Eight Hours Ashore in Zeebrugge, Belgium

Zeebrugge - popular cruise port featuring on many Northern European cruise itineraries and as a destination for many popular mini cruises from the UK.

It is the second largest port in Belgium , it is 11km from Bruges, 29km from Ostend and 100km from Brussels. Zeebrugge is what we call a  ‘transit port’, in other words a lot of cruises visit, more that 150 in 2017, but none start or finish here, although a new cruise terminal has been constructed in an attempt to change that.

The Belgian countryside and coastline are extremely flat and so although the area is not known for its sweeping views, it is good for easy walking, bicycling and for trips on the wonderful Kusstram - the coastal tram.

Family friendly beaches

Beaches are family friendly -tidal but mainly sandy, with some wonderful sand dunes. The English Channel (or La Manche as it is known from the Belgian side) is a good place to take a bracing swim in chilly waters and the coastal towns are well set up for day trippers with plenty of restaurants, kids clubs, bike hire etc. If you want to have a day out in the fresh air, walking or cycling then definitely head for the beaches.

Most visiting cruise passengers head inland for the medieval cities of Bruges and Ghent. Some even head even further inland to the Belgian capital, Brussels. Military historians find a lot to interest them here, a popular excursion being to Ypres for “Flanders Fields” tours of the WW1 Battlefields of the Somme. The site of the battle of Waterloo, whilst it is in Belgium, is probably just too far away to be practicable for a day trip.

Heilig-Bloedbasiliek - The Basilica of the Holy Blood 

When first visited Zeebrugge on a cruise we were definitely given the impression given by the ship’s staff was that it was difficult to do any independent travel from the port and people have said that when they try to research a day out from Zeebrugge it rapidly seems to get very confusing - one of the reasons for this is that Belgium is composed of four language areas: the Dutch language area; Flanders, the Walloon region which uses the French language, the German language area and the bilingual Brussels-Capital area. In Zeebrugge Flemish (similar to Dutch) and Walloon (Belgian French) are both commonly used although luckily most people seem to speak reasonable good English as well. 

The dunes and beach at Oostende

Its not too difficult once you know that something imay be labelled in Flemish or French: for example Zeebrugge is in Flanders hence Zee-Brugge is literally Sea-Brugge (or Bruges as we call it even though that is also in Flanders!) Confused? You will be! Maps and leaflets seem to swing wildly between the two languages - generally using both at the same time! So you all just have to keep in mind that everything can have two or three completely different names and that what you may see on a map is not what you will actually see when you get there. Some maps use English names, some French and some Flemish - it can really complicate things - luckily the local currency is the Euro which is nice and straightforward!

The most popular destination is BRUGGE (Bruges)..

Brugge (in Flemish -- it's Bruges in French) is a pocket-sized medieval city with historic buildings and beautiful canals. Once the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy, powerful players in European politics of the 15th century, Bruges was a cosmopolitan trading port, its wealth was built on the medieval cloth trade. It is the number one destination for cruise passengers calling at Zeebrugge.

There are various ways to reach Bruges from the ship, which you choose will depend on your group size and personal preference. You can take a ships tour, ships transfer, shuttle to the station and then by train, local taxi or my preference for flexibility - the Cruise Express service which runs from just outside the cruise terminal. It costs €19 a head compared to £50 or so for a cruise transfer. If you have a larger group a prebooked taxi / mini bus will be cheapest. The free port shuttle to the local railway station and then train into Bruges is the cheapest option but can be quite slow.

Beginhof - on the walk in from the coach park

Zeebrugge yacht basin - just outside the Cruise Terminal gates

Bruges is basically circular and pedestrianised so whichever way you reach the city you will have to walk in from the ring road. There are some local eco-buses that enter the historic area centre but it is only a fifteen minute walk into the city centre. Their isn’t a HOHO bus as such but there are circular, non stopping Minibus tours and horse and carriage rides if you want to get an overview of the whole city. The town is really very small and you can walk right across it in half an hour it really is quite straightforward walking although there are a lot of cobbled streets and walking them is quite tough on the feet so wear sensible shoes!

There is so much to see that you won’t be able to do it all - depending on the weather you may want to focus on the canals and gardens or spend more of the day inside in some of the beautiful historical buildings and churches . There are also museums of everything from 13th century art treasure to a museum focusing on the local favourite Frites ( chips / French fries - seriously!).

In fact there is SO much to see that my port profile just grew and grew and is now basically a Cruise Passengers guide book!! It is due to be published in July 2021 so if you are heading to Zeebrugge keep an eye on my Bookshop or sign up to the newsletter for special pre-order offers!

A quick rundown of my favourites spots in Bruges and beyond…

Best Insta spot

Rozenhoedkaai  - The Quay of the Rosary) Rozenhoedkaai Is where the Groenerei and Dijver canals meet - cobbles, Boat trips, cute shops, coffee, chocolate, interesting museum and picture perfect shots.

Vismarkt (Fish Market).

Best Market

Vismarkt (Fish Market). - an arts and crafts market on Sunday and Monday.  Smaller arts and crafts presence the rest of the week but with fish for sale from the old marble slabbed stalls.  

Best viewpoint

Belfort van Brugge - the Belfry of Bruges - towers over Markt - one of the two town squares. This medieval bell tower was built in 1240, is 83 meters tall and houses 47 bells. 350 steps to the top give you amazing panoramic views of the city and the bells peel a Carrilon every fifteen minutes. You will also see the Bruges treasury with 10 locks - the keys were individually held ensuring that no one person had access.

Best church

Heilig-Bloedbasiliek - The Basilica of the Holy Blood  Its hard to know which church to choose as there are so many different examples. I really liked The Basilica of the Holy Blood - it is almost tucked away in a corner of Burg, the other large square  in town. The 12th century building is across two levels - the medieval lower chapel is free to enter - the ornate upper chapter has a small enrtrance fee and can be accessed by lift. The church houses a relic of the Holy Blood allegedly collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders.

Best shopping

Lace for sale at the museum

Chocolate! Obvious but true… and Bruges lace but beware that most lace on sale seemed to be machine made  - for an insight into ‘real’ lacemaking visit the lacemaking museum.

Which is very close to the …..

Best ‘off the beaten track’ spot

Jeruzalemkerk and the Lace museum ( red shutters)

Adornes Domain/ Jeruzalemkerk

The Adornes family, who came from Genoa in Italy, built this estate during the 15th century and it has remained in the same family ever since! They built the Jeruzalemkerk (Jerusalem church) a number of alms houses and a mansion. The family chapel was consecrated in 1429 and was inspired by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. A visit to the private estate includes the chapel gardens a museum and the Scottish chamber. Bruges Kant - lace -museum is situated in the almshouses ashown above and the folk museum is opposite so lots in the area and slightly away from the crowded part of town.

Best alternative day out

Kusstram - coastal tram

Kusstram - coast tram. Take a trip to Oostende or De Hanne (or both!) The tram stretches the entire length of the coast and is very reliable. Modern, clean and largely with disabled access. A day ticket is good value at €7.50 and €4.00 for a child. It is worth downloading the app for up to the second travel info. https://www.dekusttram.be/en/

I hope you enjoyed reading this short Blog and stay in touch to read the new guide book when it is published. I would love to know what you think so it would be great if you commented below! There are also some small affiliate links there which help towards the running of the website - if you click through and buy anything from them it gives us a few pence but doesn’t cost you any extra! It’s a great help and thanks to all those who do!

Happy portExploring!

Cathy 

xx

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