In Bruges: stay at that exact hotel from the movie and see the film locations
Martin McDonagh is the sort of person I’m delighted to be a contemporary of. I’ve adored him ever since he was a theatre playwright. I used to watch his plays non-stop, and when he started making films, my delight knew no bounds.
In Bruges (2008) — McDonagh’s first feature film directorial debut.Table of Contents
I’ve watched it about 200 times. I know every line, every dialogue and every scene.
After the film was released, Bruges, a small town in the west of Belgium, became incredibly popular. It became a place of pilgrimage. This is yet another example of how art transforms tourism and creates new destinations.
The hotel where the film’s main characters, Ken and Ray, stayed became impossible to book. You have to book months in advance. I did just that once – and went there. In December, just before Christmas. Just like in the film.
The Hotel
📍 Location: Wollestraat 41-47.
In In Bruges, McDonagh portrayed the Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce hotel as a charming, but slightly old-fashioned and homely family-run business. We are shown a simple lobby, where guests are greeted at reception by the lovely, pregnant owner Marie, who runs this peaceful retreat together with her husband (who remains off-screen).
In reality, however, the on-screen image of this guesthouse is cinematic fiction. Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce is a luxurious, premium 4-star boutique hotel, recognised as one of the most exclusive and romantic hotels in Western Europe.
I went there to celebrate my birthday, and it was truly magical and unforgettable. Here’s what I’d like to point out to you if you’re planning to go there:
Interior
Instead of the modest décor of ‘rooms to let’, you will see that hotel is beautifully and tastefully decorated. Its interiors have genuine antiques, vintage paintings, antique tapestries and exquisite stained-glass windows.
The rest looks exactly what it shows in the movie. Reception, lobby, stairs — all the same. Since it’s a true, livable an poular hotel you don’t get the feeling that you are inside some soulsess prop. It has live inside.
This is not a budget hotel
I paid around 400 euros for a single night (in 2025) in the most basic room with no view. Rooms overlooking the canal (just like in the film) are several times more expensive, yet despite this, they are always fully booked. The room cost didn’t include breakfast.
In the film, Harry’s boss supposedly chose the cheapest hotel for Ken and Ray simply ‘as a cover’. In reality, it is one of the most expensive and sought-after hotels in Belgium, which needs to be booked many months in advance.
Over the years, it has hosted world-famous personalities, including members of royal families, musicians and actors (among them Colin Farrell himself whilst filming).
The lobby
Location
10 out of 10. The hotel is housed in a historic 16th-century building with an iconic wooden façade. It is situated at the confluence of Bruges’ two main canals, and the view from its windows is considered one of the city’s most iconic sights.
The most budget-friendly room
I stayed in the most budget-friendly room on the ground floor, with no view. When I decided at the last minute to splash out and upgrade to a room with a view, it was already unavailable.
The room is spacious. There’s plenty of room to feel at ease. A large wardrobe and everything you need. The bed is brilliant. I had a great night’s sleep.
During my stay, I enjoyed every moment.
The hotel restaurant
The restaurant is situated to the left of the reception on the ground floor.
Breakfasts, dinners, just a cup of coffee – everything here is so elegant and welcoming. Dining in front of the views of Bruges’ Gothic architecture and the canal is would give +10 points to the vibes of the overall enjoyment of your stay at the hotel.
Breakfast
The hotel’s morning service is a ritual. No usual modest buffet — an exquisite continental breakfast awaits you, featuring the freshest Belgian pastries, farm-fresh cheeses and champagne.
Panoramic view
The restaurant’s tables are set by huge windows overlooking the famous canal. Having breakfast here, watching the swans glide by and seeing how the morning sun bathes Bruges’ medieval towers in light, is a unique aesthetic delight.
Fireplace lounge and dinners
In the evening, this area transforms into an intimate, atmospheric bar-lounge with a crackling fireplace. Although the hotel itself specialises more in impeccable morning service and evening drinks, for a full lunch or a romantic dinner they have an exclusive partnership with Michelin-starred and top-rated restaurants in Bruges, located literally a stone’s throw away.
I didn’t have dinner at the hotel. I went out for dinner at other places featured in the film.
That’s the very restaurant where Ray went on a date with Chloe and pulled a prank on the Canadian.
Other ‘In Bruges’ filming locations
Cafedraal Restaurant
📍Location: Zilverstraat 38.
Cafedraal Restaurant is located about a 5–7-minute walk from Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce, in the shadow of St Saviour’s Cathedral.
This stylish Franco-Belgian restaurant is housed in a historic 15th-century building. Nowadays, tourists from all over the world book tables here in advance and ask the waiters to seat them ‘at the very table where Colin Farrell sat’.
The menu focuses on upscale French-Belgian and European dishes built around fresh, seasonal, and regional ingredients, with large choice of meat and fish options.
Book a table in advance. When I had dinner there in December, the restaurant was fully booked. I imagine this is the case almost every evening. The restaurant really is lovely and elegant.
Markt (Market Square)
📍Location: Markt.
It is here that Ray and Ken spend their first few days in Bruges, and it is here that they keep returning. This vast space, surrounded by colourful gingerbread houses, looks magical and slightly melancholic on screen — which perfectly matches the mood of the main characters.
Several key scenes were filmed here. And it is along these cobblestones that Ray tries to escape in the film’s finale, with Harry in hot pursuit.
Playground
📍 Location: Koningin Astridpark, Schaarstraat 5 (or Stalijzerstraat 11).
In the movie In Bruges, Ken finds Ray sitting on a bench near the children’s play area in this park. Bynplot, Ken is sent by their boss Harry to kill his partner Ray. He stalks Ray through the park and finds him sitting despondently on a bench next to the children’s playground.
The playground is located in a historic bandstand, a pond with a Neptune fountain.
Long before it was a public space, this plot of land served as a 13th-century Franciscan monastery garden for over 500 years. The monastery was dissolved during the French Revolution in 1796.
In 1851, the city hired renowned landscape architect Egidius Rosseels to design the park. He cleverly built artificial hills, winding paths, and dense perimeter trees.
Originally called the Botanieken Hof (Botanical Garden), it was officially renamed in 1935 to honor Queen Astrid of Belgium following her tragic death in a car crash.
Canal trip
📍Location: Start the boat tour Rosary Quay (Rozenhoedkaai). Also, there are at leat 4 more starting points in different parts of the city.
In the film, Brendan Gleeson’s character, Ken, is a very romantic and inquisitive man, despite his — so to speak — profession. He genuinely enjoys the city and takes great pleasure in exploring its sights. A boat trip along the canal is one of his ideas, and he enjoyed it wholeheartedly – which is more than can be said for Ray.
The trip begins in the historic part of the city and follows the city’s main canals, winding through the most picturesque streets. The trip is accompanied by a guided commentary. It’s not only beautiful, but also very informative!
Belfry Tower
📍Location: Markt 7.
The 83-metre-tall medieval bell tower dates from the 13th century. It is not only the main symbol of Bruges but also, without exaggeration, one of the central ‘characters’ in the cult film In Bruges. The entire dramatic finale of the film revolves around the Belfry.
‘We’re not going up there…’ Remember that amusing scene where Ray refuses to climb the tower, calling the tourists names, whilst Ken goes up anyway? In real life, you should definitely follow in Ken’s footsteps.
It’s from this very bell tower that Ken throws coins to warn Ray of mortal danger, and it’s from here that the film’s climactic scene unfolds.
To see the city from a bird’s-eye view, you’ll have to climb 366 steep steps up a narrow spiral staircase. On your way up, you can take a breather in the old treasury and see the huge carillon drum up close, which controls 47 massive copper bells. Their chimes still ring out over the city’s tiled roofs every 15 minutes.
How the movie turned Bruges into A destination
Cinema changes the way we travel and our relationship with real places.
Until 2008, Bruges was simply another quiet, picturesque European town for pensioners and lovers of medieval architecture. Everything changed when Martin McDonagh’s film was released. The director wrapped the historic streets in a blend of black humour and action, and the town instantly became a cult destination.
The film served as the perfect advertisement, even though Bruges is constantly being criticised in it. But the paradox is that the more Colin Farrell’s character hated the city on screen, the more viewers wanted to visit it. People from all over the world set off in search of those very canals, hotels and pubs. The film sparked a massive wave of film tourism: Bruges ceased to be merely a location from a history textbook — it became a destination people visit to experience the atmosphere of their favourite film.
