How many steps to the top of Belfry of Bruges?
A famously punishing 366 steps up a stair that narrows as it rises, with the last stretch barely shoulder-width. Numbers are capped at 70 people inside the tower at any time, so there is often a queue in the square. The 47-bell carillon plays automatically every quarter hour and is deafening from the top if you are there on the hour. The tower has leaned about a metre east for centuries.
The numbers
- Steps
- 366
- Reaches
- the top of the medieval bell tower, at 83 m
- Public access
- Open to climb
- Where
- Bruges, Belgium
- Height climbed
- 83 m — 272 ft
- Average rise per step
- 227 mm
What the climb is like
About 20-30 minutes with the queue. Steep, narrow and two-way at the top; entry is capped.
Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.
How it compares
Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.
| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sagrada Família towers | 400 | the descent from the Nativity or Passion façade towers — the ascent is by lift | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Torre del Mangia | 400 | the bell chamber at 87 m, above the Palazzo Pubblico | Open to climb |
| Statue of Liberty (crown) | 377 | the crown, at 81 m — 162 steps above the top of the pedestal | Restricted — events or permit only |
| Belfry of Bruges | 366 | the top of the medieval bell tower, at 83 m | Open to climb |
| El Castillo, Chichén Itzá | 365 | the temple at the top of the pyramid — climbing has been prohibited since 2006 | Not climbable by the public |
| United States Capitol dome | 365 | the top of the dome — staff-escorted tours only | Not climbable by the public |
| Mont-Saint-Michel Abbey | 350 | the abbey church and the west terrace, from the village entrance | Open to climb |
Common questions
- How many steps to the top of Belfry of Bruges?
- 366, reaching the top of the medieval bell tower, at 83 m.
- Can the public climb Belfry of Bruges?
- Open to climb. About 20-30 minutes with the queue. Steep, narrow and two-way at the top; entry is capped.
- How high is that climb?
- 83 m, about 272 ft, which averages 227 mm per step.
Related pages
- Cathedrals and churches All 19 here
- How many steps up Leaning Tower of Pisa? 251 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up St Peter's Basilica dome? 551 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)? 334 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up St Paul's Cathedral? 528 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Brunelleschi's Dome, Florence Cathedral? 463 steps · open to climb
- How many steps up Notre-Dame de Paris towers? 422 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up Sagrada Família towers? 400 steps · restricted — events or permit only
- How many steps up Cologne Cathedral south tower? 533 steps · open to climb
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place