_In Belgium, the churches are generally closed from noon to 2 p.m. The chapels, in which the works of art are kept, can be visited at specified hours, for a small fee. The same applies to the Hôtel-de-Ville._ _Before starting to visit Bruges, obtain particulars from the Bureau Officiel de Renseignements, Grand'Place, underneath the Belfry (3 minutes from the station)._ FIRST EXCURSION. The Grand'Place. The Grand'Place or Grand Marché is in the centre of the city. The "Halles" occupy the south side, and the Hôtel du Gouvernement Provincial and General Post Office the western side. On the northern side is a row of remarkable gabled houses _(photo below)_, while to the east, at the corner of the Rue St. Amand, stands the Hôtel Bouchoute which, in 1839, was surmounted with a metal ball indicating the meridian line. In the centre is a monument by the sculptor Paul de Vigne, erected in 1887 to the memory of the famous communists Breydel and de Coninck. [Illustration: +Bruges. Ancient houses in the Grand'Place.+] [Illustration: +General View of Bruges, seen from the top of the Belfry.+ _A. Ostend; B. Church of St. Jacques; C. Blankenberghe; D. The Theatre; E. Water-Works of Zeebrugge; F. Zeebrugge Canal; G. Port of Bruges;_ _H. Heyst; I. Duinbergen; J. Church of St. Gilles; K. Knocke._] The Halles and Belfry. It is this edifice--an eloquent witness of the city's past grandeur and symbol of the ancient prosperity of the "Queen of the West"--which characterises Bruges. The building measures 270 feet in length by 110 feet in width. The low galleries with groined vaulting on the ground-floor, contain an archæological museum, whilst those on the first floor are used for exhibition purposes. [Illustration: +The Belfry.+ _In front:_ +The Statue to Breydel and Coninck.+] The Belfry, in the centre of the façade, is 264 feet high, and comprises two massive, square, superimposed towers, decorated with pinnacles connected by a balustrade. Above rises a third octagonal tower supported by flying buttresses. This last story, which contains the famous peal of bells, was added towards the end of the 15th century. It was surmounted, first with a spire, and later, after the spire was burnt, with a triple campanile, destroyed by lightning in 1741. A balustrade now crowns the tower. The Renaissance statue of the Virgin, on a stem-like ornament over the main doorway (1819), replaced the original one which was broken during the Revolution (1793). Above is a _bretèche_, from which public announcements were made. [Illustration: +The Cathedral of St. Saviour+ _Rue du Beffroi._]