Bruges. There are few places that feel more instantly transporting than pocket-sized Bruges. Its past as the trading capital and center of craftsmanship for the wealthy Flanders region of Belgium still feels intensely present in the medieval city’s unspoiled streets. You can sense it in the luxuriant interiors painted by the Flemish primitives, in the reflections of traditional step-gables, in the still waters of the canals occasionally rippled by a passing swan and the intricate façades of ancient churches and 19th-century neo-gothic houses on cobbled squares.
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