Ghent, Belgium 6th December 2025

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Bruges, Belgium 5th December 2025

On Friday the 5th December, after a huge breakfast at the B&B we decide to walk back into the city via the Windmills along the canal.

The first Mill we reach alongside the canal is the Koeleweimolen Windmill built in 1765 and moved to its current position in 1996.

Windmills have graced Bruges’ ramparts ever since the construction of the outer city wall at the end of the 13th century. By the 16th century as many as thirty could be counted, powered by water or wind. They played an important role until the 19th century, milling grain for the bakers who used it to bake bread. Other mills produced oil.

When steam engines gradually took over the work of the millers, the mills became obsolete. After they had almost all disappeared one by one, there was the sad realisation that an important piece of heritage had been lost. Last century, Bruges relocated three mills from other Flemish municipalities to keep the memory of the past alive. They ended up on the eastern side of the City Ramparts.

We walk pass The New Parrot windmill (Windmolen De Nieuwe Papegaai).

Next we reach the Sint-Janshuismolen windmill.

Sint-Janshuismolen (Sint-Janshuis Mill) is the only one of the four windmills on the city ramparts where grain is still actually ground. The millers are only too happy to welcome you with secrets about this age-old craft. If the wind is favourable, you can even see the mechanism in operation.

We reach the Kruispoort Gate (Cross Gate).

The oldest Kruispoort gate was built near the second rampart (1297-1304) and replaced as early as 1366. Philip van Artevelde destroyed this gate when he and the Ghent troops captured the city in 1382. Gate number three followed in 1400. Only the two massive towers with their narrow passage and two octagonal turrets remained. Charles V, Napoleon, and the German army all entered Bruges through this gate.

The first gate (1297-1304) on this site was part of Bruges' second city wall dating from 1297. In 1366, a new gate was erected, designed by master masons Mathias Saghen and Jan Slabbaerd, who also built the Smedenpoort ( Forged Gate) and the Ezelpoort (Donkey Gate). This gate was demolished in 1382, after the city was captured by the people of Ghent under the leadership of Philip van Artevelde .

The construction of the current gate was decided upon by the Bruges city council in 1400. Master masons Jan van Oudenaerde and Maarten van Leuven were appointed as designers and builders. The building was completed by 1406.

The original complex consisted of a main building (two massive round towers with defensive walls, a vestibule, and a high superstructure), along with a foregate, eight towers, and two bridges. In 1760, the foregate was demolished and never rebuilt.

At the Kruispoort there are two Kruispoort bridges over the Ringvaart .

After the Second World War and until 1988, the Kruispoort housed a modest War Museum , while a caretaker also occupied a section. The (revived) Bruges fencing club, called the St. Michael's Guild or Hallebardiers, has been based in the Kruispoort since the end of the twentieth century.

We start to walk into the city now away from the canal.

We are walking down quiet streets in the Sint Anna Quarter.

We pass the Jeruzalem Church pictured below.

The Jerusalem Chapel on the Adornes domain. This heritage gem was created in the 15th century by the eponymous, deeply religious family.

This chapel functioned as a private chapel and was inspired by the mythical Holy Sepulchre Church in Jerusalem. The architecture, furnishings and relics illustrate this family’s great reverence for the holy city of Jerusalem. There you can admire the beautiful stained-glass windows, the relic of the Holy Cross and an imposing mausoleum.

The chapel is part of the Adornes domain, located in the working-class Sint-Anna district of Bruges. The former houses of worship on this site now house a museum. This museum reveals the rich history of the Adornes family. Also here is the former private home of Anselm Adornes, the most notable member of this family. In these restored spaces, there is an impressive art collection.

The Adornes family was a prominent and deeply religious family, originating from Genoa in Italy. They settled in Bruges at the end of the 13th century. Several family members played roles in international trade and politics, both in Bruges and at the Burgundian court. Anselm Adornes (1424-1483) was the best known member of the family.

Anselm was a successful trader in cloth and alum; a mineral used in cloth production, tanning and glassmaking. He could call upon an impressive international network. He had particularly good contacts in Scotland. It was there that the Scottish king knighted him in the Order of the Unicorn, after which he went to Palestine as a Jerusalem pilgrim. Eventually, he came to a bloody end in Scotland. After his death, his heart was brought to Bruges and interred in the mausoleum in the Jerusalem Chapel.

To this day, the site has continued to be administered by Anselm’s heirs. The 17th generation after the founders of the domain now look after this valuable heritage.

We walk on up Blekerstraat with views to Poortersloge (Burghers' Lodge).

The Burghers’ Lodge was built between 1395 and 1417 and was commissioned by the commercial elite of the time, the burgesses of Bruges (patricians and merchants). In those days, this area was at the very centre of international trade. This was where ships were loaded and unloaded and traders could see their ships approaching from the tower. Trading nations built their ‘nation houses’ in the vicinity - these were used to accommodate international representatives and to store goods. The burgesses of Bruges received their trade partners in the Burghers’ Lodge.

Between 1720 and 1890, the Poortersloge was an art school. The classrooms of the Bruges Academy were located here. After the French Revolution, the Academy became a refuge for works of art which had been rescued from the demolished churches of Bruges, including some panels by the Flemish Primitives. The building took on its current appearance at the end of the 19th century and in 1912, the Poortersloge and some adjoining buildings were restored and turned into the State Archive. One hundred years later, the State Archive was moved to a new building due to lack of space.

Today, the Burghers’ Lodge is a location for contemporary art in Bruges. There are a number of exhibitions held here each year, ranging from themed projects to presentations of private collections and solo exhibitions by contemporary artists.

We walk on and out onto Vlamingstraat and back down to the Grote Markt.

Vlamingstraat

We enter the Christmas market again to buy a Christmas Tree decoration we saw yesterday.

We tried the Basilica of the Holy Rood again but it was closed for a service unfortunately. 

 

We headed back to Rosary Quay after visiting a market in Vismarkt (fish market).

We booked onto a boat tour of Bruges from a stall outside 't Huidevettershuis.

We headed down the canal and Meersburg and eventually to Poortersloge where we were earlier.

Then we returned back pass Rosary Quay and down the other direction.

For half an hour, the captain takes you on a tour of the most beautiful spots on the water between Jan van Eyck Square and the Beguinage.

There was a long commentary that I strained to hear as we were sitting on the rear of the boat.

Mariabrug (Mary's Bridge): Lowest bridge in Bruges near St. John's Hospital, known for its photo opportunities and quaint feel.

The St. John's Hospital is one of Europe's oldest and best-preserved hospital buildings, with a history dating back to the 12th century.

The building is located on the Dijver canal, near the Mariabrug (Mary's Bridge).

It now houses a museum (Museum Sint-Janshospitaal) showcasing the site's history, medical instruments, and artworks, including famous paintings by Hans Memling.

The historic city centre of Bruges is a UNESCO World Heritage site, known for its picturesque canals and medieval architecture.

Heading back we pass back under the pretty Boniface Bridge again.

We disembark at Rosary Quay and head over to the beer wall at 2be. I've long looked at this for years and I finally get to visit.

This bar and beer shop is known for its wall of beer’, with over 2500 bottles lined up along one side of the building.

They sell beers from across Belgium, and you can try a few in a beer tasting flight. There’s a waterside terrace overlooking the Rosary Quay. We opted to sit inside as its cold.

I could spend a good few years drinking my way through all these!

Mel orders the Monzo Coconut beer, very nice that was!

I have the Golden Carolous Xmas Noel beer, this was very nice. Dark ruby red with 6 different herbs and spices infused over six months.

After we finished our drinks, we headed next door into the 2be shop.

In the 15th century mayor’s house “Perez de Malvenda”, where in these days the Holy Blood was kept, you can find, within the splendid fullness of old and new architecture, our range of Belgian products.

A wide variety of beer, chocolates, biscuits, t-shirts, Tin Tin Chapel, Magritte room etc.

Very interesting shop , range of comic related stuff and huge range of beers, glasses and other merchandise.

We leave the 2be shop and head across town to visit the De Haalve Maan Brewery.

This authentic brewery in the centre of Bruges is a family business with a tradition stretching back through six generations to 1856. This is where the Bruges city beer - the Brugse Zot - is brewed: a strong-tasting, high-fermentation beer based on malt, hops and special yeast. In 2016 a unique underground beer pipeline, some 3 km long, was laid from the brewery to the bottling plant in the suburbs. Daily tours of the brewery are organized, at the end of which visitors are offered a free glass of Brugse Zot blond beer.

I have a Bruge Zot beer and Mel a hot chocolate.

A visit to the shop see me buying a Bruge Zot glass and some Brugse Bok for me and my friends. 

A walk back pass Rosary Quay to visit the Bourgogne Des Flandres Brewery on Wollestraat.

After 65 years, Bourgogne des Flandres has returned to the inner city of Bruges with its own brewery and distillery. Explore the brewery and breathe in the smell of malt and fresh hops in the loft. See how the beer is brewed with your own eyes! Discover how we make Genever spirit out of our delicious beers.

I ordered a Gordon Xmas. I thought it'd be a nice Belgian Xmas beer, little did I know it was a Scotch wee Heavy. Not my favourite style of beer by a long shot!

Tried to drink as much as I could, didn't really enjoy it and the rest of todays alcohol was catching up on me.

We caught a bus back to the B&B for a nap before we head back out for dinner and to try and see the Winter Illuminations.

We caught the bus back into the city. Looked about for something nice to eat but ended up choosing McDonald's as we were fed up with looking for something affordable.

We then finally found our way to the Winter Glow Illuminations.

Bruges' winter illuminations, part of the "Winter Glow" festival, run from approximately November 21, 2025, to January 4/5, 2026, transforming the city with light trails, festive decorations, and Christmas markets in the Grote Markt & Simon Stevinplein, offering a fairytale atmosphere with magical lighting and attractions like ice skating. 

We walk back into the city and grab the bus back to the B&B. Off to Ghent tomorrow!