©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd B e l g i u m Why Go? Brussels . .115 Stereotypes of comic books, remarkable beers and sublime Waterloo . .130 chocolates are just the start in this eccentric little country, whose self-deprecating people have quietly spent centuries Flanders . 130 producing some of Europe’s fi nest art and architecture. Bi- Antwerp . .130 lingual Brussels is the dynamic yet personable EU capital, Ghent . 137 but also sports what’s arguably the world’s most beautiful Bruges . 143 city square. Flat, Dutch-speaking Flanders has many other alluring medieval city cores, all easily linked by regular train Ypres . 148 hops. In hilly, French-speaking Wallonia, the attractions are Wallonia . 150 contrastingly rural – castle villages, outdoor activities and Liège . 150 extensive cave systems that prove a major draw for Dutch caravanners but are hard to fully appreciate by public trans- Bastogne . .151 port. War buff s will fi nd Belgium full of moving battlefi eld Understand sites from all eras. And anyone with a love of the good life Belgium . 152 will quickly come to appreciate a country where cafe-culture Survival Guide . 156 is king and fi ne food is almost a birthright. Best Places to Eat W h e n t o G o » Den Gouden Harynck Brussels (p 146) °C/°F Te m p Rainfall inches/mm » House of Eliott (p 141 ) 40/104 6/150 » L’Ogenblik (p 126 ) 30/86 4/100 20/68 Best Places to 10/50 2/50 Stay 0/32 » Guesthouse Nuit Blanche -10/14 0 (p 145 ) J FDNOSAJJMAM » Chambres d’Hôtes Ver- Pre-Easter week- Mid-June Scenes Mid-Aug, even haegen (p 140 ) ends Belgium from the battle years Brussels’ » Relais Bourgondisch hosts many of are recreated. Grand Place hosts Cruyce (p 146 ) Europe’s weirdest at Waterloo by an ornate, multi- » Hotel Julien (p 134 ) carnivals, not just uniformed armies coloured ‘carpet’ at Mardi Gras. of volunteers. of flower petals. 114 AT A GLANCE Connections » Currency euro (€) Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne and London are all under 2½ » Languages Dutch, hours from Brussels by high-speed train. Liège and An- French, German twerp are also on high-speed international routes. Go via Tournai or Ghent to reach France by train if you want to » Money ATMs com- avoid such lines and their compulsory reservations (or if you mon; credit cards have a railcard that requires it). Budget airlines off er cheap widely accepted deals to numerous European destinations particularly from » Visas Schengen Charleroi. rules apply ITINERARIES Fast Facts Four Days » Area 30,278 sq km Just long enough to get a fi rst taste of Belgium’s four » Population 10 .4 million fi nest ‘art cities’: Bruges, Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp, » Capital Brussels all easy jump-off s or short excursions while you’re train- hopping between Paris and Amsterdam. Bruges is the » Telephone country code fairy-tale ‘Venice of the north’, Ghent has similar canal- %32; international access side charms without the tourist hordes, and Brussels’ code %00 incomparable Grand Place is worth jumping off any train % » Emergency 112 for, even if you have only a few hours to spare. Cosmo- politan Antwerp goes one further, adding in fashion and Exchange Rates diamonds. If you’re overnighting make sure to hit Brus- sels on a weekend and Bruges on a weekday to get the Australia A$1 €0.74 best deals on accommodation. Canada C$1 €0.74 Ten Days Japan ¥100 €0.87 Add an extra night in each of the above and consider New NZ$1 €0.56 stops in the moving WWI sites of historic Ypres, hopping Zealand to Antwerp via Leuven, Mechelen and Lier, and possibly UK UK1 €1.16 driving around rural Wallonia to visit a selection of fasci- nating caves and castles. USA US$1 €0.67 Set Your Budget Essential Food & Drink » Budget hotel double Classic, home-style Belgian dishes include the following: under €60 » Ballekes/bouletten Meatballs. » Two-course dinner from » Chicons au gratin Endive rolled in ham and cooked in €25 cheese/béchamel sauce. » Museum entrance » Croquettes de crevettes grises Like fish cakes, but €2–8.50 containing tiny, highly flavoured North Sea shrimps. » Beer (in a bar) €1.90 » Filet Américain A blob of raw minced beef, typically » City transport ticket topped with equally raw egg yolk. €1.70 » Mosselen/moules Steaming cauldrons of in-the-shell mussels, typically cooked in white wine and served with a Resources mountain of frites (chips). » Paling in ’t groen Eel in a sorrel or spinach sauce. » Belgium (www.belgium theplaceto.be) » Stoemp Mashed veg-and-potato dish. » Brussels (www.visitbrus » Vlaamse stoverij/carbonade flamande Semi-sweet sels.be) beer-based beef casserole. » Waterzooi A cream-based chicken or fish stew. (Map p122 ; www.jeannekepisoffi cial.be; Impasse de BRUSSELS la Fidélité). 115 POP 1.03 MILLION Like the country it represents, Brussels Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts ART MUSEUM (Bruxelles, Brussel) is a surreal, multilayered (Map p122 ; www.fi ne-arts-museum.be; Rue de la place pulling several disparate identities Régence 3; adult/student/BrusselsCard €8/2/ into one enigmatic core. It subtly seduces free; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun) Belgium’s premier with great art, tempting chocolate shops collection of both ancient and modern art and classic cafes. Meanwhile a confusing is remarkably well endowed with works by architectural smorgasbord pits awesome Flemish Primitives, the Breugel (Breughel) art-nouveau and 17th-century masterpieces family and Rubens. However, many rooms against shabby suburbanism and the disap- are currently closed for long-term renova- pointingly soulless glass-faced anonymity of tion. Headphones (for English explanations) the EU area. Note that Brussels is offi cially cost an extra €2.50; special exhibitions also bilingual, so all names – from streets to cost extra. A €13 combination ticket includes train stations – have both Dutch and French the Magritte Museum next door. BELGIUM versions, but for simplicity we use only the Magritte Museum ART MUSEUM French versions in this chapter. (Map p122 ; www.musee-magritte-museum.be; Place Royale; adult/under 26yr/BrusselsCard €8/2/ 1 Sights free; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun) This state-of-the-art CENTRAL BRUSSELS 2009 museum celebrates the life and work BRUSSELS Although Brussels is very spread out, most of Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte, key sights and numerous unmissable cafes taking visitors well beyond his stereotypi- are within leisurely walking distance of the cally witty canvases of pipes and bowler fabulous Grand Place. hats. Consider pre-purchasing tickets online Grand Place NEIGHBOURHOOD to save queuing. Brussels’ incomparable central square tops MIM MUSEUM any itinerary. Its splendidly spired Gothic (Map p122 ; Musical Instrument Museum; www.mim. was the only building to es- Hôtel de Ville be; Rue Montagne de la Cour 2; adult/BrusselsCard cape bombardment by the French in 1695, €5/free; h10am-5pm Tue-Sun) MIM makes one quite ironic considering that it was their main target. Today the pedestrianised square’s splendour is due largely to its intact collection of guildhalls, rebuilt by merchant BRUSSELSCARD guilds after 1695 and fancifully adorned The BrusselsCard (www.bitc.be; with gilded statues. Several now host tempt- 24/48/72hr €24/34/40) allows free ing cafes, though similarly historic drinking visits to 32 Brussels-area museums spots are somewhat less expensive around (including those indicated in reviews) the nearby (Map p 122 ). That’s Brus- Bourse and gives a few bar and restaurant sels’ 1873 stock exchange whose neoclassi- discounts, plus unlimited free use of cal stone facade features sculptures by the city public transport. Only seriously young Rodin. A block northeast of Grand hyperactive museum fans will save Place, the 1847 Galeries St-Hubert (Map much money, but if you do buy a Brus- was Eu- p122; www.galeries-saint-hubert.com) selsCard, the following (not reviewed) rope’s fi rst shopping arcade and remains are central and worth adding to your a must-visit. Enchantingly colourful lanes busy schedule: of close-packed fi sh restaurants lead south » Brewery Museum (Map p 122 ) On from here down the Rue des Bouchers, but beware that (with some exceptions) many the Grand Place; visit if only for the are notorious tourist traps (see p126 ). free beer. » Lace Museum (Map p 122 ) Manneken Pis MONUMENT Making a suitably surreal national sym- » Maison du Roi (Map p 122 ) In- cludes the Manneken Pis’ costumes. bol, the Manneken Pis (Map p 122 ) is a diminutive fountain in the form of a little » Money Museum (Map p 122 ) boy cheerfully taking a leak into a fountain » Porte de Hal (Map p 118 ) Ancient pool. 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