Bruges Canal Boat Tour

One of the great pleasures of a visit to Bruges is taking a boat tour through the picturesque canals of this fairytale city built on water. Bruges is a beautiful place, especially attractive when seen from a canal boat, providing a nice perspective to see one of the best-preserved collections of medieval buildings in Europe. It's a perfect way to relax and take in the beauty of Bruges at a leisurely pace.

You can easily explore Bruges on foot because it's rather compact, only about one square kilometer. You could also take a tour in a horse carriage or maybe rent a bicycle and pedal around. Yet one of the most popular ways to see Bruges is taking this open-top boat ride in the canals, getting a special angle, enjoying these unique sights from water level.

It's a popular activity that nearly every visitor does, so it can get crowded and they don't take resrvations, but you can beat the mob by starting early or late in the day. There are five different boat companies, each with a separate loading dock clustered on Rosary Quay near the central Markt square of town, easy to find. They all take the same route and charge the same price for the same 30-minute itinerary.

There are 16 kilometers of canals in Bruges, with five used for the tour. The water is between one and three meters deep and has plenty of fish in it. We've got carp, eels, all different kinds. We next go under Meebridge, the oldest bridge of Bruges, from the 12th century.

The canals are lined with a mix of medieval and neo-Gothic style houses adorned with unique architectural features. It seems like no two buildings are alike. While the boat gently glides along, you're treated to these breathtaking views of centuries old buildings, and passing some of the approximately 80 bridges of the city.

The boat ride is a relaxing, scenic and educational experience. And while it might seem like a very touristy thing to do, which it is, of course, it is for tourists, you don't see any locals aside from the guides riding around in these boats. But this is one of those almost mandatory activities you want to enjoy when visiting Bruges. You get to see the town from a special perspective that you don't get when you're walking around in the streets.

We start at one of the symbols of Bruges, which is the Belfry Tower, 83 meters high, 366 steps to the top, 47 bells with a total weight of 27 tons. Soon we pass the College of Europe. You need a minimum of 50,000 euro to enroll, and here they form the future politicians and economists from Europe. Higher education is quite important to this city, which has four universities, including two applied science universities and the United Nations University Institute of Regional Studies. So, while Bruges looks to be a very old town, it's also quite modern and up to date.

While the buildings look like something out of the Middle Ages, many of them are more recent, from the 16th and 17th centuries, and there has been a lot of renovation and reconstruction to keep them in its good shape like this, work from a high tech jackhammer rebuilding the old cobblestone paintings. Even if you were here on a windy day, the canal's waters are always smooth with the soothing sounds of water,  gentle motion of the boat, and the calming atmosphere. As we turn into one of the Spiegelrei canal, we pass by what had been the College of the English Jesuits, and then it became a primary school, and now it's closed for renovation.

At the end of this canal, we reach Van Eyckplein, with its memorial to John Van Eyck, who lived in Bruges for the last 12 years of his life, one of the most important painters in the history of art. This Van Eyckplein, or Plaza, is a beautiful space with outdoor restaurants and a view of the Spiegelrei canal. Come back here later on your walking tour because during the boat ride you do not get off the boat. You stay on board for the 30 minutes -- all the more reason to spend a few days in Bruges, so that you'll have time to walk around and see all of these important beautiful sights.

Canals played an essential role in the glorious history of Bruges, which became one of the wealthiest cities in all of Europe during the Middle Ages because its canals and rivers enabled Bruges to become a trading and economic superpower during its golden age, which lasted for several hundred years from the 13th century through the 15th century.

In those days, Bruges was the center of a trading network called the Hanseatic League, connected with all of Europe's main cities. Back in those days, during the 14th and 15th centuries, Bruges was both an important manufacturing center and a trading center. There were 50,000 workmen here who found employment in the manufacture of cloth, processing wool from England into high-quality fabric which was then exported. Even more important to the economy was the role of Bruges as a trading center, importing and exporting goods from all over Europe.

Hemp from Holland, Spanish skins and hides, Italian silks, cloths of Flanders and the wines of France, Portugal, and Greece, iron and hardware from Germany, and many other kinds of manufactured articles were brought into Bruges and then exported, with taxes and profits taken with every transaction. The city had banks, agents and consuls of all the principal nations. In 1456, it was said that no less than 150 foreign ships came to the Bruges docks on a single day.

On the corner next to the hotel is the Spanish House. There used to be generals living here, and nowadays, it's a paradise for beer lovers. Belgians drink quite a lot of beer, at 74 liters per capita on average each year. But Belgium is not in the top-ten of beer consumption per capita. Number one are the Czechs at 184 liters per capita per person. Austria, 98 liters. Lithuania, Romania, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Spain. They're all right up there. But Belgians certainly do love their beer. You'll find it everywhere and it is delicious.

The boat passes an open-air market along the banks of Djiver Canal that happens every day with some arts and crafts, antiques, clothing and miscellaneous items. At the end of the boat ride, you're only a few blocks away from this outdoor park with its attractive market. So by all means, come back here on foot and take a closer look.

Enjoy a view of the tower rising from the  Church of Notre Dame, the tallest structure in town. It's the third tallest brick tower in the world at 115 meters,  or 379 feet. The church is also famous for its statue by Michelangelo,  depicting the Madonna and child.

You'll be walking over many bridges in your visit, but only on the boat ride can you go underneath them. Boniface Bridge is one of the most scenic and photographed. Bruges became rich in the Middle Ages because of these canals, which provided that watery highway for transporting all of the merchandise that Bruges was importing and then exporting, trading throughout Europe.

Approaching the Lake of Love you'll see some of the 250 swans in Bruges, which are well taken care of by the government and have become one of the beloved symbols of the city.

We have arrived at the end of the canal tour because here it reaches a barrier called the Lock House that connects it to the Minniwater, affectionately called  Lake of Love. Here,  tour boats turn around and return the same way they came.

At this end of the canal we pass a very important site called the Begijnhof. This was a residence for devout women, a type of institution that was found throughout Belgium and the Netherlands to provide secure housing for single ladies. It's open to the public for free during the day, so you can walk in and enjoy this beautiful park-like surroundings. It's one of the largest green spaces in the whole city, now functioning primarily as a convent for Benedictine nuns and a home for single ladies.

Next, we pass De Halve Maan beer museum and brewery, which offers public tours, and they have an outdoor beer terrace. There are a handful of outdoor restaurants in this part of the harbor, and behind them, the Saint John's Hospital Museum, with its collection of masterpiece paintings by Hans Memling, right next to the church of Notre Dame.

As we cruise past that big church we arrive at the back of the Gruuthusemuseum, built in the 15th century as the mansion of a wealthy nobleman. Now it's an important museum, housing a collection from the 15th to the 19th century of lace, furniture, porcelain, glass works, statues, paintings, tapestries, old books, manuscripts, weapons and more.

It's great how the boat gives us some views of hidden parts of buildings that you don't usually see if you're walking on the streets. In some places you get to look into people's backyards and inside the windows of houses.

Boat Tour Suggestions

As we wind down that half-hour ride, let me share a few tips for you to get the most out of your boat ride.

First of all, be sure to take this ride while visiting Bruges!

They only take cash. Current price is 15 euro. They don't take reservations unless you're a big group over 25 people.

If riding in the middle of a warm day, bring along a hat and sunscreen to protect you from the sun. Best seats for taking pictures are towards the front or the back.

Schedules vary depending on the season and the boat company, but generally, they run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Best to get on as early as possible.

These open-air boats provide great visibility and are very comfortable as long as you don't stand up going under a bridge.

You might have to line up, but there are departures every 15 to 20 minutes. Don't make noise while the guide is talking,  and if you were pleased with his presentation, give him a nice tip.