Explore Belgium
Belgium is perhaps the world’s most misunderstood nation, but also one of its most fascinating, punching far above its weight in all sorts of ways. With three official languages, and an intense regional rivalry between the Flemish-speaking north and the French-speaking south that perpetually threatens to split the country in two, it’s actually a miracle that Belgium exists at all. But its historic cities – most famously Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent – are the equal of any in Europe; and its cuisine is reason alone to justify a visit, with a host of wonderful regional specialities. Belgium also boasts some pockets of truly beautiful countryside in its hilly, wooded south and the flatter north – and, perhaps most famously, it produces the most diverse range of beers of any country on the planet.
Many outsiders view Belgium as good weekend-break material, but not much else – which is a pity, as this is historically one of the most complex and intriguing parts of Europe. Squeezed in between France, Germany and the Netherlands, Belgium occupies a spot that has often decided the European balance of power. It was here that the Romans shared an important border with the Germanic tribes to the north; here that the Spanish Habsburgs finally met their match in the Protestant rebels of the Netherlands; here that Napoleon was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo; and – most famously – here, too, that the British and Belgians slugged it out with the Germans in World War I. Indeed so many powers have had an interest in this region that it was only in 1830 that Belgium became a separate, independent state.
Read More-
Chocolate
Chocolate
Belgians get through a lot of chocolate – several kilograms per person every year – but considering how good it is here, it’s a wonder it isn’t more. The Belgians picked up their love of chocolate via the most circuitous of historical routes. The Aztecs of Mexico were drinking chocolate, which they believed gave them wisdom and power, when Hernando Cortéz’s Spanish conquistadors turned up in 1519. Cortéz took a liking to the stuff and, after butchering the locals, brought cocoa beans back to Spain as a novelty gift for the Emperor Charles V in 1528. Within a few years its consumption had spread across Charles’s empire, including today’s Belgium and Luxembourg. At first the making of chocolate was confined to a few Spanish monasteries, but eventually Belgians got into the act and they now produce what are generally regarded as the best chocolates in the world. There are around two thousand chocolate shops around the country and even the smallest town or village will have at least one. Some brands are everywhere – Leonidas is perhaps the most ubiquitous; others include Godiva, Neuhaus and Moeder Babelutte – and you won’t go far wrong buying from one of these places (it’s worth remembering that Belgian chocolates are cheaper in Belgium!). But try also to seek out the independent producers, for example Wittamer or Pierre Marcolini in Brussels, or Chocolate Line in Bruges, which may be a little more expensive but will often be higher quality and more interesting.
-
Sandcastles
Sandcastles
The Belgian coast may be crowded and short, the weather unreliable and the North Sea decidedly chilly, but it does boast a superb sandy beach, stretching – with very few interruptions – from Knokke-Heist in the north to De Panne, 70km to the south. The Belgians make the most of it, descending in their thousands every summer weekend to play beach sports and build sandcastles – but not just any old sandcastle. Right along the coast, ardent enthusiasts (helped by JCBs and tractors) apply themselves with industrial zeal, creating enormous, imaginative edifices from spaceships to sculpted tableaux of Belgians in some metaphysical mess or another, all cheered on by an appreciative crowd. Almost every resort has at least one sandcastle-building competition each summer, with one of the best held in the tiny resort of Zeebrugge in late August.
-
French and Flemish place names
French and Flemish place names
The list below provides the French and Flemish names of some of the more important towns in Belgium where the difference may cause confusion. The official name comes first, the alternative afterwards, except in the case of Brussels where both languages are of equal standing.
French–Flemish
Bruxelles – Brussel
Ath – Aat
Liège – Luik
Mons – Bergen
Namur – Namen
Nivelles – Nijvel
Soignies – Zinnik
Tournai – Doornik
Flemish–French
Antwerpen – Anvers
Brugge – Bruges
De Haan – Le Coq
Gent – Gand
Ieper – Ypres
Kortrijk – Courtrai
Leuven – Louvain
Mechelen – Malines
Oostende – Ostende
Oudenaarde – Audenarde
Ronse – Renaix
Sint Truiden – St-Trond
Tienen – Tirlemont
Tongeren – Tongres
Veurne – Furnes
Zoutleeuw – Léau
-
Festival van Vlaanderen (June–Dec)
Festival van Vlaanderen (June–Dec)
The extraordinarily ambitious Festival van Vlaanderen (Flanders Festival; wwww.festival.be) offers over 500 concerts of classical music in churches, castles and other historic venues in over eighty Flemish towns, cities and villages. Each of the big Flemish-speaking cities – Antwerp, Mechelen, Ghent and Bruges – gets a fair crack of the cultural whip, as does Brussels, with the festival celebrated for about two weeks in each city before it moves on to the next.
