Belgium is one of the smallest countries in northwestern Europe, very densely populated with three spoken languages headed by monarchy. With a history of influences of German, French, Dutch, this country has evolved and developed its own style.
A visit to Belgium, you will experience in real, the world famous waffles, Belgian fries, pissing boy, the lambic beer and the most important Belgian Chocolates.
What I really love about Belgium
There are so many things which make this tiny nation so lovable. It has a fabulous train network. It’s a breeze to reach the cities and even smaller towns, there are trains with clear timetables displayed at all railway stations. I explored the Flanders Art cities, all by trains making Brussels as base.
Belgium is very cosmopolitan. You can find restaurants of every country here. I had some amazing Chinese and Korean food as much as I enjoyed the local delicacies.
A small compact country makes it easy to explore. Navigation is easy. English works well everywhere.
And here are some more interesting facts…
Understand the waffles better! There are 2 types – Brussels and Liege.
Tintin is Belgian : Tintin was born on 10 January 1929 in the Belgian weekly “Le Petit Vingtième”
Battle of Waterloo was fought in Belgium : A French army led by Napoleon was defeated in this battle by a coalition army. Today waterloo is a tourist site of great historical significance.
Market Square of Brussels is among the Most Beautiful Squares of the world : It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world : If you buy a diamond anywhere in the world, its a very likely possibility it passed through Antwerp at some point in its lifetime.
Brugge’s old town is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Belgium speaks Dutch, French and German. The Wallonia region is primarily French speaking, Flemish region speaks Dutch and some parts speak German. In Brussels mostly Dutch and French is spoken.
Brussels is the defacto capital of EU parliament.
Flanders
Flanders referring to the Flemish region, also meaning ‘flooded land’ is the northern region of Belgium. Its famous for its art cities like Brugge, Ghent and Antwerp. Very compact and easily commutable by train, you can go backpacking or just make one city as your base and explore. Flander cities have stunning medieval architecture; some of the most elaborate market squares and cathedrals. It also has its own cuisine, art and music.
Follow my posts on exploring Flander region of Belgium to get more inspiration.
