Unknown Bruges Walking Tour: A Journey to the Heart of the Medieval Metropole

Get off of the well-trodden tourist trail and venture into the heart of medieval Bruges, to see a side of the city that few visitors experience. On this walking tour, you’ll wander down picturesque streets and back in time with the help of an old city map from 1562. Along the route, you’ll find out what Bruges was like in its glory days as a medieval metropole. I’ll also show you one of the city’s most authentic neighbourhoods, the Sint Anna Quarter, and I’ll share what the area – and its high unemployment rate in the 1800s – has to do with Bruges La Morte. By the end of the tour, you’ll have felt the true soul of Bruges and it’ll change your view of this unique city.

You’ll see a couple of main sites like Market Square where the tour starts, but this Bruges tour is all about the lesser known landmarks. I’ll show you the remnants of the 12th century wall’s tower and ramparts. You’ll venture over 700-year-old bridges and into little alleys, forgotten squares, monuments now overgrown with time and secret inner gardens. I’ll point out Café Vlissinghe, the oldest continuously operating bar in Bruges and some of my favourite museums like the Museum of Folk Life. The tour ends at the old Bonne Chière windmill where you’ll be rewarded with a spectacular view over the medieval metropole.

Along the way, you’ll hear the answers to questions like:

• In which little corner of Bruges was the stock exchange invented?
• What was medieval sanitation like, and what is the origin of sayings like ”shitfaced”?
• Which houses have ghosts and what makes people believe that these ghost stories might be true?
• Why does Bruges have to keep swans in its canals for a period of forever and 3 days?
• When and why was St Gilis canal renamed the Golden Hand Canal?
• Where exactly do the witches of Bruges gather?
• What was it like to live in a medieval wooden house and work in the old harbour?
• Why did Bruges have an Italian Quarter, Spanish Quarter, Easterling Quarter and an English and Scottish Quarter?

This 90-minute tour suits first time travelers, Bruges locals, folks interested in history, and even quickly bored kids.

I’m a traveler and I started Legends Tours with a friend after years of taking tours and realising that I only remember the quirky, interesting facts along the way. Legends Tours brings history to life through entertaining stories, so after this tour exploring the other side of Bruges, you’ll be sure to have plenty of fun facts to share with others. And if you want to explore the touristy “golden triangle” then our first tour, The Magic of Bruges, has you covered.