The first thing that comes to mind for most people when they think of Bruges, Belgium, are serene winding canals abutted by quaint stone houses. The city’s famous canals give it the nickname The Venice of the North.
The thing that was most surprising to me about our trip to Bruges this July was how relatively inaccessible the canals are. There are few places where you can actually walk along the canal since they’re lined with buildings, so the main views are along the few, crowded bridges that cross the water. In order to really experience the canals and the beautiful buildings along the water, you need to be on a boat, which is why the canal tours are one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city.
One of five boat landings for Bruges Canal Tour
Luckily, a canal tour is a relatively inexpensive way to experience the canals and architecture of this historic city. Here are some useful tips I learned based on our experience:
- There are 5 boat landings along the canals, but the route and price are the same for all (8 Euro for a 30-35 minute tour). It’s only the start and end point that will vary, so my suggestion is to simply pick the one with the shortest line. We approached one with a relatively short line but decided to keep looking and found another one just a block away where we were able to walk straight onto the boat. Click here for a map showing the location of the five boat landings (link will open in a new window).
- The boats typically run every 15-20 minutes. The boats will also wait until the boat is full or nearly full before departing.
- The best seats for getting unobstructed photos are at the very front or very back. The boats have a row of single seats that run down the middle, which would be the worst for photos. It may be worth waiting until the next boat to come along if only middle seats are available.
- The tours run daily from 10:00am to 6:00pm (last boat leaves at 5:30pm) from March to mid-November. Bruges is flooded by cruise ship patrons and day-trippers during the peak hours of the day, so the lines are significantly shorter before 11:00 and become very long in the afternoon. Plan accordingly!
- Our boat driver/guide did a nice job narrating the ride, pointing out sights and answering questions for us along the way. We saw some boats with a recorded audio guide, which seemed less interesting. The guide asked everyone on the boat what language they spoke and carried out the tour in both English and French.
- The tour is cash only. You may also want to bring a few extra euros along to tip your driver.
Any other questions? Leave them in the comment section and I’ll try my best to answer them. Happy boating!
