Belgium
EUROPE · 6 PLACES
Belgium crams medieval belfries, 1,500 beers and Europe's best chips into a country you cross in two hours. Brussels goes grand and gritty; Ghent and Bruges go canal-side.
Brussels
Art Nouveau, surrealists and the deepest beer scene in the country
Bruges
Stay over: the medieval core empties once the coaches leave
Ghent
Canals plus 70,000 students, so the nights actually go somewhere
Antwerp
Fashion, Rubens, docks and the best club nights in Flanders
Leuven
Gothic town hall and a square rimmed with 40-odd student bars
Dinant
Cliff, citadel and the Meuse; your gateway to the Ardennes
One month here
Art Nouveau, surrealists and the deepest beer scene in the country
Canals plus 70,000 students, so the nights actually go somewhere
Fashion, Rubens, docks and the best club nights in Flanders
Stay over: the medieval core empties once the coaches leave
Gothic town hall and a square rimmed with 40-odd student bars
Cliff, citadel and the Meuse; your gateway to the Ardennes
Three months here
Base here: every other city is a day trip under 90 minutes
Long enough to live like a local rather than tick off the Altarpiece
Design shops, port walks and a nightlife circuit worth learning
Use it as a coast base; Ostend and Damme are both close
Cheap, student-priced and 15 minutes from Brussels airport
Kayak the Lesse, walk the Meuse and reach Rochefort and Han
Festivals worth flying for
Carnival of Binche · February/March (Shrove Tuesday)
UNESCO-listed Gilles in wax masks and ostrich plumes throw oranges at the crowd
Procession of the Holy Blood · May (Ascension Day)
Bruges' medieval relic paraded through the old town by thousands in costume
Ommegang · Late June/early July
Renaissance pageant staged by torchlight on the Grand-Place in Brussels
Tomorrowland · Two weekends in July
The world's biggest electronic festival, in Boom between Brussels and Antwerp
Gentse Feesten · Ten days in July
Ghent's whole centre becomes a free street-music and theatre party
Brussels Flower Carpet · August, even years
A begonia carpet covers the Grand-Place for four days; next due 2028
In an emergency
Emergency number 112
112 covers police, fire and ambulance in any language. Pharmacies post the nearest on-duty night pharmacy on the door; EU cards cover state care.
Language
Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, German in the east; English widely spoken
Money
Euro. Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; carry coins for toilets and small fritkots
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