Hôtel De Tuilerieën

There are hotels that play against type: the rare Miami hotel that eschews Art Deco, for example, or an English country house that’s post-modern to the core. The Hotel de Tuilereën is not one of them. The meticulously preserved medieval city of Brugge is known for its classic good looks, its sedate atmosphere, and a healthy respect for the past — all of which could equally be said of the Tuilerieën.

It’s a fifteenth-century residence, and a grand one at that, standing alongside the Den Djiver canal, quite close to the center of the old city. And it’s got interiors to match. The décor is period, if not exactly antique — not some faded remembrance of the old days, but a clean-lined recreation. The difference is more or less the difference between a museum exhibit and a period film set — so you’ll feel the era rather than the age (plus the essential modern comforts, of course). If it’s quietly upscale residential living you’re looking for, in the center of one of Europe’s most picturesque cities, then there’s no need to look any further.