Belgium is a kingdom situated between France and Holland in the west of Europe. It’s a multicultural and multilingual country with an excellent train network which makes getting around very simple.

Where Brussels is

In the north one finds Flanders, a flatland of canals where a daytrip from Brussels takes you to the cities of Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent. Here the locals are Flemish and speak Dutch. To the south of Brussels there is Wallonia, with its rolling hills of the Ardennes. Here one finds small, charming villages, and the friendly locals speak mainly French.
The weather here is pretty predictable. Months from April to September are the warmest. Otherwise the weather is pretty humid and skies are gray … which explains why umbrellas and raincoats are a part of the dress code!

Belgians are English-friendly and will make every attempt to speak in English when conversing with a foreigner.

Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend, Namur, Mons, Liège, Ghent and Mechelen are the main shopping centres. Belgium is famous for ceramics and hand-beaten copperware from Dinant, laces from Bruges, crystals from Val Saint Lambert, woodcarvings from Spa and – of course – its chocolates. Diamonds from Antwerp are in high demand.

While eating at a restaurant, tipping is considered customary along with the value-added tax. At the cinemas, leave a €0.50 tip for the attendant and €0.25 after using the public toilets.

Electricity: the voltage is 230 V and frequency is 50 Hz.

There is a network of high-speed trains, which are operated by Thalys, from Belgium to France, connecting Brussels with other destinations like Bordeaux, Chambéry, Cannes, Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Valence Perpignan, and Rennes. Booking should be made in advance for these trains. The national railway operates throughout the day providing regular services to destinations such as Andorra, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands.

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