Brugge

The CouchSurfing Wiki, an informal workspace which anyone can edit.

Jump to: navigation, search

As former City Ambassador of Bruges, PeeWeeke made a lot of information available to the public (the before picture). A lot can be found on this page but also on his own personal website. Kofi Annan once said: "Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family."

Contents

Introduction

Like anyone who is a bit too smart or too goodlooking, Bruges regularly gets knocked. The city receives millions of tourists every year, Bruges is popular! Filled with nicely kept Gothic, Romanesque and Renaissance façades, plenty of art, culture and history AND some fine Belgian cuisine.

A little history

Bruges (Brugge) was founded in the 9th century by Vikings who settled here at the end of the little river 'de Reie'. The name Bruges is probably derived from the old-Scandinavian word 'Brygga', which means 'harbor'. Because of the proximity of the North Sea, the settlement very quickly became an important international harbor. A sea-arm, called the Zwin, connected Bruges with the North Sea. The young settlement acquired city rights as early as the 12th century. At that time a first protective wall was built around Bruges. Soon, however, the Zwin started to silt up. This would have caused major problems for the city, were it not that Bruges adapted itself to this situation by creating outports in Damme and in Sluis. Moreover, transport of goods over land became more and more usual.

In the 14th century Bruges turned also into an international financial and trading center. It became the wharehouse of the North-European Hanza cities. Several countries had their own representation in Bruges: the Italians, the Germans, the Scottish, the Spanish made the city into a true European center where different languages could be heard and where the most exotic products could be found.

By the end of the 16th century the former glory was only a memory and Bruges slipped into a wintersleep that took several centuries. New textile industries were introduced in the 19th century, but to no avail. In the middle of the 1800's Brugge was the poorest city in Belgium. The 20th century, however, brought new life. The city was discovered by the international tourism and the medieval heritage turned out to be a new source of wealth for the 'Venice of the North'. Economically and industrially another important evolution took place. The new harbor of Zeebrugge (Seabruges-at 10 miles outside of the city, at the Belgian coast) brought new developments and new industries to the region.

Touristic Information

Have a look on the Bruges Travel Guide at WikiTravel

Inside Bruges

Walks

Museums

New Architecture

Breweries

Parks

Outside Bruges (Brugs Ommeland)

Getting there by train

All of this information can be found on this map.

Getting there by bus

All of this information can SOON be found on a map.

Parking your car

Bruges offers some options for your car

  • the P+R at the outskirts of Bruges. (free)
  • the parking at the railwaystation (the cheapest and a free bus)
  • parkings in the centre (more expensive)
  • parking in streets (free or non-free)

All of this information can be found on this map.

Hidden Bruges

Restaurants

  • Brasserie Medard, Sint-Amandsstraat 18: A typical family restaurant, but the home-made spaghetti is world famous. A small portion is € 3.00 and a bit bigger one (800g) is only € 5.50. DON'T FORGET TO BOOK A TABLE SINCE IT IS ALWAYS BUSY! (+32 50 348684)
  • Toetanchamon, Academiestraat 6: If you're looking for better quality kebab. Very friendly staff. (+32 50 341837)

Pubs

  • 't Brugs Beertje, Kemelstraat 5: This is the place in Bruges to taste at least 300 different beers. Don't be scared to ask for advice, they're very knowledgeable. (+32 50 339616)
  • 't Poatersgat, Vlamingstraat 82: Very cosy pub with couches. Free internet. Besides 100 beers, they also serve a selection of genevers (+32 474 744293)
  • Bistro Du Phare, Sasplein 2: Lovely blues music to lose yourself in. This cozy bistro is located near the Dampoort, near the Old Fermentation. On Sunday evenings there are often free live performances, and you can also enjoy the good suggestions from the chef.
  • Bistro 't Zwart Huis, Kuiperstraat 23: Bistro 't Zwart Huis, with its fabulous fireplace, offers customers a diverse menu with many plats including wok dishes, pastas, steaks and tapas. Let yourself be surprised by the regional specialties. The beautiful bar will overwhelm you by the relaxed latino, jazz and lounge music, enjoy of one of the many world wines, beers or cocktails. The building itself is an ancient protected monument which lets you dream away with its architectural details.

Going out

Party Places

  • Marquee: A youngster bar, pretty nice place to sit around and have a chat till about 4-5 am. Retro interior. Small, cosy, good music and good people. map
  • Checkpoint Charlie: Brand new (party) place. Has been opened by a dj from bruges, because Bruges needed more parties. map
  • L'aMaRaL: And oldie. L'aMaRaL used to be thé place to be for the house and electro people. Nowadays it can look deserted, but they always have good dj's for free. map
  • COULISSEN: Just around the corner. That's the only place with a real bouncer, normally free entrance, dresscode, ...
  • Het Entrepot: Almost every weekend you find the big organised parties in here. The crowd however seems to get younger every year. map
  • Snuffel Hostel: Free concert every 1st and 3th saturday of the month (except for july and august). Cheap bar in a youth hostel, hideaway spot for the easy-going young people from Bruges versus the travellers. map
  • Eiermarkt: If you REALLY want to go dancing, you want allround music and the attending crowd doesn't matter to you, just go to the eiermarkt... where you'll find a couple of dancing bars. I never go there, and you'll never meet couchsurfers there I suppose, it's the kind of place that if you are a girl, people might just feel your hair and touch you, to make sure you're real! :D (nah, just kidding, but just go there if you're with a group or it's no good) map

Other stuff you need for a night out

Meetings

- On 09/09/09 at 8PM: Andrew Prior organises the Bruges Bar Night (Drinking, meeting, talking....).

- On 11/09/09 at 9PM: Albert Viane organises the Omegagay meeting (Meeting for gaymen at private house for a nice friendly talk).

- On 10/10/09 at 11:30AM: . Manu . organises the Hiking around Oostkamp / Moerbrugge (16 km)

- On 09/11/09 until 15/11/09: PEEWEEKE organises the Bruges' Beer Meeting (A week full of activities in and around Bruges about beer.)

Tips

  • Free WIFI: FON is a Community of people making WiFi universal and free. In Bruges there are 20 hotspots (7 active ones)
  • Cheap Museum: If you're under 26: Ask for the Youth-ticket for only €1!

Map

It's slighly outdated (1562) but still quiet usable. [1]

If you prefer a newer one [2]


Other Options

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

  Only in case of emergency, it means for problems like no more news from your host or physical
  troubles in Belgium, you can directly contact the Belgian ambassadors by sending a mail at this
  address: 911csbelgium@gmail.com . 
  PLEASE, indicate your username, phone number, e-mail and the city where we can contact you!!!
Retrieved from "http://wiki.couchsurfing.com/en/Brugge"
Personal tools