In the 15th century, Bruges was one of the richest cities in Europe. The Dukes of Burgundy lived here, Italian bankers and German merchants did business here, and painters like Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling worked here. This self-guided Golden Age walk follows their footsteps: palaces, merchant houses, the square that gave the world the word “bourse”, and the streets where the Flemish masters lived.
This is walk 2 of our 4 self-guided walking routes in Bruges.
Route overview
| Distance | About 5 km |
| Walking time | About 3 hours with short stops |
| Start | Gruuthuse Palace inner courtyard (next to the Church of Our Lady) |
| End | St Saviour’s Cathedral |
| Best for | History and art lovers, a second day in Bruges, rainy days (many indoor stops) |
Why was Bruges so rich?
In 1369, Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy married Margaret, the heiress of the Count of Flanders. When her father died in 1384, Flanders became part of the Burgundian lands. The Burgundian court loved Bruges, and wealth followed: nobles built city palaces, merchants from all over Europe opened offices, and the city became a centre for luxury goods – tapestries, diamonds, illuminated books and paintings. Around 1500 it all ended: the port silted up and trade moved to Antwerp. That decline is exactly why so much of medieval Bruges survived.
The Golden Age walk: 20 stops
1. Gruuthuse Palace inner courtyard
The Gruuthuse family grew rich with a monopoly on gruut, the herb mix used to flavour beer – and in the Middle Ages beer was safer to drink than canal water. Above the gate you can read the motto of Louis de Gruuthuse: “Plus est en vous” – “There is more in you than you think”. The palace is now a museum about 500 years of Bruges history.
2. Hof Arents
In this small park stand two stone columns: the last remains of the Water Halls, a giant covered market where ships sailed in to load and unload next to Market Square.
3. Groeninge Museum
The home of the Flemish primitives. Jan van Eyck perfected oil painting here, which gave his works their incredible detail and colour. Do not miss his portraits and the works of Memling and Gerard David.
4. Dijver
This canal was part of the first city ramparts, dug after the murder of Count Charles the Good in 1127. Water was everything for Bruges: it protected the city and connected it, via tidal channels, with the North Sea. Ships brought wool, wine, spices and furs; they left with cloth, diamonds, tapestries and paintings.
5. Watervliet Court
A 15th-century Burgundian town house in one of the oldest streets of Bruges, built for the noble De Baenst family, friends of the Gruuthuse and Adornes families. Walk through the gate to see the courtyard and the open gallery.
6. Market Square
The city’s commercial heart since the 12th century. Under the Belfry there were once more than 380 market stalls. Look at the house Bouchoute on the corner: the golden ball on its roof and the copper “noon line” on the square showed the exact local time from 1837 – needed when the trains arrived.
7. The lost St Donatian’s Cathedral (Burg Square)
Opposite the City Hall once stood the city’s most important church. Count Charles the Good was murdered here in 1127, Jan van Eyck was buried here, and around it worked dozens of copyists, illuminators and booksellers. French revolutionaries demolished it at the end of the 18th century. The paving under the trees still shows where it stood.
8. Egg Market (Eiermarkt)
Once the market for butter, cheese and eggs, today a lively nightlife spot. The 18th-century water pump reminds you that, from the late 13th century, lead pipes brought fresh water into the city – some were used until 1925.
9. Vlamingstraat
The busiest shopping street of medieval Bruges, full of wine taverns with deep cellars. You can still drink under medieval vaults in Taverne Curiosa and ‘t Poatersgat, and in nearby Kuipersstraat at Le Trappiste.
10. Jan van Eyck Square
The old port district – the “Burgundian Manhattan”. See the Toll House where merchants paid taxes on foreign goods, the tiny house where the dock workers were organised, and Burghers’ Lodge, the elegant club of rich citizens. Look for the Bruges bear in a wall niche around the corner.
Sweet detour: our chocolate workshop is just two minutes away, at Sint-Annarei 17.
11. Wednesday Market (Woensdagmarkt)
A statue of Hans Memling, the best-paid painter of his time, stands where charcoal was once sold on Wednesdays. He lived nearby in the painters’ quarter.
12. Oosterlingen Square
The base of the German Hanseatic League, a trade network of more than two hundred cities. Its nation house here was so grand that it counted among the “Seven Wonders of Bruges”. Only a small part survives, next to Hotel Bryghia.
13. St Giles’ district
The artists’ quarter. Van Eyck had his studio here and Memling lived in Sint-Jorisstraat. In the 15th century the area was full of inns and bathhouses; today it is one of the quietest parts of the city.
14. St Giles’ Church
A village church in the city, with a rare wooden barrel vault. Hans Memling and several other famous painters were buried here, although their graves have disappeared.
15. Augustine Bridge
One of the oldest bridges in Bruges (1391). Spanish merchants lived around here and unloaded their wool at the nearby Spanish Quay.
16. Old Stock Exchange Square
Here, in front of the inn of the Van der Beurse family, merchants met to trade and exchange money from the 14th century. “Going to the Beurse” became the word for a stock exchange in many languages. Around the square you still see the nation houses of Genoa, Florence and Venice.
17. Bladelin Court
The palace of Pieter Bladelin, treasurer of the Order of the Golden Fleece, later a branch of the Medici bank from Florence. In the courtyard you can see portrait medallions of Lorenzo de’ Medici and his wife.
18. St James’s Church
The parish church of the Burgundian elite, full of funeral art, copper burial plates (a Bruges speciality) and paintings by Flemish primitives.
19. Princes’ Court
The favourite palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, once seven times bigger than today, with gardens, a zoo and a huge bathhouse. Philip the Good and Mary of Burgundy both died here. Today it is a luxury hotel.
20. St Saviour’s Cathedral
In 1478 the Knights of the Golden Fleece met here under Maximilian of Austria. Their coats of arms still hang above the Gothic choir stalls. The treasury holds the oldest painting in Bruges (around 1400).
Taste the Burgundian lifestyle
The Burgundians loved luxury – and nothing is more Belgian luxury than handmade chocolate. Halfway through the walk, at Jan van Eyck Square, you are two minutes from our workshop at Sint-Annarei 17. In about 2 hours you temper Belgian chocolate, make your own pralines and mendiants, and take home 27 handmade chocolates.
Did you know?
- Swans as punishment: legend says that after the people of Bruges held Maximilian of Austria prisoner and executed his adviser Pieter Lanchals (“long neck”), Maximilian ordered them to keep swans on the canals forever.
- The first diamond engagement ring: in 1477 Maximilian gave Mary of Burgundy a ring with diamonds in the shape of an M – often called the first diamond engagement ring in history.
- The Golden Tree: in 1468, for the wedding of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York, Bruges held a week-long knights’ tournament. The Golden Tree Procession still remembers it.
Your Bruges roadmap
- Walk 1 – The must-sees
- Walk 2 – Golden Age Bruges (you are here)
- Walk 3 – Quiet St Anne’s & hidden gems
- Walk 4 – Modern Bruges
Frequently asked questions
Can I do this walk in one day with the classic route?
It is better on a second day. Combine our one-day route on day 1 with this Golden Age walk on day 2.
Which stops are indoors?
Gruuthuse Museum, Groeninge Museum, St Giles’ Church, St James’s Church and St Saviour’s Cathedral – and the cellar taverns on Vlamingstraat.
Can I shorten the walk?
Yes. Stop after Jan van Eyck Square (about half the route) or skip the St Giles loop.
