Getting Here and Around

To reach Bruges by car from Brussels, take the N40 for around 62 km (37 miles) before taking Exit 11 onto the N44; follow that until you can turn off onto the N9 and continue for around 15 km (9 miles) before taking the Bruges exit. The journey takes around 70 minutes. Access for cars and coaches into Bruges's center is severely restricted. The historic streets are narrow and often one-way. There are huge parking lots at the railway station and near the exits from the ring road, plus underground parking at 't Zand. For those brave enough to face tackling the center's tricky one-way system, there is also underground parking at the Biekorf (behind the public library), Zilverpand, and Pandreitje, as well as parking at the Begijnhof. By rail, take the Intercity train from Brussels's Gare de Midi/Brussel Zuid station; there are around three trains an hour. The journey should take around one hour and cost €22.60 one-way for a first-class ticket. A special "weekend ticket" (€15.60 return) is valid 7 pm Friday–Sunday night. When you arrive, it's just a short 15-minute walk to the city center of Bruges, or you can hop on any of the many buses marked "Centrum" that leave from the station; get off at Markt. A bus ticket costs €3 and is valid for one hour. Cheaper €2.15 tickets can be purchased via SMS; simply text "DL" for a 60-minute or "DL120" for a 120-minute ticket to 4884 (a list of mobile phone operators that provide this service is available on the De Lijn website). Alternatively, you can purchase a day pass (€6, €8 on board), although Bruges is so small that you shouldn't need to use public transport much, except perhaps to the return to the station.