Day Trips from Bruges by Train and Paddle Steamer

October 30, 2026

Getting out of town

Brugge station is on the main line, so the biggest day trips are simple train rides. Look up the day’s times in the SNCB planner. Many travellers see Bruges as a day trip from elsewhere, but an overnight stay in Bruges gives the calmest hours, so these trips are best as an extra day.

At a glance

Ghent: 22 to 28 minutes, intercity trains several times an hour.
Ostend: about 15 minutes, direct.
Brussels: about 1 hour, a train every 20 to 30 minutes.
Damme: 6 km away, by bike or paddle steamer.
Ypres: 1.5 to 2 hours each way, with a change at Kortrijk.

Ghent

Ghent suits a full day. In St Bavo’s Cathedral, the Ghent Altarpiece can be seen on a 60-minute visit with an augmented reality guide for EUR 16, with a child rate of EUR 8 under age 12. A 25-minute altarpiece-only ticket costs EUR 12.50. Online tickets are sold through the St Bavo’s site .

Gravensteen castle costs EUR 15 per person with an audio guide included, and it is closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January. Reserving online is advised. The Graslei and Korenlei quays cost nothing. See the Gravensteen prices page .

Look at organised options on Viator .

Damme

For a half-day, Damme is the easy choice. You can ride the 25 minutes along the Damse Vaart by bike. The other way is the Lamme Goedzak paddle steamer from Noorweegse Kaai 31. The steamer runs four times a day in each direction, with departures from Bruges at 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00, and from Damme at 11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00. A single adult fare is EUR 12 and a return is EUR 18. Seniors from 65 pay EUR 10 and EUR 15. Children under 12 pay EUR 4 and EUR 7.

The steamer sails in the warm season only, from early April until the start of November. Check the operator’s site for dates. The Damme church tower, 206 steps, is open about April to September.

The coast

On the coast, Ostend is a quarter of an hour by direct train. The Kusttram connects 67 stops over 67 km, from De Panne to Knokke-Heist, and a single ticket costs a flat EUR 3 with a 60-minute transfer window. For heavier use, a De Lijn day ticket covers buses and trams for 24 hours at EUR 9 for ages 12 and over, or EUR 4.50 for ages 6 to 11. The Mercator museum ship lies in Ostend’s marina; check zeilschipmercator.be for its status.

Flanders Fields from Bruges

A day around Ypres is a solemn one, dedicated to remembrance. There is no direct train, and the journey takes 1.5 to 2 hours each way via Kortrijk. Check the last train home first.

At the Menin Gate, the panels list roughly 54,000 names of missing soldiers. Every evening at 20:00 the Last Post is sounded, in a ceremony that is free and needs no booking. Arrive well before the start. The Last Post Association has the calendar.

The In Flanders Fields Museum sits in the Cloth Hall at Grote Markt 34. It opens every day from 10:00 to 17:30, apart from winter Mondays, and entry is EUR 12. The museum site lists closures.

Tyne Cot Cemetery, about 9 km from Ypres, holds 11,961 burials, and 8,373 of them are unidentified. It is free and open from sunrise to sunset. The Passendale Tyne Cot stop is served by De Lijn line 90.