Canal Boat Tour

The canal boat tour is the classic way to see Brugge, Belgium, from the water, and it is a staple of any short visit to the Flemish Region. Open boats with a guide-commentator leave from five jetties in the old town, including Rozenhoedkaai, Huidenvettersplein, Dijver and Wollestraat, and run in a loop of about 30 minutes through the inner canal ring. Visitors board at the jetty, buy a ticket on the spot for about EUR 14-15, and sit on benches under an open sky, with a roof on some boats for rain. The commentary comes in several languages, usually Dutch, French, English and German, delivered in turn by the captain. The route passes beneath low stone bridges, along the back of the Dijver museums, by the Groenerei and past medieval almshouses, gabled merchant houses and the walls of the Begijnhof and the Church of Our Lady tower. From the water, visitors see building fronts that the street view hides, and the angle on the Rozenhoedkaai and the Belfort is among the best in the city. Boats run roughly daily from 10:00 to 18:00 from March to mid-November, and service is reduced or paused in winter and in bad weather. Queues at the Rozenhoedkaai and Huidenvettersplein jetties build up from late morning to mid-afternoon, and the quietest times are the first boats of the day and the last hour before closing, when the light on the brick is warmest. The tour is short, so it fits easily around a museum visit. Visitors should hold bags close and keep arms inside the boat because the bridges are low. There is no advance booking system at most jetties, but operators can close when the water level or weather demands it. Photographers get the best results sitting on the side facing the buildings, not the middle bench.