Blinde-Ezelstraat

This guide to the Blinde-Ezelstraat in Bruges traces the passage's odd name to an inn recorded around fourteen ninety, den Blinden Ezele, the Blind Donkey. It explains why Bruges brewers covered the eyes of the donkeys turning their malt-house treadmills, and how that trick lent its name to blind-donkey lanes and taverns across West Flanders. The passage threads between the City Hall and the old Civil Registry before opening onto the Fish Market. Duck under the stone vault and listen for how quiet the footpath is now that cars are banned.