12.24.11
Posted in Travel Log (N. America & Europe) at 5:22 pm by Benjamin Ross
This is the 11th entry from my 2011 Europe Trip.
Located in the heart of Flanders (the Dutch speaking province of Belgium) Bruges is Belgium’s premiere tourist attraction, and along with Amsterdam, often referred to as the “Venice of the North.”
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| A major trading center in the 12th Century, Bruges today remains one of Europe’s most well preserved Medieval cities. Bruges is a big draw on the tourist circuit, and if you go, I highly recommend a) not going on a weekend, and b) going as early as possible to beat the crowds. |
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| Bruges is a one-hour train ride from of Brussels, so it makes for an easy day trip from the capital. |
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| Bruges’ high level of intactness makes it truly feel like a Medieval city at times. |
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| Unlike Brussels where French is the primary language, most Bruges residents speak Flemish, the Belgian dialect of Dutch. |
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| Here are some of the sites. |
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| Bruges has also been a victim of its own intactness, and at times I couldn’t help but feel like the entire city centre felt like a gigantic tourist theme park. |
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| Bruges is world renowned for its canal network. Although, after coming from Amsterdam and Utrecht, I was a little underwhelmed in this regard. |
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| Since Bruges is so heavily dependent on tourists, not much happens in the city centre which isn’t related to the tourism industry. Whereas in Amsterdam and Utrecht, the canal system is more integrated into the urban fabric, in Bruges the canals have little connection to the everyday lives of locals. |
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| Not to take away from the scenery and architecture, which is indeed stunning. But Bruges requires a little more imagination to invision what street life must have looked like back in the old days. |
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| As a physical artifact, Bruges is a stunning and truly looks like a Medieval city. From a purely architectural standpoint, it’s top notch. But if you’re averse to heavily touristed and commodified travel experiences, Bruges may be a bit of a let-down. This town entire town (or the city centre at least) is primarily centered on tourism, which makes the perception of any local flavor difficult. It’s well worth a day trip from Brussels, but not more than that. Next stop: Ghent |
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