108 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp264–6 and pp288–91

Bruges 1 E Choco-Story
Wijnzakstraat 2 (St-Jansplein),
Bruges. Tel (050) 612237.

10am–5pm daily. ¢ 2nd week

of Jan. & = http://www.choco-story.be
Set in a 15th-century former
wine tavern known as the
Huis de Croon, this museum
of chocolate shows, through
exhibits, demonstrations and
tastings, how cocoa is made
into chocolate. Choco-Story’s
many artifacts cover the com-
plete history of chocolate from
its origins in Central America
to all aspects of its trade.
In the same building is
housed the Lumina Domestica,
a museum of domestic light-
ing that displays the finest of
an extraordinary, beautifully
presented, private collection
of around 6,500 lamps, start-
ing with prehistoric oil lamps.

P The Markt
Bruges’s main square, an
impressive open space lined
with 17th-century houses and
overlooked by the Belfort on
one side, has held a market
since the 10th century. On the
eastern side is the Neo-Gothic
Provinciaal Hof, built between
1881 and 1921. This denotes
Bruges’s status as the capital
of the Province of West
Vlaanderen. In the middle of
the square is a statue of Pieter
de Coninck and Jan Breydel,
two 14th-century guildsmen
who led a bloody rebellion
known as the Bruges Matins
against French troops in 1302.

lead up, past the chamber

where the town’s rights and

privileges were stored, to the

roof, which offers delightful

views of the city. The Belfort

also contains a famous caril-

lon, with 47 bells that can

be played from a keyboard.

E Friet Museum

Vlamingstraat 33, Bruges. Te l (050)

340150. 
        

        10am–5pm daily.

        
        

        ¢ second week of Jan. & 
        http://www.frietmuseum.be
        Belgian chips or fries (friet
        in Dutch and frites in French)
        are widely acknowledged as
        the best in the world. The
        Friet Museum, founded by
        the creators of Choco-Story,
        reveals the secrets of this
        national culinary triumph –
        the choice of potato, its cut
        and frying, its history (right
        back to the ancient Americas)
        plus everything associated
        with the Belgian passion for
        friet. Visitors can also taste
        the product of all this dedi-
        cated research. The museum
        is arranged in the modernized
        interior of the 14th-century
        Saaihalle (Serge-weavers’
        Hall), a building which,
        until 1516, had served as the
        Genoese Lodge, the head-
        quarters of traders from the
        Italian port-city of Genoa.

        
        

The medieval Belfort, towering

over the roofs of the city centre

P The Belfort
Markt. # daily. &
Built between the 13th and
15th centuries, the Belfort is an
octagonal bell tower that rises
to a height of 83 m (272 ft)
and dominates the Markt.
Inside the tower, 366 steps

P The Burg

A pleasant cobbled square

near the Markt, the Burg was

once the political and reli-

gious focus of Bruges. It is

also the site of the original

fort around which the city

grew. Some of the most

imposing civic buildings are

located here, including the

Stadhuis and the Oude Griffie

(Old Recorder’s House) with

its Renaissance façade. Next

The city of Bruges originated as a 9th-century
fortress built to defend the coast against the
Vikings. Dominated by the French and then
the dukes of Burgundy, Bruges became one
of Europe’s most sophisticated cities and
an international trading hub, famed for its
extravagance and luxury. Today, the city
owes its pre-eminent position to the beauty
of its historic centre, whose cobbled lanes
and meandering canals are lined by medi-
eval buildings. There is a lively cultural
scene, embodied in the Concertgebouw,
an innovative concert hall built to celebrate Bruges’s
status as a European City of Culture in 2002.

Bell-maker in

the Markt

Bruges’s medieval buildings flanking the canalized River Reie