This building is the biggest and most prominent on the Bruges main square. Go inside on a rainy day to do the VR experience or history experience, or simply go up to the top level's beer bar for a quick drink and view of the square from above (no cost to just walk up). The VR experience was included in the ticket we chose and actually pretty cool to see that there was once a canal going under the building for board and commerce in Bruges. The history experience throughout the building was a little strange -- like an animatronic story where you walk in room after room. I liked how interactive and Disney-like it was, but the story in general is just a little random (?). You follow a pretty girl in a red cloak through the markets and there's a bird and a painter and people looking for her or something? I would've loved to learn more about actual Bruges which is why I wouldn't consider it a must-do for visitors. We brought our toddler with us through it, but I wouldn't recommend for kids under 15 ish... it's dark and there's a room with women of the night portrayed so it just kind of leaves you wondering who this general exhibit is for as most of it would be great for kids but then there's that dropped into it for no reason. The beer bar and view is cool though! PS: The shop inside could be improved as it has a lot of junky merch and the main manager lady is not friendly... she got upset at one of her employees and we felt bad for them because she hadn't been nice to us either. read more

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Overpriced, low-budget experience with little historical relevance to Bruges. The VR Virtual Reality film feels two decades old. The story of Jacob is uninteresting and focuses on a lost bird as you meander through 8 rooms with plastic decorations. I would love to see the IQ test results from anyone who rated this 5 stars. Seems to be targeted at people who don't get outside much. They upsell you on the tower climb which only accommodates 6 people at a time, leading to long wait times. Staff is hapless, and the supervisor is a condescending prick. They got our 62 euros though, so I guess they win. read more

Stay away. Far away. No go zone. Do not waste your time or money. Sadly there is no history in the Historium. Just a cheesy made up love story. 50 minutes and some euros I will never get back. read more

I'm going to say 3.5 *'s rounding down. The reason I liked our visit as much as I did: * I've seen literally everything else there is to see in Bruges (including the private tour of the Medici villa run by nuns who speak only Flemish) * We used a museum pass so it cost us $0 additional dollars Here are some reasons not to go here: * You haven't yet done a boat tour; seen the Jerusalem Church, the OLV Church, the Groeninge museum, the Church of the Holy Blood, the Folklore museum, the Gruuthuse Museum, the Our Lady of Pottery Museum, the carved wooden relief in the town hall, or the Memling museum; climbed the Belfry; seen the Minnewater; toured the Halve Maan Brewery; or clocked sufficient time "bumming around" * It's sunny outside * You have to pay full sticker Here are some reasons to go here: * It's raining and/or bitterly cold outside * You want a multimedia experince of that Van Eyck painting * You want to experience the Waterhalle which was torn down in the early 1800s and is fascinating * You don't have to pay sticker price * You want to grab a beer with a view of the Markt when it's over Here are some other things not to do in Bruges: * Carriage tour * Frites museum * Chocolate museum * Dali "museum" * Eat any place on the Markt read more

Oh dear... this museum. In all honesty, we hardly asked around and looked into what this museum was, and we wrongly assumed it was a fact-filled history museum. This is difficult to describe, as I've never experienced a "museum" quite like this (lol). The tour takes you through seven themed rooms and in each room you watch parts of a movie they put together that is basically a story about a painter's apprentice. It was so bad, we were literally trying to stifle our giggles as to not ruin it for the rest of the group. Then we realized that everyone else was laughing too. I WILL say, at the end of the tour there are some great views of the main square in Brugge. And the Duvelorium our exit led to was the crown jewel of the entire experience. They did a three beer flight and chocolate pairing for €10. And they were decent pours! This place also looks over the square. (Please see my pic!) We discovered you DON'T have to buy museum tickets to go to the Duvelorium. Do yourself a favor and skip the historium and head straight for Duvel! read more

Historium - This view made it worth it. - Museums Near Me - Bruges, VWV

I should have known what I was getting into. But I was hoping for some history, barely. It is an animated watered down BS story about an artist's apprentice. Complete with bad 80s era Disney animatronics. Good for kids but pricey for a family. Two words: tourist trap read more

Now includes smells! Historium is an exhibit that takes you on a short journey through life in the past of Brugge using a cute love story revolving around a famous painting by the great Jan Van Eyck. You walk alongside Jacob, employed by Van Eyck, on his way to secure a parrot and the Madonna for Van Eyck's painting. It's very Christmas Carol-ish in perspective. The tour takes you from one locked room into another locked room all which are set up as a scene from the past where you play as a ghostly witness. Each room has an immersive feel and all rather imaginative and well thought out. Even providing smells of the past from pleasant smells to very smelly smells that you might expect on the streets of a medieval Brugge. I was expecting a much more historical exhibit, but I appreciated the amount of artistry, animatronics, and staging that went behind each room. As far as history exhibits go... it's a paltry collection. Some facts on how paint is made, old spectacles, a few pasted old before and after photos of the city. I'm sure Historium's main feature would amaze some kids though. It was also somewhat enjoyable for adults too. You be the judge on if you think admission is worth a 20-30 min semi-interactive walk. After the tour, there is a gift shop, which is also accessible for free, and a panoramic balcony view. It's nothing incredibly impressive, in terms of having the Belfort view only 200ft away, but if you'd care for something narrative and not so much the normal historical exhibit then Historium isn't all that bad. read more

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My husband loved this place, but I just thought it was average at best. You are essentially walking through various rooms that are going through the story of a fictional teenager looking for a parrot and woman for his artist employer in 15th century Bruges. You go through with an audio guide, traveling room to room on cue. You're visiting various rooms that had period sets and narrative videos that give the next piece of the story. Though it had decent production value (sets and films), the story was odd and I didn't particularly care about the characters or learn much history of the city. So for 30-35 minutes I felt forced to watch videos about a boy finding his parrot. Ok... For those that are sensitive about nudity, I would avert your eyes during the bathroom scene because there is a fully naked woman for a few moments. Perhaps this is the American in me, but it felt inappropriate in an attraction geared towards a younger audience. Beyond the rooms, there is some actual information about the history of the city, and a nice panoramic view of the square. These were nice, but I was underwhelmed with the expensive visit overall. read more

I wasn't completely disappointed in the Historium, but it wasn't really was I expected. I think maybe it is better suited for kids or families with kids. They obviously spent a long time designing it and put a lot of money into it, but watching a story that wasn't that interesting or educational, just wasn't my thing. It seemed more like a fictitious story about a boy named Jacob, and his lust for a girl named Anne. It wasn't the historical-fact-filled-tour or movie I was looking forward to. I actually preferred looking out on the terrace onto to the market area and the museum-like exhibit afterward, which were both quite nice. There is also a beer bar and a gift shop on premises. You have to walk through the bar in order to exit. Would I recommend it? I suppose...It's o.k. The building is interesting and it's a decent way to burn some time indoors. If you could find one of those discount cards, it'd probably make it more worth the $. We bought the combined ticket with the city tour by bus. Although it was hard to see things from the bus, it also killed 45 minutes and was a fun way to see the streets of Brugge. Combined tickets like ours will run you 25 Euro for each adult. read more

Our last morning and having left our cases in the hotel we wandered. It was cold so we decided to visit the Historium, just to warm up. What a shock this was. So interesting. Learned a lot about the history of Brugge by a guided tour, through headphones, into rooms set out as they would have been centuries ago. Totally multimedia and computerised you were led through doors that opened automatically. Well worth an hour spent. read more

I did't know what to expect from this site. We only had one day is Bruges, so we gave it a shot. I thought it would be cheesy but it turned out to be an enjoyable way to learn a little history. If you want to do a deep dive on Bruges, this won't be sufficient. Obviously it is not a traditional museum so if that is what you are looking for, it is probably not for you. We knew that going in. We were short on time and after having visited several traditional museums before this, it was a welcome reprieve. We did the whole thing, the audio tour which is told in a story like fashion through the use of some fictional characters, the virtual reality tour and the beer room afterwards. At the top, there is a terrace that gives you good views of the market square and offers some interactive exhibits. Your get a ticket for a beer in the tap room at the end of the tour which is operated by Duvel, a good Belgian brewery. If you want to skip the tour, you can just enjoy the a beer here. This exhibit is probably not good for really young ones, or other sensitive people, as there is some discussion of bath houses in the Golden Age of Bruges and some partially nude images. read more

Similar to other reviewers. It was my mistake in not reading those before buying the over priced ticket. Definitely doesn't have anything to do with history. A made up story through 7 rooms about a teenage boy finding a girl and a bird. Pretty good production value, just not what I thought it would be. View from the bar is awesome and totally worth going to. Skip the "museum" part. read more

Nothing to do with history. It's a fairy tale exhibit, fine not fairytale but it's a hotel based on a book, we ended up just chilling at the duvel place upstairs and having beer flights, which cost less than the misleading museum. If you are into drama, check if out. Otherwise you may be disappointed read more

Yes, the Historium is a cheesy tourist destination. It's heavy on the drama and art, light on the information. The premise of the presentation is a day in the life of a young apprentice to the Van Eyck as he travels through the city to find the right model and the green parrot for his famous painting of the Madonna. It allows you to see the different sides of the trading hub at its heyday. It claims to be interactive, but I would call it more engaging than interactive, as you really just walk through different vignettes rather than exerting control over the actual presentation. There are audio guides to provide the story in your language. There's even a backdrop with thrown for you to pose as the Madonna yourself. The museum portion over the balcony was quite good, with lots of detail to make up for the presentation and in several languages. There was a thorough presentation of the time with maps of the city, details about the countries that traded there, relics from the different guilds, and more. It's not cheap, but it fits the touristy nature of the city. read more

I wasn't able to actually do the guided tour but I visited the gift shop. Prices were reasonable and the staff was friendly.

The historium is an interactive exhibition that guides you through a story set in middle age Bruges. You are guided with the audio guide (free) through a set of chambers, each showing a different aspect of life in Bruges with obejcts, videos and scents. For about 15e (student reduction) we could also try the virtual reality experience plus a beer in the Duvelorium. It might be slightly overpriced, but it is worth a visit on a rainy day. read more

Markets itself as interactive but we were very disappointed by the historium. The audio guides stopped working halfway through. The movie method to show you what Bruges used to be like was entertaining in terms of production value and story but didn't accomplish what it set out to do, show what it was like to live during that time. The 11,50 price tag was too high for this cgi version of a parrot love story. After the video there was what seemed to be an attempt at a museum but there were no actual objects just laminated posterboards.would not go again read more

The bathroom entrance jacked my 50 cents so I humiliated myself with the presence of three other people and left with a pair of full bladders. read more