How to get from Brussels to Bruges: tips for tourists. How to get from Brussels to Bruges: tips for tourists How to get from Brussels
The city is so compact that you can walk through its tourist areas in a few hours. The only public transport in Bruges is buses. They mainly connect the city center with residential areas.
In rural areas near the city, minibuses operate.
Buses in the city
Public transport operates from 05:30 to 20:00. Evening buses operate only on some routes from 20:00 to 23:00. Buses leave at intervals of about 20 minutes. Stops on request. Entrance through the front door. There are no turnstiles, but the ticket must be redeemed by a validator. The fine for traveling without a ticket is from 75 €.
Tickets
A single ticket costs 3 €. It gives you the right to free transfer to another bus within an hour. Tickets can be purchased from a machine or from the driver (you cannot pay with a banknote exceeding 10 €). A ticket for 10 trips is called a Lijn card and costs 14 €. Children under 6 years old - free.
Travel cards
Unlimited passes give you the right to an unlimited number of trips during the day. The activated ticket is valid until 04:00 am the next day.
The child ticket is valid for ages 6 to 12 years.
Brussels tickets are also valid in Bruges.
Tourist card
The Brugge City Card offers discounts on attractions in Bruges. The card comes in two types: 48 hours (46 €) and 72 hours (49 €). Young people under 26 years old receive a discount.
With the card you can get free access to 27 city museums and attractions, get an up-to-date city guide (there is no Russian), a sightseeing tour by boat (in summer) or by tourist bus.
The card also provides a 25% discount on bicycle rental, hot air balloon flights and underground parking. The 72-hour card also gives you a 50% discount on a three-day unlimited pass (if purchased at the same time).
You can buy the Brugge City Card at the tourist offices in Bruges or online.
Intercity buses
From Bruges you can take a bus to Antwerp, Ghent, and Amsterdam. The Eurolines bus operates once a day. Tickets are sold only from the driver. The cost to Amsterdam is 25-33 €.
The schedule can be specified.
Travel time to Antwerp is 2 hours, to Ghent - 1 hour, to Amsterdam - 5 hours.
There may be traffic jams on the roads, which will increase travel time.
Eurolines buses in Bruges depart from platform 10 at the train station.
Tourist buses
Tourist buses in Bruges are called City Tour. A tour of the main attractions will take about an hour. Audio guide in English. An adult ticket costs 16 €, a child ticket costs 9.5 €. You can view the excursion route.
In winter, buses run every half hour from sunrise to sunset, in summer - from 10:00 to 19:00. Buses depart from the central square. The city tour is free for Brugge City Card holders.
Bicycle rental
Cycling is very popular in Bruges. The city is flat and small, traffic is calm. Here you can rent a bicycle at the Blue-bike rental points at the station. Opening hours Mon-Fri 07:00-19:30, Sat-Sun 09:00-22:00. If you buy an automatic key, you can return the bike at any time.
This is the most profitable rental option in the city. When paying an annual subscription for 10 €, a day of renting a bicycle is 1 €. If you do not want to rent a bike every day, then for the second and subsequent days of rental, the rate will be 3 € per day. Many hotel owners also offer bicycles to guests. Rental cost 10-14 € per day.
Cyclists have privileges in Bruges. On one-way streets, they can drive in both directions. In addition, you can explore Bruges and its surroundings by bicycle with a special guide.
Tourist boats
It is impossible to imagine Bruges without pleasure boats. They take tourists along the canals from March 1st to November 15th. A half-hour city tour costs 7.6 €. Tickets can be purchased from the captain. The tour is free for Brugge City Card holders. There are a total of five stations on the route. You can board a boat from any of them.
LAMME GOEDZAK
A real paddle wheel steamer sails from Bruges to Damme. Travel time to the city where Charles de Coster's novel The Legend of Ulenspiegel takes place will take about half an hour. The route operates from April to the end of September. The ship departs from Bruges from Noorweegse Kaai 31, 8310 Brugge (schedule).
The cost of an adult one-way ticket is 7.5 €, round trip - 10.5 €. For children from three to 12 years old, a one-way ticket costs 6 €, a round trip ticket costs 8.5 €. Tickets can be purchased when boarding the shuttle to the pier from the train station.
One of the many advantages of Bruges is its compact size.It’s not worth much effort to explore the city in one day on foot; many touristsprefer such walks. If the prospectindependent exploration of the city and long promenades will notinspiring, Bruges has a good selection of other, morecomfortable and energy-saving ways to get to knowcity attractions.
Buses in Bruges
Most visitors to Bruges arrive in the city by train. By Bruges standards the railway station is located at a decent distance fromhistorical center (15 minutes on foot) so many preferget there by public transport. By busBruges is handled by De Lijn, whose network of routes coversalmost the entire city. You can purchase tickets at special kiosks orfrom the driver, they are also sold in vending machines. A one way ticket will cost1.2 euros at a machine or kiosk, if you buy a ticket directlydirectly from the driver on the bus, it will cost a little more - 2Euro. Please note that buses run from 5:30 to 23:00.
Parking in Bruges
If you come to Bruges with your own car, then the best thing is that you What you can do is leave the car in the parking lot. Personal transport isperhaps the most inconvenient way to get around this small city.You can leave your car near the train station at the 24-hourparking for only 2.5 euros per 24 hours.
Along the canals of Bruges by boat
A great option for exploring the city is a boat trip lasting 30 minutes. You can see all the mainBruges attractions: Belfort Tower, Church of Our Lady, LakeLove and much more, while avoiding the huge crowds of tourists on the streets.Trip cost: 6.9 euros for adults and 5.8 euros for children under 12 years old.
Around Bruges in a carriage
For the medieval surroundings of Bruges, a walk in the open air is ideal carriage with horses, this especially delights children. This kindtravel is suitable for families or large groups. Carriage rental for 4-5a person with a driver for half an hour will cost about 40 euros. Coachdeparts from Markt Square along the central streets to the Monastery-beguinage Bruges, after which it goes back. The coachman will tell you the same thingto you about the sights and history of Bruges.
Sightseeing buses in Bruges
Like many other cities popular among tourists, Bruges has special excursion buses. This is an ideal tool for those whodropped into the city for just a few hours and would like to quickly take a lookall attractions. The bus tour lasts 50 minutes, for whichtime you will be able to see all the most interesting places in Bruges: Belfort,Museums of Geselle, Groning and Gruthuse, Beguines Monastery, St. ChurchBlood of Christ, Church of Our Lady, etc. Buses depart from the squareMarkt. The cost of the excursion is 16 euros for adults and 9.5 euros for children.
Bruges by bike
Another good option to explore Bruges is by bike! This method is good because it gives you complete freedom of movement, veryconvenient - in Bruges there are more than 50 paths for cyclists, andalso very accessible - for the pleasure of traveling through the expanses of Bruges all dayon a bicycle you will need to pay 10 euros. Armed with a mapcity, you will be able to explore all the sights on your ownto his own plan and in accordance with his own interests.
In recent years, the amount of traffic in the historical city center has gradually decreased. This was done with the aim of preserving the unique historical heritage of Bruges for local residents and visitors to the city.
Bruges traffic flows along five main “arteries”, starting and ending on the ring road. If you arrive in the city by car, you can choose from one of the five underground parking lots in the city center or parking areas along the ring road, from where you can quickly reach the city's business center either on foot or by one of the frequent buses. Among other things, you can enjoy the beauty of the city using a bicycle as a means of transportation. Cyclists are allowed to ride in both directions on more than 50 one-way streets.
Finally, if you arrive in Bruges by train, the tourist office at the main station exit is always at your service. Here you can find out everything that interests you, as well as book a hotel room.
Horse-drawn carriages can only be found in the city center. They can only be used to get to the hotel. Strollers can be parked free of charge in the designated Katelijnebrug parking area. There are a total of 140 strollers in the city. There is a bus service between the stroller parking lot and the city center. The stroller parking area is the best place to start excursions around Bruges.
How to get to Bruges
Automobile
By car, Bruges can be reached via the N31 highway from Zeebrugge or the E40/N34 highway from Brussels. The city is close to the E40 highway connecting Brussels with Ostend and Calais, as well as the E403 highway from Lille and Kortrijk to Zeebrugge.
Train
Bruges is located on the London-Brussels-Cologne train route. You can get to Bruges by train from almost any major city in Belgium (they run every hour), as well as from various European capitals. International high-speed train operator TGV Thalys connects Belgium with France, Holland and Germany; There are up to three trains a day from Paris to Brussels.
Ferry
The ferry port of Bruges is called Zeebrugge (literally “sea Bruges”). Ferries arrive regularly from Hull in North East England and Rosyth, near Edinburgh in Scotland.
Airplane
Bruges Airport is located in nearby Ostend, from where the city can be reached via the E40 highway.
Entry rules to Belgium for citizens
choose citizenship
-------- Russia Belarus Ukraine Kazakhstan
Need a Schengen visa
A Schengen visa is required, its cost is 35 euros. The maximum period of stay in the Schengen zone is 90 days within six months
Need a Schengen visa
No visa required
Visa-free entry. The maximum period of stay in the Schengen zone is 90 days within six months
Need a Schengen visa
A Schengen visa is required, its cost is 60 euros. The maximum period of stay in the Schengen zone is 90 days within six months
Via UK -
Visa-free air transit through UK airports is possible subject to arrival and departure on the same calendar day (including for citizens of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, but not Belarus and Moldova), and during this time you can only stay in the transit area of the airport . Visa-free air transit is only possible at Gatwick (LGW), Heathrow (LHR), Manchester (MAN) airports. Air transit with departure the day after the day of arrival and exit to the city is possible only when flying to/from the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand with visas of these countries or if you have a D visa or residence permit from one of the Schengen and EU countries. Such transit (with a visa from an EU country, USA, etc.) is possible not only at the three above-mentioned airports, but when flying through other airports in Britain. When using a visa-free 2-day air transit, you should take into account that, on the one hand, in theory you can fly into one UK airport and fly out from another, but, on the other hand: a) border guards may not release a transfer ticket into the city and then may “burn out”; b) airline employees may refuse to check in for a flight to the UK if arrival and departure are from different airports (including from different airports in London). It is safest to buy tickets with arrival and departure from the same airport, and then even if you are not allowed into the city, you can continue your journey by waiting for a connecting flight at the airport in the transit zone; c) some airlines (often low-cost airlines) do not register a direct flight to the UK at all if you have a separate second ticket from the UK. This point should be clarified on the website or with airline representatives before purchasing a ticket.
Via France -
Air transit without a visa is possible through the following airports in France: 1) Charles De Gaulle (CDG). Transit is possible within 24 hours. 2) Paris-Orly (ORY). Transit is possible from 06:00 to 23:30, subject to arrival and departure on the same calendar day; you cannot be in the transit zone at night. Terminals 1 and 2 (former Western Terminal, in the same building), terminal 3, terminal 4 (former South Terminal) are located in different buildings, visa-free air transit between them is not possible. 3) Nice (NCE). Transit is possible from 04:00 to 23:00, subject to arrival and departure on the same calendar day; you cannot be in the transit zone at night. However, transit is not possible between terminals 1 and 2. 4) Marseille (MRS). Transit is possible subject to arrival and departure on the same calendar day. However, transit is not possible between terminals 1 and 2. ? Russian tourists (only with Russian citizenship!) require a French transit visa category A (airport visa) if they fly through France in transit to a third country and board the plane in Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Turkey or Moldova. If you fly from Russia, you do not need a visa A. At the same time, Russian citizens can still travel by air through France if their passports contain a valid visa from Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Japan, Liechtenstein, Romania, the USA or the UK.
