Season guide · Bruges · Belgium
Bruges in spring
March–May: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Zeisterre, CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answer
Daffodils in the Begijnhof, terraces reopening and good cycling weather, with showers and busy Easter weekends. Expect highs up to 18°C (64°F) and lows around 3°C (37°F), with about 30 rainy days across March–May. April–May are among the best months of the year to visit.
Key facts
- Months
- March–May
- Temperatures
- 3°C (37°F) to 18°C (64°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 30
- Crowds
- Moderate
- Hotel prices
- Average
Weather in spring
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 10°C (50°F) | 3°C (37°F) | 11 | 11.7 h | 2/5 |
| April | 14°C (57°F) | 5°C (41°F) | 9 | 13.8 h | 3/5 |
| May | 18°C (64°F) | 8°C (46°F) | 10 | 15.5 h | 4/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 14°C (57°F) against a yearly 14°C (57°F), and 30 of the year's roughly 128 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 3/5 and hotel prices 3/5 on average.
What's on in spring
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- May: Procession of the Holy Blood — historic religious procession through the centre (Ascension Day, usually May)
Good choices for spring
Architecture · Markt and Burg
Burg and City Hall
The Burg square holds Bruges's Gothic City Hall, built from 1376 and one of the oldest in the Low Countries.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Architecture
- History
- Rainy day
Religious site · Markt and Burg
Basilica of the Holy Blood
Visit the lower Romanesque chapel too; it is one of the oldest interiors in the city and often overlooked.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Rainy day
Museum · Dijver
Groeningemuseum
The city's fine-art museum is best known for its Flemish Primitives: Jan van Eyck's Madonna with Canon Joris van der Paele and his portrait of his wife Margaret, works by Hans Memling and Gerard David, and Hieronymus Bosch's Last Judgement triptych.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Iconic
- Rainy day
- History
Museum · Begijnhof and Walplein
Old St. John's Hospital
Look closely at the St Ursula Shrine; its tiny painted panels tell the saint's journey to Rome and Cologne.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Museum · Markt and Burg
Choco-Story
A chocolate museum in a historic house near the Markt traces cocoa from the Maya and Aztecs to Belgian pralines, with a chocolatier demonstration and tasting at the end.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Food
- Rainy day
Day trips in spring
- Ghent (About 25 minutes by train) — A larger, livelier university city with the Van Eyck brothers' Ghent Altarpiece in St Bavo's Cathedral, the moated Gravensteen castle and the guild houses along the Graslei.
- Damme (About 30 minutes by bike) — A tiny medieval town along a poplar-lined canal, with a Gothic town hall, a ruined church tower you can climb and several bookshops.
What to pack
- Layers, a warm sweater and a jacket for cool evenings
- A packable rain jacket for showers
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is spring a good time to visit Bruges?
Yes: April–May are among the best months. Daffodils in the Begijnhof, terraces reopening and good cycling weather, with showers and busy Easter weekends.
+What is the weather like in Bruges in spring?
Highs of up to 18°C (64°F) and lows around 3°C (37°F), with about 30 rainy days over the season.