Today's Bruges, for all its idyll and collection of buildings steeped in history, is a modern metropolis whose appeal lies in unusual and regionally typical shopping opportunities. As the region's former main trading centre, the city still offers internationally popular specialities.
Shopping is always an important part of a relaxing city break. This is especially true when the city has a number of manufactories or factories offering unusual products. In Bruges you can buy culinary and handicraft specialities and remember your successful holiday in Bruges with the valuable souvenirs. The main shopping streets in Bruges connect the centrally located market square (Grote Markt) and the old city gates. This way you can combine sightseeing with shopping in a relaxed way.
Culinary treasures as souvenirs
Belgian chocolate and pralines have the best reputation among connoisseurs all over the world. If you have a creative sweet tooth, you will find plenty of opportunities to buy unusual delicacies in Bruges. The private chocolate museum Choco-Story is as good a place to start as any of the shops scattered around the city. You will also find vendors of these delicate treasures at the markets.
Fine craftsmanship enhances every style
Bruges owes much of its fame and wealth to the cloth trade. Fittingly, the city has developed its own lace art, in the truest sense of the word. Alongside other textile jewellery and the use of precious stones and metals to enhance fine fabrics, lace embellishments are also timelessly modern.
In the so-called Kant Centre you can admire various typical laces, take part in a lace-making workshop or watch how lace-makers create these filigree works of art. You can buy handmade lace in many shops scattered throughout the old town of Bruges.
Lively market for alternative shopping
You can also treat yourself to a special shopping experience in Bruges. For example, from Tuesday to Saturday it is worth visiting the fish market, where freshly caught fish and seafood from the nearby North Sea are on sale. In addition, the lively market hustle and bustle in the picturesque cityscape conveys an unforgettable atmosphere, which remains in the memory for a long time due to the smells and the sound experience.
Other markets that invite you to alternative shopping on certain days of the week can be found at
- on Wednesday morning on the central market square,
- on Saturday morning on t'Zand Square,
- on Sunday mornings on the Veemarkt, the Koningin Astridlaan and Sint-Michiels.
In addition, on weekends the flea market at the Dijver invites you to take a stroll.
