Cycling Along the Canals of Bruges
Adventure
Get off the train and jump on a bicycle to experience the beautiful city of Bruges at your own pace. The medieval city is ideal for bicycles with restrictive access for cars and miles of bicycle paths. The system of one way streets designed to discourage motor vehicle traffic does not hinder bike riders who have the freedom to ride in any direction on all Bruges streets. You can pick up your bike at the Bruges train station -- just make sure you get it back half an hour before your train departs -- or you can take an organized bike tour and pick up your bicycle in town.
Morning
Make you way to Burg Square to meet up with Quasimundo’s two-and-a half hour bicycle tour of Bruges. Join fellow visitors on a two wheeled journey down winding back streets, into old parishes, past windmills and medieval fortifications and along the canals. The tour stops at various historical locations and monuments like the Beguinage and the Lake of Love, plus it makes a pit stop at a bar for a local brew.
Alternatively, head out of the city and into the stunning Flanders countryside on a Pink Bear tour -- "A Perfect morning in the Country" is an easy ride out of Bruges to the historic town of Damme, formally an outer harbor of Bruges and now a quaint medieval market town. Discover the beauty of the Flemish Polders region, cycle along peaceful canals and stop at a café for Belgian waffles and beer.
Afternoon
From Burg Square, take Hoogstraat to Langestraat and keep going to Kruisport, one of the old city gates. To the left, there are two historic windmills along the side of the canal. Return to the city center along Langestraat, then cycle along the cobblestone quaysides of Groenerei Canal, past the Welcome Church of Our Lady and numerous museums and historic buildings.
Details:
Belgium’s Bike + Rail (Trein + Fiets) program allows you to rent bicycles at major train stations throughout the country, including Bruges, from 7am to 8pm daily. Rates are €6.50 for an afternoon (half day) or €9.50 for a full day. For additional discounts you can get a Bike + rail package that combines your domestic train ticket with bike rental from €11.50 per day
A Bicycle combination ticket includes entry to three municipal museums of your choice, full day bicycle rental and a drink in the Folklore museum’s pub ‘De Zwarte Kat.’ Price: €15. Tickets are sold at the municipal museums or at het Koffieboontje. A guide can accompany you for € 40 for two hours from the tourist office
Quasimundo Bike Tours
-Tel. +32/5033-0775
-Departure daily from Toyo Ito Water sculpture in Burg Square at 10am till 12:45pm, March until end of October
-Price: €22 include bikes, guide amd a drink in a local café or €15 with your own bike. Reservation is required
Pink Bear Tours
-Tours depart from Markt Square, under the Bell Tower at 10.25am daily.
-Prices -- Over 26: €19, Under 26: €17, Children under ten: Free, Bring your own bike: €13
-A cycling route map is available at the Tourist Information Office, in the Concertgebouw at Zand Square (www.brugge.be/internet/en/index.htm)
Journey Time: 2hr30
Frequency: 2
Departure Station: Paris Nord
Arrival Station: Brugge
Prices From: 88 (Economy) to 402 (Premier / Comfort Flexi)
(prices subject to change)
Uselful Links:
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