By Plane

There are numerous daily flights to Brussels Airport (www.brusselsairport.be) from 200 destinations across the world. Bruges is 107km (67 miles) from the airport, easily accessible by train, with one change at Brussels-Midi/Zuid. Brussels-South-Charleroi Airport (www.charleroi-airport.com) is the domain of European budget flights; there are regular connections between the airport and Brussels-Midi/Zuid rail station for trains on to Bruges.

By Train

Two trains arrive in Bruges every hour from Brussels, four or five from Ghent, three from Antwerp, and up to three every hour from the ferry ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend (Oostende). The travel time is around 1 hour from Brussels, 25 minutes from Ghent, 1 hour and 20 minutes from Antwerp, and 15 minutes from both Ostend and Zeebrugge. Train information is available from SNCB (Belgian Railways; www.belgianrail.be; tel. 02/528-2828).


From London, passengers can ride the Eurostar high-speed trains (www.eurostar.com) through the Eurotunnel and transfer for Bruges either at Lille in northern France or in Brussels. From Paris, Thalys high-speed trains (www.thalys.com; tel. 32/7066-7788, 0.30€ per minute) go via Brussels to Bruges; on the slower and cheaper international trains, you transfer in Brussels. From Amsterdam, go via Brussels-Midi on the Thalys service.

Although the city is called Bruges in both English and French, look out for its Flemish name, BRUGGE, written on the station name boards. The station is on Stationsplein, 1.5km (1 mile) south of the center of town, a 20-minute walk or a short taxi or bus ride—choose any bus labeled CENTRUM and get out at the Markt to be in the center of the action.

By Bus

Buses are less useful than trains for getting to Bruges, although there is frequent service from Zeebrugge and Ostend, and other Belgian seacoast resorts. The Bruges bus station adjoins the rail station. Schedule and fare information is available from De Lijn (tel 070/220-200; www.delijn.be/en).

Flixbus (www.flixbus.com; tel. 49/30-300-137-300) operates a cheap daily bus service to Bruges from London, Amsterdam, Paris, or Cologne.

By Car

Bruges is 96km (60 miles) northwest of Brussels on the E40/A10; 50km (30 miles) northwest of Ghent on the E40/A10; 107km (66 miles) west of Antwerp on either the E17/A14 and E40/A10, or the E34, which bypasses Ghent; 18km (11 miles) south of the ferry port of Zeebrugge on E403 and N371; and 30km (19 miles) southeast of Ostend on E40/A10. From the Eurotunnel and Calais in France take E40/A16 east to Bruges.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.