Basilica of the Holy Blood (Bruges, Belgium)

• The queue may be long but it moves fast!

• The relic of the Holy Blood is displayed each Friday, before and after the mass, to be venerated by the faithful. That’s when you’ll see the biggest number of visitors in the Basilica.

• Avoid major religious holidays, such as Christmas period and Easter Week. Ascension Day is the main holiday for the Basilica. Every year on this day there’s a Procession of the Holy Blood which you can watch. The Basilica usually remains overcrowded with visitors and pilgrims the whole week.

• Give preference to arriving early in the morning or after 3pm.

• Avoid visiting during mass (11:00-11:30, except Mondays) to avoid crowds.

• The busiest periods are July-August, followed by May, September-October and Christmas holidays.

• The Basilica is at its calmest from November to the end of March, the smallest number of visitors is in January and February - you may manage to have the whole place just to yourself!

This page will give you many tips to avoid crowds in Bruges as well as crowd schedules for top tourist attractions in order to plan your visits.