Nightlife

For information on what to do after dark, pick up the free monthly brochure Exit and the free monthly newsletter events@brugge from the tourist office, hotels, and performance venues. The monthly newspaper Brugge Cultuurmagazine, free and available at these locations, is in Dutch, but its performance dates and venue details are fairly easy to follow.

The Performing Arts

The new, ultramodern Concertgebouw, 't Zand (tel. 070/22-33-02; www.concertgebouw.be), is the main venue for opera, classical music, theater, and dance -- and is the home base of the Symfonieorkest van Vlaanderen (tel. 050/84-05-87; www.symfonieorkest.be) -- all of which take place regularly throughout the year. This has left the Koninklijke Stadsschouwburg (Royal Municipal Theater), Vlamingstraat 29 (tel. 050/44-30-60; www.cultuurcentrumbrugge.be), from 1869, the former principal venue for these events in Bruges, to back up the new mother ship by mounting smaller-scale performances. Theater at both venues is likely to be in Dutch or French, and rarely if ever in English. Another important venue is the Joseph Ryelandtzaal, Achiel Van Ackerplein (tel. 050/44-82-72). Smaller-scale events, such as recitals, are often held at Sint-Salvatorskathedraal, Sint-Jakobskerk, and other churches.

A different kind of theater is on the menu at Brugge Anno 1468 (Bruges Year 1468), Celebrations Entertainment, Vlamingstraat 86 (tel. 050/34-75-72; www.celebrations-entertainment.be). In the atmospheric setting of the neo-Gothic former Heilige-Hartkerk (Sacred Heart Church), from 1885, which belonged to the Jesuit Order, actors recreate the wedding of the duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, to Margaret of York, while visitors pile into a medieval banquet. Performances are April to October Thursday to Saturday from 7:30 to 10:30pm; November to March Saturday from 7:30 to 10:30pm. Tickets are 30€ to 73€ ($48-$117) for adults, 50% of the adult price for children ages 11 to 14, 13€ ($21) for children ages 6 to 10, and free for children 5 and under.

Live-Music Clubs

The Cactus Muziekcentrum, Sint-Sebastiaanstraat 4 (tel. 050/33-20-14; www.cactusmusic.be), presents an eclectic -- and often prickly -- concert schedule Friday and Saturday nights. Try De Vuurmolen, Kraanplein 5 (tel. 050/33-00-79; www.vuurmolen.com), for a raucous dancing-on-the-tables kind of night; it's open nightly 10pm until the wee hours. Vino Vino, Grauwwerkersstraat 15 (tel. 050/34-51-15), somehow manages to successfully combine Spanish tapas and the blues. For jazz, from bebop to modern, you can't do better than De Versteende Nacht, Langestraat 11 (tel. 050/34-32-93).

Bars

't Brugs Beertje, Kemelstraat 5 (tel. 050/33-96-16; www.brugsbeertje.be), off Steenstraat, is a traditional cafe that serves more than 300 different kinds of beer. Even that stalwart number is outdone by Bierbrasserie Cambrinus, Philipstockstraat 19 (tel. 050/33-23-28; www.cambrinus.eu), in a building that dates from 1699, just off the Burg, and which has no fewer than 400 Belgian brews on its drinks list. Gran Kaffee De Passage, Dweersstraat 26 (tel. 050/34-02-32), is a quiet and elegant cafe that serves inexpensive meals. Ma Rica Rokk, 't Zand 7-8 (tel. 050/33-83-58; www.maricarokk.be), attracts a young and (for a medieval town like Bruges) trendy crowd.