Damme

Damme was the outport of Bruges in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, where seagoing ships transferred cargo for the last stretch inland, and it was wealthy enough to build a very large church and a Gothic town hall. Then the Zwin channel silted up, the sea retreated and the town stopped, leaving those buildings in a village of about a thousand people. The church tower stands without its nave, which was demolished when the parish shrank, and can be climbed. The straight canal cut in the eighteenth century runs from Bruges to Damme lined with poplars and is one of the standard cycle rides in Flanders, with a summer paddle boat as the alternative. The village has become a centre for second-hand bookshops.

What you actually see

• A church tower without its nave - the demolished church, tower climbable.
• The Gothic town hall - built when Damme was a wealthy port.
• The poplar canal from Bruges - a straight eighteenth-century cut.
• Second-hand bookshops - the trade the village has taken up.

When to go

April to October for the cycle ride and the boat, which runs in season only. Half a day. The tower has limited opening hours. Weekends bring cyclists from Bruges in numbers.

Honest expectations

It is very small and quickly seen. The boat runs only in season and is slow. The canal ride is exposed and hard work into a headwind. Restaurants are aimed at day trippers and priced accordingly.

Nearby

Bruges is at the other end of the canal; Lissewege and the Zwin lie north.