Bruges

The word “bourse,” meaning stock exchange in multiple languages, comes from a single family in Bruges. In the 1300s, merchants gathered at the Van der Beurse inn to trade goods and money. The concept spread across Europe, and every stock exchange since traces its name back to that Bruges family’s front door.

Bruges became the commercial capital of Northern Europe during the medieval period. Italian bankers, German merchants, and traders from Spain and Portugal all kept permanent offices here. Ships carried English wool into the city through a sea channel called the Zwin, and local weavers transformed it into some of the finest cloth in Europe.

The wealth showed. By the 1400s, around 45,000 people lived here, making Bruges one of the largest and richest cities north of the Alps. The 83-meter Belfry rose above the Market Square. The Church of Our Lady built a brick spire so tall it remains one of the highest brick towers ever constructed.

Then the Zwin started filling with silt. By the early 1500s, large ships could no longer reach the city. Merchants packed up and moved to Antwerp. Within a few generations, Bruges went from Europe’s richest trading hub to a quiet backwater.

That poverty turned out to be a gift. Without money to modernize, the medieval buildings survived. When tourists rediscovered Bruges in the late 1800s, they found a city frozen in time. UNESCO declared the entire historic center a World Heritage Site in 2000.

The Church of Our Lady holds a rare treasure: Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child, the only sculpture by the master to leave Italy during his lifetime. Wealthy cloth merchants bought it in 1504.

Climb the Belfry’s 366 steps to watch the city’s full-time carillonneur play the 47-bell instrument. Take a boat through the canals and glide under stone bridges. Visit the Choco-Story museum to learn why Belgian chocolate tastes so good, then test the theory at shops lining nearly every street.

Belgian frites, double-fried and served in paper cones with mayo, beat any fry you’ve had before. Grab a warm Liège waffle drizzled with chocolate from a street vendor while you walk the cobblestones.