What’s on 7-13 Aug 2025

⭐ This Week's Top Picks 

Benenwerk 2025. Legwork ‘Ballroom Brugeoise’ is back! Bring out the best dancer in you as bands and DJs will take you in tow for a dance marathon along 13 stages spread across the city centre (Sat 9 Aug).

Cactus Café Rooftop Street Food. Try the Saturday night eats and beats on offer during the summer at this premier music venue in the city. It’s wood-fired pizza on the menu this week.

Summer bars and cafés. Have a drink and relax at summer bars and cafés in the city, including Kafé Keramiek and Bar Visart.

🎨 🎻 🧺  Art, Music & Markets

MA Festival concerts. “This summer – from 1 to 10 August – the MA Festival presents ten days of surprising concerts in and around Bruges. Discover here the concerts that will be held in Concertgebouw Brugge. Come for performances, music from the past, music from the present, literature… or simply to share your love of music with others. Welcome to the MA Festival 2025! The programme starting tomorrow (1 Aug) includes a selection from medieval pomp and splendour to Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Ravel and Couperin.”  1-10 Aug, see programme for times and tickets. https://www.concertgebouw.be/en/ma-festival-2025

Carillon summer concerts. “During the summer months, enjoy the sounds of the carillon within the fairytale setting of the inner courtyard of the city halls. An oasis of calm in the lively city centre. Besides the weekly carillon performances on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 11am, there are evening concerts on Monday and Wednesday in summer. Behind the carillon keyboard, in addition to our own city carillonneur and deputy city carillonneurs, are guest carillonneurs from home and abroad. Dive into the programme of summer carillon concerts.” Until 15 Sep. Belfort binnenplein, Markt. 

https://www.museabrugge.be/kalender/activiteiten-en-evenementen/beiaard_zomerconcerten_2025

Exhibition: Ballet meets fashion. “Exhibition of paintings on the theme of ballet and dance.  Works of Patrick Louwyck and Ira Dynova.” Until 31 Aug (open Mon-Sat).

Softline, Sint-Jakobsstraat 4. https://www.visitbruges.be/en/whats-on/events-calendar/ballet-meets-fashion

Klinkende Kroegen (‘clinking/clanking pubs/bars’). “Klinkende Kroegen is a unique series of summer performances at/in pubs in the centre of Bruges. The performances take place from 19.00 to 23.30 every Wednesday in July and August. Find out where and when to go here.”👇 https://www.visitbruges.be/en/whats-on/events-calendar/klinkende-kroegen-2025

Weekly markets. The Saturday market (9 Aug) will be on ‘t Zand, and the Wednesday market (13 Aug) will be on the Grote Markt/Burg.  

🎬 🎭 Stage, Screen, and Scene

Cinema. Cinema Lumière (Sint-Jakobsstraat 36) will be showing a variety of films over the next week. These include The Salt Path, The Smurfs, Eddington, Sorry, Baby, and The Phoenician Scheme. Ticket prices are up to €12, with a family film option before 16:30 costing €9. Visit the cinema’s website for films, timings and bookings: https://lumiere-brugge.be/agenda-lumiere-brugge/

Kinepolis (Koning Albert l-laan 200) will offer films and showings over the coming week including Freakier Friday, Superman, The Naked Gun, The Smurfs, F1Ⓡ The Movie, and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.

A standard ticket costs €14,10. Visit https://kinepolis.be/nl/nl/movies/overview/ for more information and bookings.

⚽ Game On: Sports & Recreation

Open water swimming. “The swimming area at the Coupure has been attracting residents and visitors for several years who want to take a refreshing dip or paddle for free. There is also a sports swimming area for distance swimming and a paddling pool for the little ones. Lifeguards keep an eye on things during opening hours. Provided you can swim and the water quality is good, you are allowed to enter the water.”  

FREE. de Coupure (at the top of Predikherenrei), Bruges city centre.” 28 Jun-31 Aug, 12:30-18:00. www.brugge.be/zwemmenindecoupure

Latest update (7 Aug): Due to blue-green algae in the water, swimming is prohibited in the Coupure for the time being. The city will update on socials when it is possible to swim again.

🍻🎶 Bruges After Dark: Nightlife

Benenwerk 2025. “Legwork ‘Ballroom Brugeoise’ is back! On Saturday 9 August 2025, you can once again bring out the best dancer in you. Live bands and DJs will take you in tow for a dance marathon along 13 stages spread across the city centre of Bruges. A wide variety of genres are featured, from folk, ballroom, and rock 'n' roll to summery bachata, salsa, reggaeton, and dancehall, all the way to hip-hop, urban, house, and techno. In between, you can hone your skills at one or more of the many dance workshops. Experience Bruges from the dance floor: a unique opportunity to let loose in good company!”  18:00-02:00. The event website has the full programme:  https://www.benenwerk.be/2025/

Cactus Café Rooftop Street Food #4 Amèsa - Wood-fired pizza. “Each week we invite a different chef for a weekend residency – seven unique crews in total, each with their own style. Don't expect a classic menu, but street food and sharing dishes. No etiquette, affordable food: you order straight from the chef and eat whatever you're craving. With a matching DJ on Saturday. They'll provide tunes that perfectly match the food. Every weekend 19 Jul-31 Aug, on Sat and Sun 17:00-02:00. Food served between 18:00-22:00. No reservations needed. Veggie options available. Dishes cost €6/12/18.

Ellen is the chef behind Amèsa (Spanish for ‘at the table’), a catering concept inspired by southern hospitality. Her cooking is rooted in the flavors of Southern Europe and the Middle East: honest, generous, and always centered around shared dining. For this occasion, Ellen will be baking wood-fired pizza. At Amèsa, it’s all about pure flavors and enjoying freshly prepared food together, straight from the fire.”

18:00-23:00. ItalofriscoDJ. Matching dj on Saturday! - italo disco

https://cactusmusic.be/EN/Concerts/Calendar/amesa

🌈 Family Fun: Events & Adventures

Kafé Keramiek. “In August 2025, Kafé Keramiek will open to everyone. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August, our Summer Kafé will be open. That's 5 delicious summer weekends!

We serve an artisanal selection of drinks in the finest cups and glasses. Appetisers on the prettiest plates. For our ceramics, we work with different types of clay and our own glaze recipes. We combine clay types with glazes and create unique handicrafts. Our drinks and snacks menu is unique and has a local and artisanal touch. We welcome anyone who can appreciate our craft and wants to meet Kafé Keramiek!  We love connecting at this unique Bruges location on the Ghent-Bruges canal. See you soon in August?”

Fri. 12:00-22:00. Sat. 10:00- 20:00. Sun.10:00 - 20:00. Baron Ruzettelaan 306, 8310 Assebroek https://www.kafekeramiek.be/nieuws/zomer-kafe

Bar Visart. “For seven summers now, our container bar has been a fixture in Graaf Visartpark. Come by for a unique mix of peace, fun and summer cosiness in a green environment. The drinks are already fresh!” Open from 14:00 until 30 Aug. Graaf Visartpark. https://barvisart.com/

Concertgebouw tours. The concert hall offers tours of its architecture and (sound) art exhibition. https://www.concertgebouw.be/nl/concertgebouw-circuit Tickets: €6-12, FREE for children under 6. Guided tours are available on some days, including on 7,8,9 Aug. Concertgebouw ('t Zand 34.) https://ticketshop.ticketmatic.com/concertgebouw/shop

🌤️🌧️ Weather

Expect cloudy sunshine over the next week. Daytime temperatures forecast in the first part of the week are 17-21°C, reaching highs of 26-32°C up to next Wednesday (13 Aug).

Find latest forecasts covering Bruges at: https://www.meteo.be/en/belgium