Landmarks
Ghent
Vibrant medieval Flemish city with stunning canal-side architecture, the Gravensteen castle, and the famous Ghent Altarpiece.
Road trip route · Belgium
The drive from Brussels to Bruges covers 60 miles (97 km) and takes about 1 hr 15 min without stops. That makes it a comfortable one-day drive. Leave in the morning and you'll arrive with the day ahead of you.
Expect fuel for a typical petrol car (~40 mpg) to cost around €12 one-way with no significant motorway tolls on the way. Prices shift monthly, so treat these as ballpark figures.
Within ~30 km of the driving route, worth the detour.
Landmarks
Vibrant medieval Flemish city with stunning canal-side architecture, the Gravensteen castle, and the famous Ghent Altarpiece.
Castles & Palaces
A grim moated stone castle of the Counts of Flanders rising straight from the canals in the centre of Ghent.
Cathedrals & Temples
This Gothic cathedral guards the Van Eyck brothers' luminous Ghent Altarpiece, a landmark of European painting.
Museums
Christian de Portzamparc's angular white museum in Louvain-la-Neuve devoted to Tintin's creator, holding original plates, sketches and the world's largest Hergé collection across eight themed galleries.
Racetracks
A flat, fast circuit that hosted two Belgian Grands Prix in the 1970s before closing in 1981. Much of the abandoned track survives among industrial development, its wide sweeping curves clearly readable from ground level.
Driving from Brussels to Bruges takes about 1 hr 15 min nonstop, covering 60 miles (97 km). Add time for breaks: most drivers stop every 2 hours.
Fuel for a typical petrol car (~40 mpg) costs roughly €12 one-way. There are no significant motorway tolls on this route. Estimates are indicative: prices change monthly.
Yes, at about 1 hr 15 min of driving, Brussels to Bruges is a comfortable one-day drive with a couple of breaks.
Top-rated stops in the drive corridor include Ghent, Gravensteen, Saint Bavo's Cathedral Ghent: see the full list of 5 stops on this page.
Planning a bigger trip? Try the free Belgium road trip planner, or read the driving in Belgium guide.