Heille, Bruges and a culinary detour through the Bruges Ommeland Heille

This route northeast of Bruges is finger-licking good. From the village of Heille in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen you drive into the open and idyllic landscape of the Belgian Zwin region. Here you will find spireless church towers, winding dikes, straight canals, poplars and pollard willows and monumental buildings. If you look a little closer, you can still see remains of forts and lines here and there in the landscape. Nowadays, however, you can enjoy all the beauty and delicacies in the former Zwin basin, the arm of the sea that once connected Bruges to the North Sea, without any worries. During the trip to Bruges you will cycle along the Leopold Canal and the Damse Vaart, the canal dug on behalf of Napoleon that connects Bruges with Sluis. In picturesque Damme, a medieval fortified city, you get a taste of the splendor of Bruges, one of the cities also called the Venice of the North. The medieval center is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. You cycle into the city along the Ringvaart, the canal that runs along the east of the old center. Bruges is so rich in history and culture that one day is not really enough to explore the city. Bruges is known for its lace, but is also considered the chocolate capital: there are more than fifty chocolatiers. They make, among other things, the typical Brugsche Swaentjes. You cycle back to the Netherlands via the polder. Just past Bruges you cycle past Male Castle. The counts of Flanders once lived in this originally medieval castle, but today it is privately owned. During this part of the route you will have enough time to enjoy any purchased Brugsche Swaentjes at your leisure.