One day In Bruges: the movie walk

How to spend one day In Bruges. Follow this walking tour of Bruges city centre. It covers the main filming locations of the movie “In Bruges”.

I love the popular and award-winning “black comedy crime” movie “In Bruges“. It’s about two Irish hit-men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), and their gangster boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes). All the action takes place, unsurprisingly, in Bruges.

The movie has a good plot and sharp dialogue. It’s well acted, and it’s filmed in stunning locations. I also liked it because it’s so full of contrasts:

• The fairy-tale setting vs. the violence that occurs
• Ken’s interest in culture and history vs. Ray’s interest in beer and girls
• The beauty of the location vs. the coarseness of the language
• The goodness and naivety of the locals vs. the worldliness of the two hit-men
• The beautiful religious paintings vs. the down-to-earth discussions about sin and guilt
• Grace and forgiveness vs. law and retribution
• Self-sacrifice vs. punishment

One day in Bruges walking map

The Bruges tourist office has produced a map with the locations where the movie was filmed. You can download it here. It’s useful, but as I like walking I’ve created this ‘In Bruges’ movie walking tour. It’s a circular route of 7 km, starting and ending at the railway station.

As the movie covered a lot of the main sights of the city, the walk will give you a great overview of this fantastic city. And an interesting way to spend one day in Bruges.

In line with the contrasts mentioned above, I briefly describe the locations In Real Life vs. In The Movie. Below is the map, which you can also download here to print out and carry around with you.

Alternatively, you can download the GPX track from my RouteYou page and add it to your GPS device.

1.  Minnewater

In real life: This romantic site (the “Lake of Love”) used to be the inland port and landing stage for barges travelling between Bruges and Gent.

In the movie: Gangster boss Harry enters Bruges over the stone bridge over the canal, on his mission to put an end to Ray.

2. The Gruuthusemuseum

In real life: A former palace of the Lords of Gruuthuse, converted into a museum in 1955. Located at Dijver 17, it houses beautiful tapestries, a 500-year old kitchen and a chapel of prayer. Note that the museum is under restoration and is due to open early 2019. From the inner court you get a good of the Church of Our Lady.

In the movie: Ray walks through the inner court of the Gruuthuse where a movie is being shot. Later, wounded, he looks up and sees the Church of Our Lady and the Gruuthusemuseum.

3. Arentshof

In real life: In the Arentshof is ‘Knights of the Apocalypse’ by Rik Poot, 1987, an allegoric representation of the earthly horrors of death, war, hunger and revolution.

In the movie: Ray walks through the set of another movie being filmed in Bruges.

4. The Groeninge Museum

In real life: The Groeninge Museum at Dijver 12 is a must for every art lover visiting Bruges, thanks to a large collection of 15^th to 20^th century paintings. Highlights include masterpieces by the Flemish Primitives, Jan van Eyck and Hans Memling, and Hiëronymus Bosch’s “Last Judgement”.

In the movie: Ken and Ray search for deeper meaning amongst the medieval artwork.

5. Cafedraal Restaurant

In real life: The Cafedraal Restaurant at Zilverstraat 38 describes itself as offering “tasty French-Belgian cuisine, with an independent streak and a passion for regional products.”

In the movie: It’s the restaurant where Ray goes on a dinner date with a drug dealer called Chloe, and manages to get in a fight with a Canadian couple.

6. Bruges Market Square

In real life: This beautiful market square lies at the heart of the city.

In the movie: Ken and Ray enjoy a beer on the terrace. Ken is keen to climb the Belfry; Ray can’t see the point:

Ken: “You coming up?”

Ray: “What’s up there?”

Ken: “The view.”

Ray: “The view of what? The view of down here? I can see that from down here.”

Ken: “Ray, you’re about the worst tourist in the whole world.”

7. The Bruges Belfry

In real life: Climbing the 366 steps of the 83-metre-high Belfry is a must-do.

In the movie: Ken faces his gangster boss Harry at the top of the Belfry, with fatal consequences for one of them.

8. Bistro ‘t Zwart Huis

In real life: A cool bistro with live blues and jazz music.

In the movie: Ray and Ken enjoy a Belgian beer here.

9. Jan Van Eyckplein

In real life: During the Middle Ages this was an inland port. It features a statue of the 15^th century Flemish painter Jan Van Eyck.

In the movie: Ken and Ray relax on the square in front of the statue, talking business and tactics.

10. Jerusalem Chapel

In real life: Located in Peperstraat 1, the 15^th century Jerusalem Chapel has magnificent stained glass windows and the mausoleums of the church founders, Anselmus Adornes and his wife.

In the movie: It was used to replace the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Ken does the touristy thing by climbing the stairs to view the relic of the Holy Blood on display.

11. Groene Rei — Meestraat Bridge — Peerdenstraat

In real life: The Groene Rei is a picturesque canal where you can find the Almshouse De Pelikaan and a 19^th century pavilion. The Meestraat Bridge crosses it.

In the movie: Ray and Chloe make up on the Meestraat Bridge. Later Harry chases Ray through the Peerdenstraat.

12. Restaurant Diligence

In real life: An authentic and cosy restaurant at Hoogestraat 5 with French-Belgian bistro cuisine.

In the movie: The location of the scene between the prostitute and the dwarf. You can have a drink at the bar where Collin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson sat chatting!

13. Basilica of the Holy Blood

In real life: The relic of the Holy Blood is kept in the Gothic upper chapel and is worshipped every Friday. On Ascension Day every year, the relic is venerated in the streets of Bruges during the Procession of the Holy Blood.

In the movie: Ken goes to see the relic, although it’s filmed in the Jerusalem Church.

14.­ The Bruges Fish Market

In real life: Fresh fish is sold here Tuesday to Saturdays. The building dates back to 1815.

In the movie: Gangster boss Harry chases Ray through the alleyways to finish him off for good.

15. Rozenhoedkaai

In real life: One of the most photographed spots in Bruges. The name refers to the rosaries sold from stalls here. The rosaries were made from ivory and amber imported from the east.

In the movie: Ray and Ken hide out in the boutique hotel Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce. While Ken enters into the spirit of Bruges and takes a boat trip from the Rozenhoedkaai, Ray is less enamoured by the city: “Two weeks in Bruges? In a room like this? With you? No way!”

16. Astrid Park / Botanical Garden

In real life: This municipal park was created in 1850 and named after Queen Astrid in 1935. It’s also called the Botanieken Hof (Botanical Garden).

In the movie: Ken, given the mission to kill his partner Ray, approaches his target. You can walk through the children’s playground where the action takes place.

From here you can walk back to the railway station. I’ve taken you a different way back, to the Gentpoort and then along the old canal which encircles the city.

I hope you enjoy your One Day In Bruges

If you have any questions or require more information on any aspect of Bruges, just drop me a line or add a comment below.

Good books on Bruges

My walking tour above takes you to 16 major sites in Bruges. But what if you want to “get off the beaten track” and discover some of the less-known sites in Bruges? And there’s certainly plenty of these to discover! Then I recommend this book by Derek Blyth:

These 500 secrets of Bruges will certainly keep you occupied for many pleasant hours! It covers topics like the best restaurants for new Flemish cooking, 5 places to find new architecture, 5 enchanting bike routes around Bruges, the 5 most beautiful shop interiors, the 5 best summer bars and much more.

You can buy The 500 Hidden Secrets of Bruges from Amazon.

For a more general book but that also covers more than the 16 sites I mention above, I can recommend this book as I was involved in proof-reading part of it. It’s available from 27 September 2022:

Inside DK Eyewitness Top 10 Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent you will find: 

• Top 10 lists of Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent’s must-sees, including Brussels’ Grand Place, Antwerp’s cathedral and Ghent’s Adoration of the Mystic Lamb
• The most interesting areas, with the best places for sightseeing, food and drink, and shopping
• Themed lists, including the best Art Nouveau buildings in Brussels, art galleries, types of Belgian beer and much more
• Easy-to-follow itineraries, perfect for a day trip, a weekend, or a week
• A laminated pull-out map of Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent, plus five full-color area maps

You can pre-order it here at Amazon.

Another new book that focuses just on Bruges and Brussels is this Lonely Planet guide. If you want an overview of the main places to visit in each of these cities, this would be a good start.

You can get the Lonely Planet book here on Amazon.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Partner I can earn a small commission from the sale of certain items.