The Best Hotels in Bruges for Every Traveller
Belgium’s prettiest city is the definition of chocolate-box; the best thing you can do is get lost among its canals and cobbled streets. Here you’ll find Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges, a weekly market, and the pretty Begijnhof, a medieval convent, with creamy houses arranged around a small park. If you’re staying overnight, here are the best hotels and bed and breakfasts in Bruges.
1. Guesthouse Bonifacius
Boutique Hotel, Independent Hotel
Is it a B&B or a luxury hotel? The line between the two is ultra thin at this spectacular 16th-century house, wedged between a cobbled street and a canal. There are only three rooms (so that intimate five-star service is all yours), and they’re a far cry from standard B&B looks, with panelled walls which mute any hint of flounce from the four-posters and floral cushions. You breakfast at bay windows cantilevered over the canal, but the big draw is the rooftop terrace, overlooking the elegant spire of the Church of Our Lady, home to Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges.
2. Canal Deluxe Bed and Breakfast
Bed and Breakfast, Inn
Exposed beams, roaring fires, and striking colours: Canal Deluxe takes two ancient houses overlooking a dinky canal, and injects them with 21st-century style. You’ll find grand chairs upholstered with patterns so bold they almost look like animal print; scarlet, slate and lime-green walls; and claw-foot, roll top baths for old-school luxury. Of the five rooms, two have terraces over the canal; some even have fireplaces. To ramp up the romance, pick the Cottage Euphrasie – a grand suite spread over three floors, with an open fire and spiral staircase connecting the rooms.
3. Maison le Dragon
Bed and Breakfast, Inn
This dragon’s lair takes its name from the gold figure atop the sinuous 16th-century facade. Inside it’s a stunning mishmash of 21st-century boutique chic and flamboyant rococo, with original mouldings, gilded stucco and bucolic murals in the lounge. The four large bedrooms (junior suites, really – they all have seating areas) are all different, from stripped back wood-panelled walls to striped wallpaper and floral bedspreads. Breakfast means boiled eggs in pretty holders, cutesy cow-shaped jugs and rolls baked in the Aga.
4. Hotel Prinsenhof
Luxury, Independent Hotel, Boutique Hotel
This 20th-century building may feel a little different to your typical 17th-century structure, but the Prinsenhof does a sterling job of channelling the relaxed Bruges vibe, with soothing rooms featuring classic tongue-and-groove panelling, the odd antique furniture, and velvet-upholstered chairs and headboards. Guests get free access to the bamboo-filled spa and the restaurant at sister hotel Duke’s Palace – in the summer, breakfast is served outside on the pretty terrace.
5. Boutique Hotel 't Fraeyhuis
Boutique Hotel, Independent Hotel
You don’t see many new things in Bruges, but this hotel, a short walk from the centre, near the leafy Begijnhof, dates from just 2019. If you’re allergic to twee, this one’s for you – rather than the traditional chocolate-box style, you’re in for thoroughly modern rooms, with contemporary art behind crisp-linen beds, silky dark carpets, and the odd black feature wall. Only the exposed beams here and there remind you where you are. Hit the Bar Boutique for tapas and drinks on the patio overlooking the Minnewater Park.
6. Flanders Hotel
Independent Hotel, Boutique Hotel
All the amenities you’d find in a big hotel are present and correct at the Flanders. Crisp, modern rooms are a soothing mix of greiges and taupes on the walls and funky modern furniture. There’s a great bar, Barazar, managing a fine line of cocktails as well as the obligatory Belgian beer. There’s even a small indoor swimming pool if you want to get some pre-sightseeing laps in. It’s a great choice for families, too, with triple rooms and one that sleeps up to five.
7. Nuit Blanche
Guesthouse, Bed and Breakfast, Inn
Guestlists don’t get much grander: the former king and queen of Belgium, Winston Churchill and other European royals are among those to have stayed in this captivating gothic mansion, which today doubles as the studio of owner-artist David de Graef. The two rooms share the medieval-style garden, overlooking one of Bruges’ prettiest canals, the Church of Our Lady and the Gruuthuse Palace. Done up in the early 20th century, it’s a fascinating architectural gumbo – the “gothic” room pairs a human-height fireplace with an arched, wood-clad ceiling, while the “medieval” room has mullioned windows and a giant carved wooden bed.
8. Hotel de Orangerie
Hotel
9. Hotel Dukes’ Palace
Hotel
10. Hotel Van Cleef
Hotel
11. Adornes
Hotel
12. Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce
Hotel
13. Hotel Navarra
Hotel
14. Hotel De Tuilerieën
Hotel
15. Grand Hotel Casselbergh
Hotel
Nana Van De Poel contributed additional reporting to this article.
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