7 Best Museums in Bruges, from Flemish Primitives to Beer

There are many museums in bruges, is something you should know before visiting the city. Which, by the way, is a very good alternative, especially to have options on rainy days.

Some are more interesting than others, but, above all, they have very varied themes, as you will be able to see.

If something has Witches It has a small historic centre in which almost all the buildings can be visited.

Perhaps what draws your attention before going to Bruges is seeing its buildings, but when you arrive in the city, you realize that the interiors of its buildings are on par with the exteriors.

Tell me your interests and I'll tell you which museum to visit, because there's everything.

Before I start showing you the museums, I'll leave you here with other articles about Bruges that I'm sure you'll find interesting.

• What is essential to see in Bruges
• What to eat in Bruges, our 7 recommended restaurants
• Keys to the history of Bruges
• Best places to see in Belgium

Musea Brugge Card, a card for visiting museums

Something you have to consider when traveling to Bruges is whether you are interested in hiring the Bruges Museum Card call, Museums Bruges Card.

We did it, and the truth is that it was a success because it includes almost all the museums, but also tickets to several monuments such as the Bruges Town Hall.

The option we chose from the Museums Bruges Card It costs 33 euros and is active for a period of 72 hours.

The card is activated as soon as you enter the first museum, and it has been our faithful travel companion on our last visit to the city.

Here is more information about the card Bruges Museum Card

Museums in Bruges, which are the best

Now we start with the review of The best museums in Bruges.

Gruuthuse Museum, the history of the city of Bruges

And I start with this museum because, in my opinion, it is the best museum you can visit in Bruges.

Furthermore, it has only been open for a short time because the beautiful building in which it is located is an old palace that was under reconstruction.

It is a museum that reviews the city ​​history through objects of all kinds and many audiovisuals.

At the top there is an exit from where you can see the Saint Boniface Bridge and church of our lady, where you can see the Madonna of Bruges, sculpture of Miguel Angel.

Not only is the museum's exterior beautiful, but also the interior, which is where you can best see that it was once a palace. You only have to look at the ceiling of the entrance hall.

• Here you can consult the Gruuthuse Museum opening hours and entrance fees of witches.

Groeninge Museum, the Flemish Primitivesos

One of the attractions of a trip to Belgium is the possibility of seeing works by flamingo primitives, something very characteristic of the Flanders region, and if you don't go to a museum, your visit will be incomplete.

In Spain we are lucky that in the Prado Museum we can see important works of painting by the so-called flamingo primitives, artists of the 15th and 16th centuries from the south of what was then called Netherlands, a territory that currently partly corresponds to Belgium.

Specifically, in Witches You can delve deeper into the enjoyment of this pictorial style in two of its museums, finding the widest exhibition of works by the aforementioned flamingo primitives is the Groeninge

You will start your visit to the museum by seeing four rooms dedicated precisely to those mentioned. Flemish primitives.

In that corner, without a doubt, the work of Jan van Eyck, The Virgin of Canon Van der Paele.

But the most interesting thing about this museum, as I have already told you, is that you will be able to see the evolution of flamenco painting from then to the present day.

Thus, you will find other rooms dedicated to artists of the 17th century and to the neoclassicism of witches.

And the exhibition will end with works from the last century by artists expressionists y fauvists flamingos.

In short, an interesting visit to a museum that is very easy to navigate, to which it is worth dedicating at least an hour of your stay in Bruges.

• Looking ahead to your visit, here you can find the Groeninge Museum opening hours and ticket prices.

Potato Chip Museum, curiosities of a tradition

It is not at all common to come across a museum dedicated to French fries, in fact there is only one in the world and it is located in Bruges.

There you will be able to learn many interesting facts about this gastronomic emblem, and I am going to tell you something about it that might encourage you to explore the museum further.

French fries are known around the world as French Fries (French potatoes) but, in reality, it is not true that they are French in origin.

The Americans, when they arrived in Belgium, could not distinguish a Frenchman from a Belgian because both spoke French, so they assumed that those people who prepared potatoes in a very rich and particular way must be French.

When he returned to the United States and told his compatriots, they spoke of French potatoes. And that is why the term "French fries" was imposed. French Fries used all over the world… when, in fact, they were Belgian potatoes.

If you want to know more interesting facts, you know where to go.

• Here you have information for Visit the French Fries Museum in Bruges.

St. John's Hospital, an old hospital from the Middle Ages

Another place where you can see works of flamingo primitives It is in the old Hospital of San Juan, specifically, of Hans memling.

But in the curious visit to this 13th century building you will above all see an exhibition that shows you What was a hospital like in the Middle Ages where the sick, the poor and pilgrims were cared for.

During the visit you will walk through the large room of the hospital, but you will also be able to enter the chapel, where one of the works of Memling, and in the old pharmacy or the chapel.

I warn you that just visiting the outside is impressive.

• Here you have extensive information about the visit of the Hospital of San Juan

Beer Museum in Market Square

There are many museums that have emerged with the most varied themes to take advantage of the pull of tourism.

Thus, you have small museums dedicated to the history of the city (History), lamps, torture, the diamond, the aforementioned chips and exhibitions dedicated to Dalí, Picasso y Miró.

Now, I want to point out the beer museum, whose main attraction is that at the end of the walk through the exhibition, you can taste some beers on a terrace that overlooks the marketplace.

A good place to see this central part of the city.

Historium Brugge, Bruges in virtual reality

Of this type of small museum, this is the most modern recommendation of all.

In the same Grote Market square (Market Square) where the aforementioned Beer Museum is located is where the History Museum.

And I'll be honest with you, we didn't have time to visit this museum, but it must be good and original because the various guides we had in the city recommended us to see it.

I don't know if it's because of the novelty or the quality, but the fact is that we have noted it down for our next visit.

This is a museum that explains to you the History of Witches with virtual reality glasses.

Having seen the stalls in some of the city's squares with virtual reality glasses that recreate Bruges in the Middle Ages, I'm sure it must be a good experience

Lace Museum, a tradition in Bruges

One of the witch traditions is the bobbin lace, a reflection of which are the numerous establishments where you can buy lace, although already manufactured industrially.

Now, if you are interested in delving deeper into this tradition, you have the opportunity to visit the Lace Museum.

There you will learn that lace dates back to the 16th century, and that Bruges and Venice are considered the lace cribs.

In addition to seeing numerous objects linked to this tradition, you will have the opportunity to see live demonstrations of how bobbin lace is made.

• What is a visit to the Lace Museum like?

Map: where the best museums in Bruges are located