In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Museum Sint-Janshospitaal is a 12th-century hospital that holds Hans Memling’s paintings, four of which were made for the hospital and have hung there since the late 15th century. An adult ticket is €15, including the old pharmacy, and the museum is closed on Mondays. A Musea Brugge Card covers it. Buy from Musea Brugge. Or book a tour: the Sint-Janshospitaal entry ticketad (from €15, 4.3 stars from 64 reviews) costs the same as buying at the door and adds free cancellation, and the boat, chocolate and walking tourad (from €39, 4.8 stars from 5,125 reviews) takes a guide through the surrounding streets.
⚠️ Closed Mondays. On that day the Church of Our Lady museum across the road is open.
Tickets and hours
Prices and hours are from Musea Brugge.
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Adult | €15 |
| Under 26 | €13 |
| Under 18 | €7 |
| Under 13 | Free |
It opens 09:30 to 17:00, closed on Mondays. On 24 and 31 December it closes at 16:00; on 25 December and 1 January it is closed. Tickets are sold online with a time slot, at the museum itself, at the museum pavilion beside the Gruuthusemuseum and at the shop at Dijver 16. The ticket includes the Apotheek (pharmacy), which sells separately for €3 (€2 under 26).
Tours worth paying for
The museum works on its own. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices.
Sint-Janshospitaal entry ticket
From €15 · 4.3 stars from 64 reviews · valid 1 day · free cancellation
Bruges: Museum Sint-Janshospitaal Entry Ticketad covers the works by Hans Memling, the contemporary art and the historic hospital pharmacy, at the same €15 as Musea Brugge, with fast-track entry.
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 that sails past the hospital walls and a chocolate tasting.
Musea Brugge Card
From €49 · 4.6 stars from 381 reviews · 3 days
Bruges: Musea Brugge Cardad is the 72-hour card that includes this museum along with the Belfry and the Groeningemuseum. Musea Brugge’s own price is the same €49.
What to see
Musea Brugge describes the hospital as one of Europe’s oldest preserved hospital buildings, where anyone who needed care or a bed was welcome, whatever their origin or class. Its Memling collection is, according to Musea Brugge, the second largest in the world.
The St Ursula Shrine, painted by Hans Memling. Photo: Paul Hermans, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Memling’s paintings. Four of the seven Memling works in the museum were made for the hospital and have been there since the late 15th century. A monumental glass case was built to display them.
- The St Ursula Shrine. It stands in the adjoining hospital church, set against a contemporary sculpture by Berlinde De Bruyckere, Liggende-Arcangelo II.
- The attic. The oak roof beams are among the oldest and most monumental in Europe, and the Closer to Memling Experience here, for ages 7 and up, uses hands-on tables, music and light to explain the paintings.
- The pharmacy. A 17th-century apothecary’s interior and a herb garden show the work of the sister apothecaries.
- Contemporary art. The museum shows work by Berlinde De Bruyckere and Patricia Piccinini alongside the old collection.
Detail of the central panel of Memling’s St John Altarpiece. Photo: yakovlev.alexey, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
The Closer to Memling Experience
In the attic, whose oak roof structure is among the oldest and most monumental in Europe, the Closer to Memling Experience brings Memling’s paintings to life with hands-on tables, music and light. Splendid sounds inspired by the polyphonic music of Memling’s day guide you, and at the table you can use your imagination to make your own version of his paintings. Musea Brugge recommends it from age 7. Memling worked and lived in Bruges and, in the museum’s words, created his most important masterpieces there, as a 15th-century master of hyper-realistic scenes and landscapes.
Planning around closings
- Monday: the museum and the pharmacy are closed. Use the day for the Church of Our Lady museum across the road, which is open daily, or the Stadhuis on the Burg.
- Memling elsewhere: the Groeningemuseum also holds paintings by Memling, among other Flemish primitives, but it closes on 11 January 2027 for four years, and the Groeningemuseum page explains where its masterpieces move.
- The card: the Musea Brugge Card covers the museum and the pharmacy once each within 72 hours.
- Access: the museum has a spacious wheelchair-accessible lift, an entrance accessible with assistance, a descriptive audio tour of the surroundings, a tactile model of the hospital and its surroundings, free folding chairs and wheelchairs, and an audio tour in text version for visitors with hearing impairments.
With children
Children under 13 are free. The youngest can play in the children’s hospital, with doctors’ coats, dolls, bandages and X-rays (ages 2.5 and up). Sam’s secret, a children’s audio tour for ages 6 and up, is free at the ticket desk, and the museum lends sensory kits. The museum has a lift, free toilets, a nappy-changing table and wheelchair access, and it welcomes buggies.
The medieval hospital buildings beside the canal. Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Jules Lambeaux’s painting of the pharmacy at St John’s Hospital. Image: Jules Lambeaux, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
Getting there
The entrance is at Mariastraat 38, opposite the Church of Our Lady. The nearest bus stop is Brugge Olv Kerk, the nearest car park is Pandreitje, and Brugge station is a 20-minute walk. The Gruuthusemuseum and Groeningemuseum are close by. Visit Bruges lists St John’s Hospital among the sights the canal cruise passes, and the Begijnhof is a short walk south.
Common questions
How much is the Sint-Janshospitaal?
An adult ticket is €15. Under-26s pay €13, under-18s €7, and children under 13 are free. The ticket includes the 17th-century pharmacy, which costs €3 on its own.
Which day is the Sint-Janshospitaal closed?
Mondays. It is open Easter Monday and Whit Monday, and closed on 25 December and 1 January.
What are the opening hours?
09:30 to 17:00. On 24 and 31 December it closes at 16:00.
What is the main thing to see?
The paintings of Hans Memling. Musea Brugge says he made four of the seven works in the museum for the hospital itself. The St Ursula Shrine is in the hospital church.
Is it included in the Musea Brugge Card?
Yes, once, within the 72 hours of the €49 card.
Is it good for children?
Musea Brugge has a children's hospital play area for ages 2.5 and up, a free children's audio tour, Sam's secret, for ages 6 and up, and the Closer to Memling attic experience for ages 7 and up.
