The step gables
Coloured houses with terraces on the square beneath the Belfry.
Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands — CC BY 2.0 · Krzysztof Golik — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dietmar Rabich — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jan-Herm Janßen — CC BY-SA 4.0
The terraces on the Markt are among Bruges' priciest and relatively weakest — take a coffee or hot chocolate for the Belfry view, and eat in the side lanes (Sint-Amandsstraat, or around Jan van Eyckplein). Horse carriages (30 minutes) are pleasant for families but expensive; the boats are better value.
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The Markt is Bruges' great square and its beating heart since the tenth century: a broad rectangle dominated by the famous Belfry (83 metres) above the old Cloth Hall, ringed by brightly coloured step-gabled houses turned cafés and restaurants with terraces on the square, and on its east side the imposing neo-Gothic Provincial Court with its intricate design. At its centre stands the statue of Breydel and De Coninck, heroes of the 1302 uprising against the French (the "Bruges Matins") that led to the Battle of the Golden Spurs — a memory of Flemish independence. Horse carriages set off from here for old-town tours, the weekly Wednesday market fills it, and in December the Christmas market and ice rink. Free and the centre of every route: the Burg is two minutes away, the Rozenhoedkaai three. The terraces on the square are pricey, but the view of the Belfry is worth one coffee.
Coloured houses with terraces on the square beneath the Belfry.
Intricate neo-Gothic on the east side.
Breydel and De Coninck — the memory of Flemish independence.
Markt, 8000 Bruges