We're going to take you on a boat ride tour through the picturesque canals of a fairytale
city that was built on water.
Bruges, in Belgium, is one of the world's great cities to visit with the best-preserved
collection of medieval buildings in all of Europe.
This is a beautiful place, especially attractive when seen from a canal boat.
You can easily explore Bruges by walking because it's rather compact, only about one square
kilometer in size.
You could also take a tour in a horse carriage or maybe rent a bicycle and pedal around.
Yet one of the most popular ways to see Bruges is taking a boat ride in the canals, getting
a special angle, enjoying these unique sights from water level.
It's such a popular activity that nearly every visitor does it, but you can beat the crowd
by starting early or late in the day.
There are five different boat companies, each with their own separate loading dock clustered
near the central Markt square of town, easy to find them.
They all take the same route and charge the same price for the same 30-minute itinerary.
“So, welcome everyone on the boat on this lovely day today.
So my name is Alan, and I'm going to be your guide for the next 30 to 35 minutes.
In front of us, we start immediately with one of the symbols of Bruges, is the Belfry
tower, 83 meters high, 366 steps to the top.
47 bells you have hanging there with a total weight of 27 tons.
“Little information on the canals of Bruges.
We have 16 kilometers inside of Bruges, we use five for the tour.
Water is between one and three meters deep and has plenty of fish in here.
We’ve got carp, eels, piranha, all different kinds.
In front of us, the oldest bridge of Bruges, from the 12th century.
It's called the Meebridge, and it's ready to collapse any day now.
Every time we pass that bridge, we are lucky people.”
The canals are lined with a mix of medieval and Renaissance-style houses adorned with
unique architectural features.
It seems like no two buildings are alike.
While the boat gently glides along, you're treated to these breathtaking views of centuries
old buildings, and passing some of the approximately 80 bridges of the city.
The boat ride is a relaxing, scenic and educational experience.
And while it might seem like a very touristic thing to do, which it is, of course, it is
for tourists, you don't see any locals aside from the guides riding around in these boats.
But this is one of those almost mandatory activities that you want to enjoy when you're
visiting Bruges.
You get to see the town from a special perspective that you just don't get when you're walking
around in the streets.
“See there is our College of Europe.
There's only one year of specialization in there.
You need a minimum of 50,000 euro to get admitted.
So here they form the future politicians and economists from Europe.”
Higher education is quite important to this city, which has four universities, including
two applied science universities and the United Nations University Institute of Regional Studies.
So, in many ways, while Bruges looks to be a very old town, it's also quite modern and
up to date.
While the buildings look like something out of the Middle Ages, many of them are more
recent, from the 16th and 17th centuries, and there has been a lot of renovation and
reconstruction to keep them in good shape like this, work from a high tech jackhammer
rebuilding the old cobblestone paintings.
Even if you were here on a windy day, the waters of the canal are always smooth with
soothing sounds of the water, the gentle motion of the boat and calming atmosphere.
It's a perfect way to relax and take in the beauty of Bruges at a leisurely pace.
As we turn into one of the side canals, we pass by what had been the College of the English
Jesuits, and then it became a primary school, and now it's closed for renovation.
At the end of this canal, we reach Van Eyck plain with its memorial to John Van Eyck,
who lived in Bruges for the last 12 years of his life.
One of the most important painters in the history of art.
You can find one of his great masterpieces here in the Groeninge Museum, the Madona and
child.
This Van Eyckplein, or Plaza, is a beautiful space with outdoor restaurants and a view
of the canal.
This was photographed separately on my walking tour because during the boat ride you do not
get off the boat.
You stay on board for the 30 minutes.
All the more reason to spend a few days in Bruges.
So the old have time to walk around and see all of these important beautiful sights canals
played an essential role in the glorious history of Bruges, which became one of the wealthiest
cities in all of Europe during the Middle Ages because its canals and rivers enabled
Bruges to become a trading and economic superpower during its golden age, which lasted for several
hundred years from the 13th century through the 15th century.
In those days, Bruges was the center of a trading network called the Hanseatic League
that was connected with all of Europe's main cities.
Back in those days, during the 14th and 15th century, the bridge was both an important
manufacturing center and a trading center.
There were 50,000 workmen here who found employment in the manufacture of cloth processing wool
from England into high quality fabric which was then exported, even more important to
the economy was the role of Bruges as a trading center, importing and exporting goods from
all over Europe.
Hemp from Holland, Spanish skins and hides, Italian silks, cloths of Flanders and the
Wines of France, Portugal and Greece.
Iron and hardware from Germany and many other kinds of manufactured articles brought into
Bruges and then exported with taxes and profits taken with every transaction.
The city had banks, agents and consuls of all the principal nations.
In 1456, it was said that no less than 150 foreign ships came in to the docks, a bridge
on a single day.
On the corner next to the hotel is the Spanish Isles.
We used to have generals living here.
Nowadays it's a paradise for the beer lovers.
We have about 3600 different kinds of beer.
There's no doubt Belgians are beer lovers, as the guy just claimed.
There are 3600 different kinds of Belgian beer and the country has over 400 breweries.
They do drink quite a lot of beer at 74 liters per capita on average each year.
But Belgium is not in the top ten of beer consumption per capita.
Number one are the Czechs at 184 liters per capita per person.
Austria, 98 liters.
Lithuania, Romania, Poland, Estonia, Germany, Spain.
They're all weighed up there.
But Belgians certainly do love their beer.
You'll find it everywhere and it is delicious.
There is an open air market along the banks of Dover Canal that happens every day with
some arts and crafts, antiques, clothing and miscellaneous items.
At the end of the boat ride, you're only a few blocks away from this outdoor park with
its attractive market.
So by all means, come back here on foot and take a closer look on a Bruges map.
We can see the route that we've taken so far shown in that red line along the canals and
the remaining route that we've got to go.
That tower rises from the church of Notre Dame.
It's the tallest structure in town and it's the third tallest brick tower in the world
at 115 meters or 379 feet.
The church is also famous for its statue by Michelangelo depicting the Madonna and child.
You'll be walking over many bridges in your visit, but only on the boat ride can you go
underneath them.
Boniface Bridge is one of the most scenic and photographed.
Bridge became rich in the Middle Ages because of these canals, which provided that watery
highway for transporting all of the merchandise that bridge was importing and then exporting
trading throughout Europe.
However, in the early 15th century, the main river and harbor began to silt up, filled
with mud, and this prevented the ships from getting into Bruges, choking off its connections
with all of Europe.
This was one of the biggest factors that led to the decline and collapse of Bruges as an
economic power.
There were several other causes for that decline of Bruges, including the political problem
with the Emperor Maximilian, who they had imprisoned.
But when the Emperor was released, he took his revenge on Bruges by moving his Royal
Court to Antwerp and taking the business with him.
Another problem was the break up of the Hanseatic Trading League, and then America was discovered,
which brought about a big change in the method of commerce throughout Europe.
And there was also a decline in the Flemish cloth working industry.
This manufacturing of textiles had been a big source of revenue.
All of these problems combined to take away the economy of Bruges and transform it from
one of the richest cities of Europe to one of the poorest.
But that's why Bruges was never modernized and remained intact as a beautifully preserved
medieval city.
There are 250 swans in Bruges that are well taken care of by the government and have become
one of the beloved symbols of the city.
This is the place where you'll always find the biggest gathering of those lovely white
birds.
We have arrived at the end of the canal because here it reaches a barrier called the lock
house that connects it to the many water lake on the other side.
So the tour boats turn around and return the same way that they came at this end of the
canal.
We pass a very important site called the Bahnhof.
This was a residence for devout women, a type of institution that was found throughout Belgium
and the Netherlands to provide secure housing for single ladies.
It's open to the public for free during the day so you can walk in and enjoy this beautiful
park like surroundi ngs.
It's one of the biggest green spaces in the whole city, now, functioning primarily as
a convent for Benedictine nuns.
Next we pass a beer museum, which is the city's only brewery.
They offer public tours and they have an outdoor beer terrace.
These open air boats provide great visibility and are very comfortable as long as you don't
stand up going under a bridge.
There are a handful of outdoor restaurants at this part of the harbor and behind them,
the Saint John's Hospital Museum, with its collection of masterpiece paintings by Hans
mumbling right next to the church of Notre Dame.
As we cruise past the big church we arrive at.
The back of the group is Museum, built in the 15th century as the mansion of a wealthy
nobleman.
Now it's an important museum, housing a collection from the 15th to the 19th century of lace
furniture, porcelain, glass works, statues, paintings, tapestries, old books, manuscripts,
weapons and more.
It's great how the boat gives us some views of hidden parts of buildings that you don't
normally see.
If you're walking on the streets in some places, you get to look into people's backyards and
inside the windows of houses.
As we wind down that half hour ride, let me share a few tips for you to get the most out
of your boat ride.
They only take cash.
Current price is ‚Ç¨15.
They don't take reservations unless you're a big group over 25 people.
If riding in the middle of a warm day, bring along a hat and sunscreen to protect you from
the sun, best seats for taking pictures are towards the front or the back.
Schedules vary depending on the season and the boat company, but generally they run from
10 a.m. till 5 p.m..
Best to get on as early as possible.
You might have to line up, but there are departures every 15 to 20 minutes.
Don't make noise while the guide is talking and if you were pleased with his presentation,
give him a nice tip.
At the end of our little adventure on the canals of Breuges, I hope you liked what you
saw and also the explanation of your guides, all the rest to everyone, have a nice day
in Bruges, lots of things to do and see.
Enjoy it and thank you everyone for your attention.
Merci beaucoup, danke, muchas gracias per la attencion, grazie mille, Obrigado, und
vielen danke.
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