TRAVEL AND TOURISM

Belgium is a popular tourist destination.

CITY ATTRACTIONS

Much of the tourism industry is located either at the heavily developed coastline or in the Ardennes. Brussels and the Flemish cities of Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp attract many cultural tourists.

Brussels

The capital Brussels (French Bruxelles, Dutch Brussel) is renowned for its architecture (medieval, Gothic, Art Nouveau and Art Déco), the Grand Place (an old market square surrounded by buildings from 16th - 18th centuries), the royal palace, its pubs, gallerias with expensive boutiques (some say the oldest covered shopping arcades in the world) and its lifestyle.

Flanders

The historic cities of Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leuven, Ypres and Mechelen are popular tourist destinations.

Antwerp is the second largest city of Belgium, and the second largest port of Europe. It has a world renowned diamond stock exchange, a zoo, and holds yearly naval festivities.

Ghent and Bruges (the "Venice of the North") are well known for their medieval cultural heritage. Both cities are criss-crossed by canals, and have retained much of their original medieval architecture and city layout.

Leuven is most famous for its impressive Town Hall and the university (K.U. Leuven), which is one of the oldest in Europe.

Night life centers on campuses in student cities like Leuven, Hasselt, Ghent or Antwerp. Antwerp and Hasselt are a focus for fashion clothing; Hasselt has a Fashion Museum. Many people start their fashion design career here.

Wallonia

In the Wallonia region in the south, cities like Liege, Namur, Mons, Charleroi, Durbuy, Spa and Bastogne offer tourist attractions.

The old capital of an independent bishopric for more than eight centuries, Liège is now a centre of prestigious art, cultural life and an important student community.

Namur, the capital of Wallonia, has many small fully pedestrian streets where you can find bars and restaurants.

Durbuy is known as the smallest city in the world. The medieval atmosphere of the narrow streets and the castle are enough to bring thousand of tourists every year. Durbuy is one of the major tourist places in the Ardennes and home to several outdoor adventure companies, offering canoeing, caving, climbing, mountain biking and other activities.

Spa is the city of water that gives its name to the word spa. Spa is famous for the mineral springs which have fed the hydro-therapy industry for centuries, and which now fill the well-known Spa mineral water bottles.

FESTIVALS

Festivals play a major role in Belgium's cultural life. Nearly every city and town has its own festival, some that date back several centuries. And these aren't just tricks for tourism, but real, authentic celebrations that take months to prepare. Two of the biggest festivals are the three-day carnival at Binche, near Mons, held just before Lent (the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter), and the Procession of the Holy Blood, held in Bruges in May.

NATURE

Belgium is one of the most densely populated countries of the world, especially Flanders.

Belgium has 67 km of coastline along the North Sea, in the province of West Flanders. Places to visit here include De Panne, Ostend, De Haan and Knokke-Heist. Accommodation is very good, and there is plenty of choice, as the whole coastline is one big city, so to speak. Knokke-Heist has the natural reserve The Zwin, an estuary. The Zwin is a must see for bird watching. There is one nude beach, in Bredene, and it is one of the most crowded in Europe.

The part of Wallonia south of the river Meuse and Samber is generally known as the Ardennes. It is an ancient mountain range, comparable to the German Eifel and the most natural region of Belgium with the highest peak at 694 m (Signal de Botrange). The Ardennes attracts a lot of tourist in all seasons. In the summer, people from all over Europe like to enjoy the calm and the nature, the forest and rivers. In the winter, it is possible to do some winter sport like skiing, especially in the Haute Fagnes (high fens), in the east of the country, near the German border. 

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