With kids · Bruges · Belgium
Bruges with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Wolfgang Staudt, CC BY 2.0
Quick answer
Bruges is compact and car-free in feel, which makes it relaxing with children: canal boats, swans, a belfry to climb, chocolate and frites museums, and flat bike rides. Cobbles and narrow pavements are tough with pushchairs, so a carrier helps with toddlers. Top picks: Canal boat tour, Choco-Story and Frietmuseum. Families usually base themselves in Begijnhof and Walplein.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 7
- Best area for families
- Begijnhof and Walplein
- Rainy-day options
- 2
- Busiest months
- July–August
Best things to do with kids
Experience · Dijver
1.Canal boat tour
Open boats leave from jetties near the Rozenhoedkaai and the Dijver for a roughly 30-minute loop through the canals, passing under low bridges and beside the backs of medieval houses that you cannot see from the street. Boats run mainly from spring to autumn, with reduced service in winter.
Sit on the side of the boat facing the walls rather than the middle, and bring a layer; the open boats can be breezy.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Kids
- Couples
- Views
Museum · Markt and Burg
2.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. It is aimed at families and works well on a rainy afternoon.
Time your visit around the chocolate-making demonstration, which runs several times a day.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Food
- Rainy day
Museum · Markt and Burg
3.Frietmuseum
In one of the city's oldest buildings, the Saaihalle, this museum tells the story of the potato and Belgian frites, with old fryers and posters, and a cellar where you can buy frites at the end.
Visit just before lunch and eat the frites in the vaulted cellar afterwards.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Food
- Rainy day
Viewpoint · Markt and Burg
4.Belfry of Bruges
The 83-metre medieval bell tower leans slightly and is climbed by a narrow spiral staircase of 366 steps, passing the old treasury and the carillon of 47 bells. At the top, the view stretches over the red roofs and canals to the coast on clear days. It is part of the UNESCO-listed belfries of Belgium and France.
Go at the very start or end of the day; on the way up, time your stop by the bells for when the carillon plays.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Book ahead
- Only a limited number of people are allowed in the tower at once; book a time slot online to avoid a long wait.
- Iconic
- Views
- History
- Active
Historic site · Begijnhof and Walplein
5.Begijnhof and Minnewater
The Beguinage Ten Wijngaerde, founded in the 13th century for religious laywomen, is a walled garden of whitewashed houses around tall trees, now home to Benedictine nuns and part of the UNESCO-listed Flemish Béguinages. Daffodils carpet the lawn in spring. Just south, the Minnewater lake, nicknamed the Lake of Love, is home to swans.
Visit early in the morning, before tour groups arrive, and keep voices low; it is still a place of quiet residence.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Couples
- Photo spot
- History
- Outdoors
Historic site · Sint-Anna
6.Kruisvest windmills
Four windmills stand on the grassy ramparts along the Kruisvest on the eastern edge of the old town. Sint-Janshuismolen still grinds flour and is open to visitors in the warmer months. The rampart path is a pleasant walk or ride with views over the canal ring.
Walk or cycle the ramparts from the Kruispoort gate north to the windmills in the late afternoon light.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Photo spot
- Off the beaten path
- Active
![Wolfgang Staudt [1]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bruges_Market_Square_and_Belfry.jpg){kind=link}
Landmark · Markt and Burg
7.Markt
The main square is framed by colourful step-gabled guild houses, the neo-Gothic Provincial Court and the Belfry, with a statue of the medieval rebel leaders Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck in the middle. A weekly market fills it on Wednesday mornings, and the Christmas market and ice rink take over in winter.
Grab a cone of frites from the stalls at the foot of the Belfry and eat it on the statue steps.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Iconic
- Free
- Architecture
- Photo spot
- After dark
Rainy-day ideas
- Choco-Story — Time your visit around the chocolate-making demonstration, which runs several times a day.
- Frietmuseum — Visit just before lunch and eat the frites in the vaulted cellar afterwards.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for families, first-timers and couples
Begijnhof and Walplein
The southern part of the old town includes the white-walled Begijnhof, the Minnewater lake and the Walplein square with the De Halve Maan brewery. Katelijnestraat has hotels, chocolate shops and the Church of Our Lady, and the railway station is about a 10-minute walk away through Minnewater park.
- Good
- Easy walk from the station; Near museums and the brewery; Green space at Minnewater
- Watch out
- Tour groups pass through all day; Katelijnestraat is souvenir-heavy
- Nearby
- Begijnhof, Minnewater, De Halve Maan, Church of Our Lady
Family travel tips
- Rent bikes with child seats or a trailer and ride the flat canal path to Damme.
- The Belfry's 366 steps are narrow and steep; older children enjoy it, but it is hard with toddlers.
- Pick a hotel near the Begijnhof and Minnewater park, where children can watch the swans and run on the grass.
- Many museums offer free or reduced entry for children; check before buying tickets.
- Plan a beach afternoon at Ostend or De Haan, both easy by train and tram.
Day trips for families
- 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.
- Ostend (About 15 minutes by train) — Belgium's biggest seaside town has a long promenade and sandy beach, seafood stalls along the harbour selling grey shrimp and fish soup, and the Mu.ZEE art museum with works by James Ensor.
- De Haan (About 45 minutes by train and coastal tram) — A small resort of Belle Époque villas set among dunes, with a wide sandy beach and no high-rise buildings, a quiet contrast to the larger coastal towns.
When to go with children
The best months overall are April–June and September. July–August are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Bruges good for kids?
Bruges is compact and car-free in feel, which makes it relaxing with children: canal boats, swans, a belfry to climb, chocolate and frites museums, and flat bike rides. Cobbles and narrow pavements are tough with pushchairs, so a carrier helps with toddlers.
+What can kids do in Bruges?
Canal boat tour, Choco-Story, Frietmuseum, Belfry of Bruges and Begijnhof and Minnewater.
+Where should families stay in Bruges?
Begijnhof and Walplein: The Beguinage, Minnewater swans and the De Halve Maan brewery near the station.