Damme
Damme is a postcard-perfect village in the northern corner of West Flanders, about 5 km (3 mi) northeast 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
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 to Damme from Noorweegse Kaai 31 in Bruges (a few meters 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. One way tickets cost €8, return tickets cost €11.
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 for bus info.
By car
By car, take the road Damse Vaart-Zuid from Brugge Sasplein to Damme Kerkstraat.
Get around
The central area of the village is about 500 m long and about 500 m at its widest. Thus, getting around is easy and even recommended by foot.
See
The buildings along the picturesque Kerkstraat are 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.
- 🌍 Windmill, Noorweegse Kaai. The Schellemolen windmill is a classic windmill built in 1867 in a very rustic setting
- 🌍 Town Hall, Markt 1. This Gothic town hall is worth to stop by.
- 🌍 Uilenspiegelmuseum, Jacob van Maerlantstraat 3, ☏ +32 50 28 86 10. Dedicated to Till Eulenspiegel, a 14th-century folklore trickster alleged to play amusing practical jokes on his contemporaries, exposing vices at every turn, greed and folly, hypocrisy and foolishness.
Buy
Every second Sunday of the month, there is a book market on the Market Square (in winter inside the Town Hall).
Eat
- 🌍 Tante Marie, Kerkstraat 38, ☏ +32 50 35 45 03. Daily 10:00—18:00. Little café close to the church serving coffee, a variety of small cakes and food.
Drink
- 🌍 De Smisse, Kerkstraat 6, ☏ +32 50 35 12 46. Good place to have an afternoon coffee. You can also get some small dishes here.
Sleep
- 🌍 Camping Hoeke, Damse Vaart-Oost 10, ☏ +32 50 50 04 96.
Go next
- Sluis — a very charming small historic city just across the Netherlands border, where the Damse Vaart (Damme Canal) terminates.
- Lissewege — an extremely charming village, 10km northwest
- Knokke-Heist — Belgium's most exclusive coastal town, 13km north