In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The nave of the Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk) is free. The museum section costs €10 and holds Michelangelo’s marble Madonna and Child, the tombs of Charles the Bold and Mary of Burgundy, and a Bernard van Orley triptych. Sunday opening starts at 13:30. The church does not sell tickets itself, so buy at the museum pavilion beside the Gruuthusemuseum or online from Musea Brugge. A Musea Brugge Card covers it. Or book a tour: the Museum of the Church of Our Lady ticketad (from €10, 4.6 stars from 331 reviews) is the same price as the official ticket, with free cancellation, and the boat, chocolate and walking tourad (from €39, 4.8 stars from 5,125 reviews) adds a guide for the streets round it.
⚠️ Weddings and funerals close the church. When one is on, the church closes to visitors. Musea Brugge’s page for the church shows the day’s hours in its calendar.
Tickets and hours
Prices and hours are from Musea Brugge.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | €10 |
| Under 26 | €9 |
| Under 18 | €5 |
| Under 13 | Free |
| Combined with the Gruuthusemuseum | €19 |
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday to Saturday | 09:30 to 17:00 |
| Sunday | 13:30 to 17:00 |
| 24 and 31 December | Until 16:00 |
| Ascension Day | Closed |
| Other Catholic holidays | From 13:30 |
The church is also closed on 25 December and 1 January. Tickets are sold online, at the museum pavilion near the Gruuthusemuseum and at the museum shop at Dijver 16, and not at the church or at O.L.V. ter Potterie. The church museum (€10) and the Gruuthusemuseum (€15) cost €25 separately, against €19 combined.
Tours worth paying for
The museum needs no guide. These are the GetYourGuide options that include it or the streets round it, at GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices.
Museum of the Church of Our Lady ticket
From €10 · 4.6 stars from 331 reviews · valid 1 day · free cancellation
Bruges: Museum of the Church of Our Lady Entry Ticketad covers Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child and the tombs of Charles the Bold and Mary of Burgundy, at the same €10 the museum charges. It is sold with fast-track entry.
Gruuthusemuseum ticket
From €15 · 4.7 stars from 19 reviews · valid 1 day
Bruges: Gruuthusemuseum Ticketad covers the palace next door, which is closed on Wednesdays. If you want both, the €19 combined ticket from Musea Brugge is cheaper than buying the two separately.
Boat, chocolate and walking tour
From €39 · 4.8 stars from 5,125 reviews · 2.5 hours · small group
Bruges: Boat, Chocolate and Guided Walking Tourad is led by a local certified guide, with a canal boat and a chocolate tasting. It lists the Gruuthusemuseum among its sights.
What to see
The spire is 115.5 metres high, and Musea Brugge calls it the second highest brick tower in the world. With the Belfry and St Saviour’s Cathedral it forms the skyline of Bruges. The church is a classic example of brick Gothic.
Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child behind glass. Photo: Jean-Pol Grandmont, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
- Michelangelo’s Madonna and Child. The marble sculpture was designed for the Piccolomini altar in Siena Cathedral. The Moucron family, merchants from Bruges based in Italy, bought it and had it shipped to Bruges. There is a tactile station for it for visitors with a visual impairment.
- The tombs. The 15th- and 16th-century mausoleums of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy, who died after an accident, stand in the chancel.
- The Passion triptych. A painting by Bernard van Orley, court painter to Margaret of Austria, hangs in the chancel.
- The oratory. An oratory in the chancel links the church to the Gruuthuse palace next door, a connection centuries old.
The tomb of Charles the Bold. Photo: Jean-Pol Grandmont, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.
Next door: the Gruuthusemuseum
The oratory joins the church to the Gruuthuse palace, now the Gruuthusemuseum at Dijver 17C. Musea Brugge calls it 500 years of Bruges history in historic objects: tapestries, stained-glass windows, wooden sculptures, historic lace, Burgundian manuscripts and Chinese porcelain. The highlight is the authentic late-15th-century oratory, with a view of the Gothic chancel of the church, and the balcony looks over one of the most photographed bridges in Bruges and the church museum. The palace takes its motto, Plus est en vous (“There’s more in you”), from Louis van Gruuthuse. The museum won the Portimão Museum Prize, Europe’s Most Welcoming Museum 2021, at the European Museum of the Year Awards. It is open 09:30 to 17:00 and closed on Wednesdays, which makes it a good second stop on a Monday or a Tuesday. It is not wheelchair accessible, because of the steps.
Visiting well
Gothic vaults and a black-and-marble altar in the church. Photo: Joseolgon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Time: you can see the church and museum in about an hour.
- Access: the entrance is wheelchair accessible with assistance by a steep ramp, and the museum is accessible with assistance by some ramps. There is no toilet at the church.
- Facilities: wifi, and pushchairs are allowed.
- Sundays: the church opens at 13:30, so plan the morning elsewhere, such as the Begijnhof, which opens from 07:30.
Getting there
The entrance is on Mariastraat; the nearest bus stop is Brugge Olv Kerk, the nearest car park is Pandreitje, and Brugge station is a 20-minute walk. The Sint-Janshospitaal is a few steps away, and the Gruuthusemuseum and Groeningemuseum are close. Canal boats leave from five jetties in the centre, including Nieuwstraat 11 and Wollestraat 32.
Common questions
Is the Church of Our Lady in Bruges free?
The church is free. The museum section, which holds Michelangelo's Madonna and Child and the tombs of Charles the Bold and Mary of Burgundy, needs a ticket.
How much is the museum ticket?
Adults pay €10, under-26s €9 and under-18s €5; children under 13 are free. A combined ticket with the Gruuthusemuseum costs €19.
What are the opening hours?
It opens 09:30 to 17:00 from Monday to Saturday and 13:30 to 17:00 on Sundays. It is closed on 25 December, 1 January and Ascension Day.
Where do I buy tickets?
Online from Musea Brugge, at the museum pavilion beside the Gruuthusemuseum, or at the museum shop at Dijver 16. The church itself does not sell tickets.
How tall is the tower?
115.5 metres. Musea Brugge says it is the second highest brick tower in the world.
Is the museum included in the Musea Brugge Card?
Yes. The €49 card, valid for 72 hours, covers the Church of Our Lady museum once, along with the other Musea Brugge sites.
