Bruges Guided Walking Tour with Chocolate Stop and Optional Boat Ride

The Lake of Love and the Begijnhof

The walk begins in the quiet south of the old town at the Minnewater, known as the Lake of Love, once the inner harbour where barges from Ghent unloaded their cargo. Today swans glide past the lock house and the willow-lined banks, and local legend says that couples who cross the bridge together will stay in love.

A few steps away lies the Begijnhof, founded in the 13th century for the beguines, lay women who lived a religious life without taking vows. Its whitewashed houses circle a lawn of tall trees that fills with daffodils in spring, and a small religious community still lives in the enclosure, so visitors are asked to keep their voices low. Your guide spends about 25 minutes here and at the lake.

Walplein, Stoofstraat and the Church of Our Lady

From the Begijnhof the route crosses Walplein, a lively square of cafés and brick facades, and slips into Stoofstraat, often described as the narrowest street in Bruges. The guide explains how the city grew rich on the cloth trade in the Middle Ages, when merchants from across Europe came to trade here.

Next comes the Church of Our Lady, whose brick tower of about 115 metres is one of the tallest brick towers in the world. Inside is a celebrated white marble Madonna and Child by a great Italian Renaissance sculptor, one of the few of his works to leave Italy in his lifetime. Beside it stands Gruuthuse Palace, the late-medieval residence of a wealthy noble family that is now a museum of applied arts.

Rozenhoedkaai, Huidenvettersplein and the chocolate stop

Rozenhoedkaai, the Quay of the Rosary, is the spot that appears on almost every photograph of Bruges: the Dijver and the canal meet at a bend framed by medieval houses, with the Belfry rising behind. It is also where the canal boats leave, so if you have chosen a boat option you will return here after the walk.

Nearby, Huidenvettersplein, the old Tanners' Square, is a small square of crooked gabled houses that once belonged to the leather guild. Along this stretch the guide takes you into a local chocolate shop to learn what makes Belgian chocolate special, from pralines to hand-made chocolate tablets, and to taste a small sample. Many travellers ask where to buy chocolate in Bruges, and this stop is the perfect introduction.

Burg Square and the Basilica of the Holy Blood

Burg Square was the site of the counts of Flanders' fortress and remains the city's administrative heart. Its Gothic City Hall, completed in the late 14th century, is one of the oldest in the Low Countries, with a facade lined with statues and a richly painted Gothic hall inside.

In the corner of the square stands the Basilica of the Holy Blood, a Romanesque lower chapel with an ornate Gothic-revival upper chapel that holds a revered relic brought to Bruges in the Middle Ages. Every spring the Procession of the Holy Blood fills the streets of the old town. Your guide gives you about 15 minutes here to take in the architecture and the stories behind it.

The Markt and the Belfry of Bruges

The walking tour ends at the Markt, the great market square surrounded by colourful stepped-gable guild houses and the neo-Gothic Provincial Court. Above it rises the Belfry, an 83-metre medieval tower that once held the city's charters and treasury; its carillon of 47 bells still rings over the rooftops.

Climbing the 366 steps of the Belfry is a separate visit that is not part of this tour, but after the walk you are free to explore on your own. Is Bruges worth visiting in a day? With this walking tour you see the essential sights in about two hours, which leaves time for lunch on the square, a Belfry climb or a visit to a museum.

Canal boat ride through Bruges

With the boat options, after the walk you board an open boat at Rozenhoedkaai for a 30-minute ride on the canals, the network of waterways that earned Bruges the nickname of Venice of the North. You glide beneath low medieval bridges, past the back gardens of merchant houses, the Gruuthuse walls and the willows of the Begijnhof.

The Bruges canal boat tour is one of the most loved things to do in the city and gives a completely different view of the places you have just walked through. Boats leave every 30 minutes until the last departure at 5:00 PM, so you board at your own pace after the guided walk. Boats may pause in strong frost or high water.