Bruges Day Trip from Paris

The Markt and the Belfry of Bruges

The Markt has been the heart of Bruges since the 10th century, when the city was one of the richest trading ports in northern Europe. Colourful guild houses with stepped gables line three sides of the square, and on the fourth rises the Belfry, an 83-metre tower that once kept the city's charters and treasury and still rings a carillon of 47 bells.

Climbing the Belfry means 366 narrow steps, rewarded by a view over the rooftops to the coast on a clear day (entry not included). On our Bruges walking tour your guide explains how the cloth trade built this wealth and why the city later fell asleep for centuries, which is exactly what preserved it so well.

The Burg and the Basilica of the Holy Blood

A short walk from the Markt, the Burg square gathers the political and religious power of medieval Bruges. The Gothic City Hall, completed in 1421, is one of the oldest in the Low Countries, its façade decorated with statues of the counts of Flanders. Beside it stands the old civil registry with gilded Renaissance details.

In the corner of the square is the Basilica of the Holy Blood, a Romanesque lower chapel from the 12th century topped by a richly painted upper chapel. The whole square is a small open-air lesson in architecture, and it is one of the places where a guided tour of Bruges adds the most to what you see.

The Canals and the Rozenhoedkaai

Bruges is often called the Venice of the North, and its canals are the best way to understand the city's shape. From April to October the recommended option includes a canal cruise of about half an hour, gliding under low stone bridges, past medieval merchants' houses and the gardens of old almshouses.

The most famous view is the Rozenhoedkaai, where the canal bends in front of brick houses with the Belfry rising behind them, the classic photo of any Bruges day trip. In winter, when the canal boats do not run, the best canal viewpoints are easy to enjoy on foot along the quays during the walking tour.

The Begijnhof, Minnewater and Church of Our Lady

South of the centre lies the Begijnhof, a peaceful enclosure of whitewashed houses around a lawn of tall trees, founded in 1245 for the Beguines, lay religious women. Today a community of Benedictine nuns lives here, and it is one of the quietest places in the city. Just beyond it is the Minnewater, a small lake with swans.

On the way back, the Church of Our Lady has a brick tower of about 115 metres and holds Michelangelo's marble Madonna and Child, one of the few works by the artist to leave Italy in his lifetime. Is Bruges worth visiting in a day from Paris? With these sights in walking distance, it is one of the easiest day trips from Paris abroad.