Volkskundemuseum (Folk Museum)

As if time has stood still

Old-school is cool again. The Folk Museum reveals what daily life in Bruges was like in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Visit an old classroom, pharmacy, tailor's workshop, sweet shop or grocer’s store. Time seems to stand still in these restored 17th-century workman's houses. The rooms are full of rare objects from days gone by: tobacco products, children's games, biscuit and chocolate moulds. Ideal for a few hours of discovery and enjoyment with your children.

End your visit with a drink at the ‘The Black Cat' museum inn. If you are lucky, Aristide, the museum's four-legged mascot, will greet you with a quick nuzzle!

Activities and exhibitions

On the upper floor of the museum, you will find the exhibition ‘Children of the past'. An interactive exhibition that lets you experience first-hand what it was like to be a child in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

Every first and third Thursday afternoon of the month, the sweet maker fills the museum with deliciously sweet aromas.

The museum also has folk games and a suitcase with all kinds of children's games (pavement chalk to draw hopscotch, jacks, stretchers, skipping rope, marbles and spinning tops) available, these are always put outside in good weather (even in winter). The case contains explanation sheets for each game.