Belgium Travel Guide

One of Europe's great destinations, Belgium is know its for art and culture, historic medieval cities, cathedrals and castles, beaches, divine chocolates, colourful beers, gourmet foods and friendly, hospitable people.

Belgium is attracting tourists with its essence of artistic beauty, its staggering cultural heritage, its breathtaking Gothic churches, its museums with beauty of a kind, its nature which calls for a bike ride, its flower markets especially Christmas that blossom in many cities and towns in Belgium.

The country, as a whole, has indeed managed to preserve its rich architectural heritage of the Middle Ages, or more recent periods. Bruges, a medieval town, and Brussels, a city of Art Nouveau, are the main witnesses. Centuries of tradition results in great festivals in Belgium. Folk festivals, including that of Ghent which has its origins from the 19th century and Carnival of Binche that listed as heritage site by UNESCO are a unique cultural experience.

Country of origin of many artists and the major European artistic movements, Belgium has a large number of museums and monuments steeped in the national character of Belgian art. Who has not dreamed of visiting a country revealing in itself, works of primitive art, Renaissance paintings, major treasures of Art Nouveau or Art Deco as well as pearls of cartoons? You will soon discover that Belgium is not all about the Manneken Pis and the Grand Place in Brussels.

Its territory of 30 513 km ² is divided into three federal regions: the Flemish region, the Walloon Region and Brussels Capital Region. The head of the Federal Government sits in Brussels. Regionalism in the country does not stop here. Four linguistic communities in Belgium are: Dutch speaking, French speaking, German speaking and bilinguals. The Belgians also cultivate these particularities of inherent identity in each region or community.

Similarly, the local cuisine is not limited to fries. Flavors of the sugary sweets are the daily bread of the Belgians. It is also true that this is a country of beer. This reputation is not pejorative, Belgian beers are among the best in the world.

Finally, Belgian people are very friendly and welcoming.

Belgium enjoys a temperate oceanic climate: mild and humid. It rarely freezes in winter, except in the Ardennes region. But the summer, temperatures are rarely hot. Indeed, the seasonal averages are around 25 ° C. And, in any circumstance, it is better to provide a garment for rain! The country is indeed subjected to rain throughout the year, even during the summer.

In Wallonia, you will enter quickly into the crazy nightlife of Liege. In Namur, you will slowly be charmed by the special atmosphere. And Flanders, it has put in a unique value in the world.

• Antwerp
• Brugge
• Brussels
• Gent
• Hasselt
• Kortrijk
• Leuven

• Liege
• Mechelen
• Namur
• Oostende
• Roeselare
• Tournai