Bruges (Zeebrugge)

Often referred to as the "Venice of the North," Bruges dates from the early Middle Ages when the town was world-renowned for its immensely prosperous wool and cloth trade. It was also Northern Europe’s most important trading port until the 15th century, after the gradual silting of the estuary that linked Bruges to the sea. Today this magnificently preserved city is one of Belgium’s greatest attractions. This fairy-tale town is a living museum with intimate, winding streets and a lacework of canals lined with step-gabled houses, churches and market squares, as well as museums that hold some of the country’s finest collections of Flemish art.