’m planning a big Europe trip after summer, so it may be a location I have to include. Thanks (I’ve book marked the page for future referance under “GO TO LOCATIONS”) 🙂
Great article about Bruges, but two of them are very wrong. I was born and grew up in Brussels and can assure you I know. It is not illegal to leave school before the age of 18, you can leave secondary school from the age of 16, it is just highly frowned upon.
Cannabis is illegal in Belgium and there is zero tolerance for possession. It used to be tolerated, first up to 3 grams, then down to 1 gram, now treated an offense.
The fact that Belgian motorway is seen from the moon has nothing to do with the town itself, and it’s not a supersystem. The roads are plagued with potholes, various damages, plenty roadworks and mean drivers, unfortunately.
Otherwise yes, Bruges is a beautiful place to visit and has many delightful and typically Belgian perks to remember!
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