From Blankenberge a visit to Bruges

From the coastal town of Blankenberghe you can discover the interior and beautiful Bruges. A stone's throw from the Flemish coast and Bruges is Lissewege, the first village you drive through. You have to get off here immediately. Lissewege is also called the white village, because the houses in the old village center have been painted white for centuries. The imposing 13th century church of Our Lady of the Visitation towers high above the polders and is in itself a reason to visit the village. The old houses along the picturesque old Vaartje are witnesses of long ago. In the Visitor Center'The Old Parsonage\\\' more than 120 saints keep watch in their own museum. And just outside the village center is the largest medieval storage shed in Europe in the former Cistercian abbey Ter Doest. As an extra, visitors receive a free open-air exhibition during the summer months in Lissewege. The route leads you to beautiful Bruges, one of the cities that are 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. In Bruges you will find - next to the terraces! - plenty of nice museums to visit. This takes you right past Brouwerij de Gouden Boom. At the place where Brouwerij de Gouden Boom was located, between Langestraat and Verbrand Nieuwland, a certain Jan Hugheins brewed beer as early as 1455. In 1580, the name 't Hamerken appeared for the first time as a rural house known as an inn, whose owners can be found in registers from 1588 onwards. In 2006, Brouwerij Palm sold the buildings of Brouwerij de Gouden Boom in the Langestraat in Bruges to a project development company. However, part of the former brewery and malting installations was protected as industrial heritage in 2006. The rest of the buildings made way for a new construction project with apartments, shops and a museum café. Both the protected malting building and the restored 17th century house on Langestraat have been integrated into the new construction project. You will also cycle past Het Diamanthuis Brugge, a sister company of the Diamond Museum in this city, where the cutting and production of diamonds is still done in the traditional way. It is one of the major exporters of quality diamonds from Belgium. The Diamanthuis Brugge designs and sells jewelry in two showrooms, the continuation of a more than 600-year-old Bruges tradition. Back in Blankenberghe you can enjoy the sunset on a terrace by the sea!