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The Damse Vaart, the straight canal lined with poplars between Bruges and DammeMarc Ryckaert · CC BY 3.0

What to do · Bruges

Cycling from Bruges to Damme along the Damse Vaart

Bike · about 7 km each way · flat, along the canal path between poplars · bike hire from €13 a day · 3-hour guided ride from March to October

InformationFrom €13 bike and day
From
€13 bike and day
Duration
3 h
Distance
7 km
Season
All year; the guided ride and the boat, spring to autumn
Who it's for
Anyone who can ride a bike; flat, sometimes windy

From Bruges to Damme it is about seven kilometres along the Damse Vaart, a straight canal that Napoleon had cut towards Sluis and which is now lined with very tall poplars. The canal path is flat, almost free of cars, and in a little over half an hour of easy pedalling you reach the square of Damme, a village with a Gothic town hall, second-hand bookshops and a windmill beside the water.

How to do it

Leave Bruges through the Dampoort gate, to the north, and follow the canal bank: you can't go wrong. If you don't have a bike, Bruges Bike Rental, on the Niklaas Desparsstraat, two minutes from the Markt, hires city bikes for €13 a day, electric bikes for €30 and tandems for €25, with children's bikes, seats and helmets; book by email. If you prefer to go with a guide, Quasimundo runs a three-hour ride through the countryside to Damme from March to October, in English, of about 20 km.

You do the outward and return journeys by bike: the Lamme Goedzak boat, which links the two ends of the route, no longer allows bicycles on board.

Tips

  • Watch the wind The path is flat, but exposed; if the wind is in your face, the electric bike makes up for it.
  • Eat in Damme Tante Marie, on the Kerkstraat, serves meals until 17:45; closed on Saturdays.

Frequently asked questions

How many kilometres is it from Bruges to Damme by bike?

About seven along the flat canal path.

Can I come back by boat with the bike?

No: the Lamme Goedzak no longer takes bikes.

Is there a guided ride?

Yes, Quasimundo's, from March to October, three hours in English.

As a familyWith teenagersWith friends

Who runs it

Directions See all of Bruges

Opening hours and prices can change: check them before you go.

Round off the plan

Where to eat, where to stay and what else to do

To eat nearby

A wooden table laid for dinner, with glasses and cutlery, in the dim dining room© Pieter D'Hoop para Bistro BruutModern Flemish surprise menu

Bistro Bruut

Restaurant · Bruges · Meestraat, by the canal, five minutes from the Burg · €€€€

What to order: the dinner menu, nine small dishes, with the wine pairing if you're not driving

Monday to Friday from 12:00 to 14:00 and from 19:00 to 21:00 · booking with a €135 per person deposit
Wooden table in the Cambrinus dining room, with beer bottles on the shelf© CambrinusBeer café with Flemish food

Cambrinus

Restaurant · Bruges · two minutes from the Markt · €€€€

What to order: the Flemish beer stew with chips, and a beer from the list to go with it

Open every day from 11:00 to 22:00 · walk-ins welcome
Beer taps and a glass of Brugse Zot on the bar counter© 't Brugs BeertjeA Belgian beer bar

t Brugs Beertje

Bar · Bruges · Kemelstraat, near the Steenstraat · €€€€

What to order: ask for advice at the bar and try one of the draught beers, which change

Opens at 16:00 · closed on Wednesdays

To stay nearby

A private double room at the hostel© Snuffel Youth HostelHostel

Snuffel Youth Hostel

Youth hostel · Bar with gigs · Private rooms and 4- to 8-bed rooms

Why we like it: Youth hostel on the Ezelstraat, ten minutes from the Markt, with private and shared rooms, a bar with a terrace and free gigs.

View details
The hotel's Renaissance garden© Hotel Jan BritoSmall hotel

Hotel Jan Brito

Four stars · 16th-century house · Renaissance garden · Dogs welcome

Dogs welcome

Why we like it: Four-star hotel in a 16th-century house with a Renaissance garden and private sauna, 500 metres from the Markt and outside the restricted traffic zone.

View details
The hotel's half-timbered façade over the canal© Relais Bourgondisch CruyceSmall hotel

Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce

16 rooms · Half-timbered house on the canal · Breakfast with a water view · 24-hour reception

Why we like it: 16-room boutique hotel in a half-timbered house where two canals meet, by the Rozenhoedkaai; some rooms look onto the water.

View details

Useful services

More to do nearby

Itineraries

Features in these plans

The Damse Vaart, the straight canal lined with poplars between Bruges and Damme
Day itinerary By bike to Damme along the Damse Vaart Bruges · 4 stops
The Bruges belfry above the houses of the Markt
Itinerary · 3 nights Three nights between Bruges, Damme and the Belgian coast, all by train and bike from Brussels Bruges · 20 stops
From €13 bike and day
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