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Damme town hall

Damme is a postcard-perfect village in West Flanders. Damme is located about 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Sasplein in Bruges, on the cross-country Damme Canal ( French: Canal de Damme; Dutch: Damse Vaart or Napoleonvaart).

Understand

Damme (pronounced DUHM-muh) is a popular side trip for tourists who are visiting Bruges and is a popular venue for eating out, and a destination for boat trips.

Get in

View of Damme
Art gallery (kunstgallerij) Hondsdamme
House at Kerkstraat #37
Nave and apsis of the Church of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Hemelvaart (Our-Lady of the Assumption)

By bus

Direct bus service from Bruges(Brugge) to Damme via bus line 43 is very limited with one bus leaving the Bruges railway station at mid-day and another returning from Damme in early evening. There is no week-end or holiday service. Consult the De Lijn website to confirm current bus info. It is probably better take the canal boat trip.

By boat

There is a tourist boat[1] to Damme from Noorweegse Kaai 31, Bruges/Brugge (a few metres east of the intersection with Jules van Praetstraat) that runs between April 1 and September 30. It provides 5 trips daily in each direction. The trip takes 35 minutes each way.

Noorweegse Kaai is about 5 km from the Grote Markt in central Bruges. If that is too far to walk, then take bus line 4 from Bruges(Brugge) Station via the Grote Markt (bus stop Brugge Markt) and get off at Brugge Sasplein. You then need to walk 10 minutes to the boat dock. If the drawbridge at Sasplein is up to let a boat go through, then get off at Brugge Gistfabriek as the bus may make a long detour rather than wait for the bridge to lower. The stop Brugge Sint-Josef may be closer to the wharf, but you may need a map to find your way. Google Maps show bus stop locations in Bruges(Brugge). Consult De Lijn[2] for bus info.

By car

By car, take the road Damse Vaart-Zuid from Brugge Sasplein to Damme Kirkstraat.

Get around

The central area of the village about ½ km long and about ½ km at its widest. Thus, getting around is easy by foot.

See

The buildings along the picturesque Kerkstraat is the main attraction. From the main street in town (Kerkstraat - literally Church Street) you might see sheep grazing in the pasture behind the church.

At the corner of Speystraat and Damse Vaart-Zuid there is an interesting sculpture in a small, narrow park.

Across the canal there is a classic windmill in a very rustic setting.

Do

Buy

Every second Sunday of the month, there is a book market on the Market Square (in winter inside the Town Hall).

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Connect

Go next

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