Ghent and Brugge in one day

Culture and History tour in Bruges, Ghent

Tour Price : $500 Duration : 10 hours Languages: Russian, Italian, Spanish, English, French

Ghent: The history of Ghent begins in the year 630, when St Amandus chose the site of the confluence (or ‘Ganda’) of the two rivers, the Lys and the Scheldt, to construct an abbey. Nearly 1400 years of history are still palpable in the city today: a medieval castle surrounded by a moat, an imposing cathedral, a belfry, three beguinages... Nowhere else does one find so much history per square metre than in the historical heart of Ghent!

From the year 1000 to around 1550, Ghent was one of the most important cities in Europe. It was bigger than London and second only to Paris in size. The 60,000 inhabitants it had in the 14th century clung forcefully to their rights: earls and princes discovered that the proud and rebellious people of Ghent would not relinquish their hard-won privileges and freedoms without a fight.The emperor Carl V was born in Ghent in 1500, the king of the first worldwide empire after the discovery of Americas: the Empire where the sun never sets.

What do we see:

·       The St Bavo's Cathedral with its important works of art: Adoration of the Mystic Codero, the Pulpit, the picture of Rubens, The Conversion of Saint Bavo

·       The market square of the city with its Belfry of Bruges and the covered market

·       The Stadhuis, imposing building hybrid mix of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque

·       Churches St. Nicholas, St. Michael and St. Jacques

·       The Graslei, ancient port city, one of the most beautiful places in Ghent

·       The Gravensteen, majestic medieval castle

·       The Patershol, picturesque area of town with charming facades 

·       The former butcher, gothic building 1408 

Bruges: Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Stockholm,  it is sometimes referred to as "The Venice of the North". Bruges has a significant economic importance thanks to its port. At one time, it was considered the "chief commercial city" of the world. "Rise, fall and resurrection make up the life story of Bruges, a city that glittered in Northern Europe with as much panache as Venice did in the Mediterranean World."

 What do we see: 

• The Market, Old Market Square the year 958 

• The Burg square with its various buildings such as the Basilica of the Holy Blood, 

• The old fish market 

• Square Tanners 

• Groninger Museum within one collection of paintings of the Flemish Primitives 

• The Courtyard of the Gruuthusemuseum

• The Church of Our Lady Bruges

• The Hospital Saint John 

• The brewery De Halve Maan 

• The Beguinage 

• The Lake of Love. 

• Boat trip on the river (if it’s sunny!) 

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