Belgium: Bruges and Brussels
Rick Steves' Europe: Episode # 307
Belgium is a land of contrasts. From the powerhouse headquarters of the European Union and Europe's grandest square in big-city Brussels, we go quaint with delicate lace and back lane bike rides in small-town Bruges. We check into a medieval hospital, savor the exquisite art of Memling, and climb a bell tower to get up close and fortissimo at a carillon concert. Then passionate chefs — creators of French fries and Europe's finest chocolate — give us a taste of their art.
- Read the script from the show.
Travel Details
Bruges
Dumon Chocolate Shop
Perhaps Bruges' smoothest and creamiest chocolates are at Dumon, where Madam Dumon and her children (Stefaan and Christophe) make their top-notch chocolate daily and sell it fresh just off Market Square (Eiermarkt 6, tel. 050-346-282). The Dumons don't provide English labels because they believe it's best to describe their chocolates in person.
The Chocolate Line
Locals and tourists alike flock to The Chocolate Line for their "gastronomique" varieties — unique concoctions such as Havana cigar (marinated in rum, cognac, and Cuban tobacco leaves — so therefore technically illegal in the United States), lemongrass, lavender, ginger, saffron curry, spicy chili and Moroccan mint. The kitchen — busy whipping up their 80 varieties — is on display in the back (between Church of Our Lady and Market Square at Simon Stevinplein 19, tel. 050-341-090).
Bruges' Bell Tower Carillon
Most of the bell tower has presided over Market Square since 1300, serenading passersby with carillon music. An octagonal lantern was added in 1486, making it 290 feet high — that's 366 steps. Climb the tower to the carillon room; the 47 bells can be played mechanically with the giant barrel and movable tabs (as they are on each quarter hour) or with a manual keyboard (as they are during concerts). The carillonneur uses his fists and feet rather than fingers.
The Flemish Pot (a.k.a. The Little Pancake House)
Just off Geldmuntstraat at Helmstraat 3
Tel. 050-340-086
Gruuthuse Museum
Once a wealthy brewer's home, this 15th-century mansion is a sprawling smattering of everything from medieval bedpans to a guillotine (Dijver 17, Bruges museums tel. 050-448-711).
Memling Museum/St. John's Hospital
This renovated medieval hospital contains some much-loved paintings by the greatest of the Flemish Primitives, Hans Memling. His Mystical Wedding of St. Catherine triptych deserves a close look. Catherine and her "mystical groom," the baby Jesus, are flanked by a headless John the Baptist and a pensive John the Evangelist. If you understand the Book of Revelation, you'll understand St. John's wild and intricate vision. The St. Ursula Shrine, an ornate little mini-church in the same room, is filled with impressive detail. The former monastery/hospital complex has two entrances — one is to a welcoming Visitors Center (free), the other to the Memling Museum (across the street from the Church of Our Lady at Mariastraat 38, Bruges museums tel. 050-448-711).
De Halve Maan Brewery Tour
This fun, handy tour is a great way to pay your respects. The happy gang at this working family brewery gives entertaining and informative 45-minute, two-language tours. Their bistro, where you'll be given your beer (included with the tour), serves quick, hearty lunch plates. You can eat indoors with the smell of hops or outdoors with the smell of hops. This is a great place to wait for your tour or to linger afterward (1 block past church and canal, take a right down skinny Stoofstraat to #26 on Walplein, tel. 050-444-223).
Brussels
Museum of Ancient Art
Part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, the Museum of Ancient Art features Flemish and Belgian art of the 14th–18th centuries. It's packed with a dazzling collection of masterpieces by van der Weyden, Brueghel, Bosch and Rubens. The nearby Museum of Modern Art gives an easy-to-enjoy walk through the art of the 19th and 20th centuries from neoclassical to surrealism. Highlights here include works by Seurat, Gauguin, David and Magritte. The Magritte Museum, in the same museum complex, contains over 150 works of René Magritte (Rue de la Régence 3, recorded info tel. 02-508-3211).
European Parliament
This towering complex of glass skyscrapers in Brussels is a cacophony of black-suited politicians speaking 20 Euro languages. It's exciting just to be here — a mouse in the corner of a place that charts the future of Europe "with respect for all political thinking...consolidating democracy in the spirit of peace and solidarity." The only way in is to take the 30-minute tour (tel. 02-284-2111). You'll learn how early visionary utopians (like Churchill, who in 1946 called for a "United States of Europe" to avoid future wars) led the way as Europe gradually evolved into the European Union (1992). From the Bourse in downtown Brussels, take bus #95; from the museums at the Park of the Cinquantenaire or the Royal Palace, take bus #27. From Place du Luxembourg, go behind the old train station and look for the Info Point sign.
For up-to-date specifics, see the latest edition of the Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels travel guide — or join us on one of our free-spirited Holland and Belgium tours.