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SUMMARY Location 2 History 5 TOURISM 6 Eye-catching figures 6 Themes Highlights 8 Culture 11 Design 19 Walks and nature 26 Memorial tourism 30 River tourism and bodies of water 34 KIDS 37 Thermalism 40 Regional Products 42 Religious Tourism 48 Thrills ! 49 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps 51 Accessible Tourism 53 Regular events 54 Liégeois celebrities 60 MARKETING 61 Online sales site: www.liegetourisme.be 61 Business Tourism 62 Groups 63 NEWS 67 PRESS CONTACT 68 Press kit - Tourism Federation of the Province of Liège 1 INTRODUCTION Location Liège is situated at the gateway to Ardenne. Its geographic location means that it is exceptionally open to Europe, and a major motorway and rail network reinforces its international calling. Liège is promoted as being the transportation hub of the Meuse- Rhine Euregion. Meuse-Rhine Euregion, which brings together the regions of Liège, Aachen, Hasselt, Heerlen and Maastricht, covers a surface area of 10,500 km and is home to 3.7 million inhabitants. At a dis- tance of just 30 km away from the Nether- lands and 45 km away from Germany, Liège is also ideally located on the London - Brus- sels - Berlin high-speed TGV train route, not forgetting the Thalys link with Paris (barely 2 hours and 20 minutes). Press kit - Tourism Federation of the Province of Liège 2 | Getting to Liège by car A highly comprehensive road and motorway network (E40, E25, E42, E313) makes it very easy to get to Liège by car from the major Belgian and European cities. With its motorway network shaped like a seven-pointed star, Liège features among Europe’s principal communi- cation hubs. The province is served by 250 kilometres of motorways. Thanks to its rapid traffic flows, Austria, Italy, Scandinavia or even the Eastern European countries can be reached in just one day. The Cointe motorway tunnel, to the south of Liège city, was designated “Europe’s safest tunnel” by 31 European Touring Clubs. | Getting to Liège by plane Liège Airport, also known as “Aéroport de Bierset”, It is Belgium’s third-biggest passenger airport, the two is located in the heart of the motorway axes towards biggest in terms of passenger traffic being Brussels air- Brussels, Maastricht and Amsterdam, Anvers, Aachen, port at Zaventem and Charleroi Bruxelles-Sud airport. Luxembourg, Namur and Paris. It is Europe’s eighth In terms of jobs, Liège Airport employs 10,000 people biggest airport in terms of air freight and ranks 38 in (directly and indirectly). the world (24 in the world if only international traffic is taken into account). Liège Airport is the first European airport to focus its policy on freight development. It also opens up major tourist destinations for passenger traffic. Press kit - Tourism Federation of the Province of Liège 3 | Getting to Liège by train | Getting to Liège by boat With its 3,454 kilometres of railway, the network of the Liège port is located in the heart of the major Rhine- Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Belges (SNCB) is Scheldt-Meuse delta, where the density of navigable one of Europe’s densest and most modern. routes is among the highest in the world. It is directly The city of Liège comprises three stations in the city linked with the ports of Anvers (via the Albert canal), centre and is equipped to accommodate high-speed Rotterdam (via the Meuse and the Juliana canal) and trains (TGV). At the heart of the strategic London-Pa- Dunkirk. The authorities of the Port Autonome de ris-Berlin triangle, today TGV, Thalys or ICE trains set Liège (P. A. L.) manage 26 different quays in and around off 8 times a day for France and even up to 10 times the city of Liège. The complex Liège port ranks third a day for Germany, not forgetting the numerous among European river ports, behind the Rhine port of connections that can be planned daily on the Eurostar Duisburg (Germany) and the Autonomous Port of Pa- via Brussels. ris. Liège is also happy to welcome owners of pleasure craft, who will be impressed by the Yacht Harbour and Liège Country is also served by numerous local sta- its famous dipper. tions. Finally, Liège residents have the use of a monumen- tal station designed by Santiago Calatrava, which opened in 2009. A station with futuristic architecture that took ten years to build, directly accessible by mo- torway – and a draw for guided tours, its architecture is so impressive. Press kit - Tourism Federation of the Province of Liège 4 History Liège province: a bit of history... The Province of Liège extends across a surface area of 3,862 km and comprises a population of 1,067,685 inha- bitants. Liège province has 84 municipalities and 4 dis- tricts: Huy, Liège, Verviers and Waremme. The episcopal principality of Liège was a State of the Ger- man Holy Roman Empire, included within Westphalia, with Liège as its capital. The year 985 saw the birth of the episcopal principality and Notger, bishop of Liège from 972, became prince-bishop through receiving the County of Huy. This State endured for 800 years until the Liège Revolution (1789>1795), which led to the abolition of the principality of Liège. When the Principality of Liège was reunified with revolutionary France, the département of Ourthe (sometimes spelt Ourte) was mainly founded on the incorporation of the Abbey Principality of Savelot-Malmedy, and also comprised the central part of the principality of Liège, 12 municipalities of the county of Namur, 26 of the duchy of Brabant, 34 of the duchy of Luxembourg and 3 localities arising from Trier and Cologne. This département was disbanded on the fall of the First Empire and replaced, in 1814, by the Province of Liège under Dutch rule. Liège Province was born in 1836 out of an institutional affiliation between it and the Principality of Liège. Laid out according to the boundaries of the French département of Ourthe, it is characterised by the spirit of tolerance and freedom which prevails in our regions. From the Principality, the Province of Liège also went on to preserve its coat of arms, which recall the former geo- graphical boundaries within which, besides Liège and the Marquisate of Franchimont, the Duchy of Bouillon, the County of Homes and the County of Looz are also featured. The existence of the provinces was formalised by the constitution of 1831; however, it took more than five years before the provincial law was pro- mulgated on 30 April 1836. The first elections took place on 29 September of the same year and the first Provincial Council of Liège and the Perma- nent Deputation (now known as the provincial college) was set up imme- diately afterwards. Thanks to this provincial college and the authority of the Province as a whole, we saw the grand departures of the Tour de France (2004 & 2012), the Giro d’Italia (2006) or even the Vuelta d’Espagne (2009). In 2008, the Province of Liège put on a big sound and light show in ho- nour of the 1,000th anniversary of the death of Prince-Bishop Notger, remembering that “The farther back you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.” (Churchill). In September 2015, the Province produced and staged a unique showing of a major urban opera called “Karbon Kabaret”, which drew several thou- sands of people to Place Saint-Lambert in Liège. In July 2017, the Province was also behind the 19th visit to the region by the Tour de France on its two stages between Verviers and Liège. Press kit - Tourism Federation of the Province of Liège 5 TOURISM Eye-catching figures The superlatives outdoor swimming pools in Wallonia (11) Belgium’s longest bar (21.6 metres long The biggest Sunday market in Belgium: La and... 20 beer pumps!): The Elvish Brewery Batte The biggest and oldest Christmas Village in 1/3 Belgium Tourism in Liège Province represents one The biggest and oldest still-active Belgian third of Wallonia’s entire tourism fair and the country’s biggest festival: The October Fair 1 The country’s oldest and most expansive Belgium’s no. 1 inland port stretch of land: the High Fens nature re- Wallonia’s no. 1 tourist destination serve The only opera house in Wallonia Europe’s longest subterranean The only coal mine in Belgium that can be navigation route in the Remouchamps visited from its original shaft: Blegny-Mine Caves (recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Europe’s biggest Museum of Prehistory: Site) the Préhistomuseum in Ramioul The only stream in Belgium: the Ninglinspo The world’s most attractive circuit: Spa- Francorchamps 2 The largest freefall simulator in the world: Two unique public health spas in Wallonia Fly-In! The country’s largest railway station, an 3 architectural masterpiece: the Liège-Guil- Europe’s 3rd-ranking river port lemins station The longest staircase in Belgium: the Mon- 19 tagne de Bueren (374 steps) 2017 saw the Tour de France cross Liège The tallest building in Wallonia: the ultra- province for the 19th time since 1948. modern Paradise Tower in Liège (136 metres) 30 The largest number of ski slopes in the 30 recreational centres and parks country (30) The province with the highest number of Press kit - Tourism Federation of the Province of Liège 6 31 659 31 ski slopes: 5 alpine ski slopes and 26 659 gîtes cross-country skiing routes 694 80 694 metres: Belgium’s highest point (Si- 80 heritage monuments open to visitors gnal de Botrange) located in the Cantons de l’Est, in the east of the province 84 84 municipalities 900 900 kilometres of cross-country skiing 118 118 metres : (136 with antenna) La Tour 3.862 Paradis, popularly known as the “Financial Tower”, located in the Liège-Guillemins 3.862 km² : the province’s surface area railway station district, is the tallest buil- ding in Wallonia.