Frietmuseum

10 Places That Will Take You to Potato Paradise

"In Bruges, nestled among the Gothic architecture and outdoor cafes dolling out beer and waffles, lies the world’s only museum dedicated to fries. While some might call fried potatoes “French” fries, it’s well known that Belgium is the real source of pommes frites, and the Frietmuseum pays tribute to this national cuisine. Inside a 14th-century building known as the Saaihalle, founders Cédric and Eddy Van Belle have assembled a curious collection of artifacts, equipment, and art. Their museum traces the history of the fry, from Andean potatoes to Belgium’s iconic paper cones of crispy, hot pommes frites. There’s an Inca-era vase featuring potatoes, dioramas of Peruvian farmers and potato-peeling European soldiers, vintage ads, an extensive assortment of potato cutters, and a mobile of dangling tubers of various hues and sizes from around the world. After working up an appetite, visitors can descend to the medieval cellar, where a cafe dishes up pommes frites, among other items such as croquettes and beef stew." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

The Ultimate Guide to the World's Food Museums

"Potatoes are so integral to Belgian cuisine that, when faced with a surplus earlier this year, the potato industry group Belgapom asked Belgians to eat more frites to avoid potatoes going to waste." - Sophie Friedman

Jakob Turnup

Google

Very interesting museum about the history of the potato and in this case the most important ingrediend of fries. I liked the build up of the museum and the partly nostalgic vibes. At the end there's a small snack bar, where you can order fries for a taste test. Unfortunately I'm vegetarian and couldn't taste some, because there was no other option than beef oil.

Joanna 2020

Google

Nice. Quite a lot of facts about origin of potatoes, how the fries are made and how the mass production started. 3 stars... because local school kids were very loud and i could not hear the audio, there was no staff member /teacher around to remind that its public place ... and some awareness about others should be reminded Bit narrow as well but its very old building so cant complain. .There are toilets, small shop on site.. ...

Haytham Aziz

Google

It's an amazing experience about potato origins and why it's named French fries, while Belgium invented it. You'll be taken in a journey through history about the development of tools in the fries industry. By the end of the tour, I highly recommend you try the fries 🍟 with the different delicious sauces 😋

Ella

Google

We did not expect much, but ended up loving this museum. It is informative and fun! We especially enjoyed the pest interactive game. I would definitely recommend. Only €9.50 with a student card!

Praneet Raj

Google

Loved our visit to the Fries museum. My kids loved it. We reserved a 2pm tour online, they let us enter an hour earlier. We took audio tour option and I highly recommend that. Overall a great experience.

Andrew Bentham

Google

Fun museum celebrating the national obsession. Didn't take that long. Great fries at the end (extra charge) 🍟😋

Louise -

Google

Informative and interesting then devolves into the silly and campy. Great way to spend an hour and you can buy fries at the end.

Emmanouil Klouvas

Google

It's a little bit confused to go upstairs and downstairs to explore the museum but is funny.also the elevator is not working so is unfriendly for People with walking difficulties. The french fries is not tasty so good and i saw someone of the staff to sniffing his nose in front of the food.Also is closing early in the evening so you should be harry if you want to eat something there.

Peter L.

Yelp

A museum dedicated to frites is an awesome idea, and the frietmuseum is a quirky museum filled with all things frites. It starts with the history of the humble potato and then goes through various exhibits on fries - cooking methods, fries overseas, fries from the past, models of frites shops, appliances, etc. The exhibits are well described but there ia lot to read so it could take some time if you read everything. The museum also has a frites shop in the basement but it closes early, which was a bummer. Overall, a fun experience although a bit pricey for what it is.

Erich L.

Yelp

Fun and kind of funky museum about the history of fries and potatoes. It has a lot of memorabilia from different countries that we can all relate to and fun. The history of the potato is very important in the development of the world. It fueled many countries and provided low cost and nutrition to many who could work in the Industrial Revolution and it continues to be a vital staple today.

Heather S.

Yelp

A simple little stop to learn more about fries and the history of fries. It was a rainy day so the indoor comfort was welcome. Be prepared for a ton of reading. While reading isn't bad, I was just expecting a different interaction. Once you get to the upper floors there are more visual exhibits so while the entrance was heavy on reading, know it changes later in the exhibit. There are a ton of artifacts from history related to taters that are fun to see. They have really don't a great job setting this museum up to give you the full picture of fries and their life. Fries are my favorite food group so it was nice to get to know them better.

Sean C.

Yelp

With a kid, we would certainly recommend stopping by - our 1 year old loved talking about the fries and ultimately eating some and playing with the kids toys in the basement - staff were nice and helpful and ambience was what I expected from a museum.

Suzee Q.

Yelp

Good, delicious, fried fun--if you're into that sort of thing. From the history of the potato to the basement cafe where you can eat the real thing (actually, there are better friet places in Bruges) with lots of kitschy advertisements and an actual historical friet stand that you can walk through! There is LOTS of reading in these displays (if you want to glean as much info as possible) and the museum is on several levels so it might be not so great for some. The exhibits lean towards Belgium potatoes (obviously) and artifacts. Would have been great if it also included the lesser fries from around the world. We spent almost 2 hours here enjoying learning about all the tools and looking and reading almost all the displays.

Chael F.

Yelp

This is a terrifically fun experience for travelers with or without children. I am an enthusiast of Belgian fries (and do prefer their method to the contested Pomme Frites of France) and this museum does its best to impress upon you the Belgian superiority to the aforementioned snack. It does this entertainingly with many a visual aid, and at the end of it all, asks you to treat yourself in their friet cafe. Don't forget the mayo!

Dave B.

Yelp

A fun museum about French fries. Highly recommended. You will learn a lot about frites in an hour visit. It starts off a bit boring with the beginning of potatoes, but more entertaining as you move along. We did not eat frites here as the basement cafeteria looked depressing. But, we did immediately hightail it to a restaurant for frites and bier. €16 for 2

Stanley S.

Yelp

We did a self-guided tour on our own as a guide is unnecessary. We were glad as this was not nearly as good as the Chocolate Museum that we visited on our last visit to Bruges. The chocolate museum was kinda corny and fun with several interesting facts, a short film. and a free sample This was just corny though some of the old memorabilia was cool to see. There was a kitchen in the basement where you could get fries but by this day we had had our fill of fries. Don't bother going here or the Beer Experience, instead go to the Chocolate museum which is a campy delight.

Jennifer K.

Yelp

If you always wondering what makes Belgian Frites so tasty or why it is different from the "French" Fries you have been eating, you might find the answer at Frietmuseum. A little history about potatoes, frites and more. What I learn? I like eating Belgian Frites because they are bintje double fried in beef fat at the correct temperature and time. The result is those light golden and crispy Belgian Frites that I could not get anywhere else... Another reason why I need to travel to EAT!

Cornelis T.

Yelp

The part telling us the history of the potatoe was interesting and the other parts about old ways of making 'friet' and the 'frietkraam' were a lot of fun. Loved the fries in the basement, although them being a bit on the expensive side.

Jennifer P.

Yelp

We had a great visit here. It was a fun museum, and I greatly enjoyed seeing all of the different "tools". The museum isn't very big, but you can browse and chit chat. It's indoors, so it's a good way to spend some time indoors if it's chilly or rainy. At the end of the museum there's a friet shop (you get a discount with your ticket), and imo it makes pretty good friets despite it just being the museum shop! Definitely worth a stop!

Majlinda K.

Yelp

Great fun museum to go to in Brussels that is very casual and laid back. What more interesting than learning where fries came from? They managed to have alot of exhibits put together for this, about two floors all about fries and where the various dips came from. The fries were delicious make sure to use your vouchers and venture out and try a belgian dip for the fries!

Marine B.

Yelp

Not a must-do in Bruges, but can be interesting if you have young teens. Many explanations on potatoes and fries, some vintage ads and cooking machines. The entire visit doesn't last more than 40 mn.

10 Places That Will Take You to Potato Paradise

The Ultimate Guide to the World's Food Museums