Through Bruges and surroundings

Bruges is sometimes called a large open-air museum. Not surprising when you know that the center of this old city covers approximately 430 hectares and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This tour takes you through historic Bruges and the rural area west of the city.

Bruges offers you an unforgettable city trip in a beautiful setting of picturesque alleys, romantic canals and countless monuments. For shopping enthusiasts, there are many markets and shops where you can buy lace and the tastiest chocolate. Everywhere you experience Belgian hospitality and friendliness. You cycle around the center of Bruges along the fortresses: the canals and parks that are remnants of the old medieval walls.

But before that happens, you first drive from the starting point into the countryside of the Bruges Ommeland. You initially cycle through the Oudlandpolder, the area in the backyard of the coastal towns of Blankenberge, Bredene and Ostend. This is the oldest polder in Western Europe: sea walls were built here as early as the tenth century to protect the area from the devastating force of the sea. These dikes gave the uneven landscape a typical structure that is still visible today. The grasslands, with their channels, ditches and pools, are an important breeding and wintering place for many birds. Along the way you will pass through the picturesque polder village of Houtave.

Towards the town of Jabbeke the landscape changes. You are now driving through the idyllic Houtland, a landscape of stream valleys and gently rolling hills. The Houtland owes its name to the many hedges, hedges and groves that characterized the agricultural landscape until the mid-twentieth century. These hedgerows provided firewood and lumber, and the thorny bushes also kept the cattle within the pasture. Many of these wood edges have disappeared, and here and there you can still see remnants in the landscape.

The Houtland is also known for its beautiful forests. Just before you enter Bruges again, you cycle through the Tillegembos. You will see coniferous and deciduous forests, alder fields with beautiful spring flora, heathland and flowery meadows. In the forest is Tillegem Castle, which is owned by the Flemish government.