In the city of Bruges, capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium

 “In Belgium, the magistrate has the dignity of a prince, but by Bacchus, the brewer is indeed king.” - Alexandre Dumas

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(in the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium) Brugge, the sixth most populous city in the country, is found in the northwest of Belgium. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 14,099 hectares (140.99 km2; 54.44 sq miles), including 1,075 hectares off the coast, at Zeebrugge (from Brugge aan zee, meaning "Bruges by the Sea"). Its historic city center is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO.

+ If you set out to design a fairy-tale medieval town, it would be hard to improve on central Bruges (Brugge in Dutch), one of Europe's best-preserved cities. Attractive cobbled lanes and dreamy canals link photogenic market squares lined with soaring towers, historical churches, and lane after lane of old whitewashed almshouses.

+ The Medieval- and Renaissance-era buildings and cobblestone streets of this quaint Belgian city tell only half the story. Known as the Venice of the North, this place is also laced with canals in many areas. Lacework, along with beer and chocolates, has also placed Bruges on the tourist radar. Yet, perhaps among the city's greatest contributions to humanity is its artwork. Both Napoleon and the Nazis attempted to steal the cultural treasures of the city. However, as the movie "Monuments Men" gloriously portrays, Bruges' art, like a homing pigeon, eventually finds its way home.