Bruges
The heart of ancient Bruges, the old market square is lined with pavement cafes beneath step-gabled facades. The buildings aren't always quite as medieval…
West Flanders
West Flanders is Belgium's most prized province, home to the magical, magnificent medieval city of Bruges, the jewel in the the country's crown. The region's western border runs for 65km along the North Sea, a popular stretch of white sandy beaches and dunes, campgrounds, marinas and seasonal tourist resorts known as the Belgian Coast. Ostend is the area's year-round hub, while Zeebrugge, Belgium's busiest port, is an important shipping and trade gateway into Europe.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
Ypres
No museum gives a more balanced yet moving and user-friendly introduction to WWI history. It’s a multisensory experience combining soundscapes, videos,…
Bruges
Bruges’ most celebrated art gallery boasts an astonishingly rich collection that's strong in superb Flemish Primitive and Renaissance works, depicting the…
Bruges
In the restored chapel of a 12th-century hospital building with superb timber beamwork, this museum shows various torturous-looking medical implements,…
Bruges
Towering 83m above the square like a gigantic medieval rocket is this fabulous 13th-century belfry. There’s relatively little to see inside, but it’s…
West Flanders
This is an unusually light-hearted WWI attraction. Reverend Philip ‘Tubby’ Clayton set up the Everyman’s Club here in 1915 to offer rest and recreation…
West Flanders
Probably the most-visited Salient site, this is the world’s biggest British Commonwealth war cemetery, with 11,956 graves. A huge semicircular wall…
Ostend
Ostend’s most striking historical building features beautifully ornate twin spires, a rose window and a gloomy neo-Gothic interior. It was consecrated on…
Guidebooks
Purchase our award-winning guidebooks
Get to the heart of West Flanders with one of our in-depth, award-winning guidebooks, covering maps, itineraries, and expert guidance.
