Italy has Venice, West Flanders has Bruges. Surely you have heard of this wonderful city, and perhaps you’ve already visited it? What did you think of the Belfry, the old City Hall or Church of Our Lady? Did you see Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges?

West Flanders also has a long tradition in textiles. During the Middle Ages, cities like Bruges, Ypres and Courtrai made the region famous for its cloth industry. Today the textile industry is still very much present in West Flanders and represents a mix of tradition and innovation.

West Flemish people excel in the arts. Throughout our history we have been home to many world-renowned painters. Who doesn’t know Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling or James Ensor? Clearly West Flanders is the ideal location for inspiration and innovations.

Did you know West Flemish is one of the oldest Dutch dialects, and that it dates back more than 700 years? Many current West Flemish words haven’t changed for centuries, so you could speak of lochting (garden) and wrochten (to work) and our ancestors from the 15th century would understand you perfectly.

Each year, the ‘martyr’ town of Ypres, in West Flanders, attracts thousands of World War I visitors from the UK. Every night at 8 p.m., a moving ceremony takes place under the town’s Menin Gate. This ‘Last Post’ ceremony has been a daily ritual in Ypres since 1928.

The Longest Tram Line in the World is in West Flanders. The Kusttram is one of the most interesting and unique tourist attractions on the Belgian coast. Built in 1885, this tram line lets you travel from La Panne (on the French border) to Knokke-Heist (on the Dutch border).

The Mercator barquentine was designed by the Belgian explorer Adrien de Gerlache, who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99. Originally a training ship for the Belgian merchant fleet, it is now moored in front of the City Hall of Ostend, and since 1996 has been given National Heritage status.