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Beautiful Belgium - A Photo Essay
By Cindy-Lou Dale

Belgium : Europe’s best kept travel secret
The secret of Belgium’s capital city, Brussels, is to go with the flow and allow yourself to become part of its charming everyday life. Having previously been ruled by Spain, the Netherlands and France, Belgium is one of those countries that finds it easier to describe itself by what it is not: It’s not French, nor is it Dutch, neither German. Belgian is a country with an identity crisis as it’s population encompasses French, Dutch, German, some Arabic tongue is also spoken and further still, a large percentage of the population are expat English-speaking foreigners. With all the variety, Brussels takes the mix in its stride and pulls everything together into an offbeat, almost bizarre sense of being.

With this cultural diversity it’s no wonder that Brussels has seized the new century with a fresh vigor, leaving other European cities wondering who stole their tourists. One source of the tourism influx is Belgium’s fashion — while other European cities rested on their laurels, Belgium became a might in style, surpassing France; while the buzzing sidewalk café scene has outmatched those of Paris.

Yet the urbanization of Brussels will not leave you woozy with its splendor, rather you will feel compelled to seek out its intimacy and explore its secreted treasures.

Eating in Brussels

The capital’s restaurants rival those of Paris and London -- both in value and excellence. It’s not an inexpensive city for dining in, but has high standards as restaurants that fall short of the mark simply close.

Mussels and chips is the classic dish and can be found in nearly all Belgian restaurants. However, certain districts of Brussels specialize in specific food: Ixelles has excellent Thai, African and Italian bistros, mainly around St-Boniface church. Place du Grand Sablon has an abundance of these restaurants, although a little more pricy.

Drinking in Brussels is a national pastime. The Grand’ Place is lined with terrace bars, full of life in the summer. Le Roi d’Espagne has the most ambiance and Place St-Géry has designer bar terraces with oodles of mood, as is the timeless art deco bar of L’Archiduc, which is claimed to remain open until dawn.

Sleeping in Brussels

Most visitors to Brussels are on business, therefore hotel rates drop significantly at weekends, so don’t write off the five-stars entirely. The most celebrated new luxury hotel is the five-star Amigo only a few meters from the Grand’ Place.

Of the mid-range options, the Mozart is oddly kitsch, and often noisy, but only a step from the Grand’ Place. Overlooking the flea market in the Marolles is the Galia; and The George V is a budget favorite near the bars of St-Géry.

Shopping in Brussels

The main pedestrian drag, rue Neuve, is full of soulless chain stores selling mainly clothes and shoes. Inno is a big department store and the City 2 shopping mall has a number of shops, the highlight of which is the impressive Fnac music and bookshop on the top level. Escape the shopping malls and try something more idiosyncratic, like the shabby area between Boulevard Lemonnier and the Grand’ Place, where you’ll find second-hand book shops, record shops and clothes shops. Off the Grand’ Place is the Galeries St-Hubert, which is filled with designer boutiques and quirky sidewalk cafés.

Sightseeing in Brussels

The lower city is centered around the superbly ornate Grand’ Place, considered by many as the most beautiful medieval square in all of Europe with its elegant 17^th century guild houses and narrow atmospheric lanes leading off it. In summer, daily flower markets are held there, which is often accompanied by a concert. Nearby, St-Géry, flourishes on stylish bars contained in an old covered market on Place St-Géry. The cafés, restaurants and nightspots buzz in the summer months, as does St-Catherine, a canopied terrace lined with seafood restaurants. Immediately south of Grand’ Place, amid the grimy old stores in rue de l’Etuve, is the symbol of Brussels – the little statue of the urinating rascal – Mannekin-Pis. Further south in the earthy Marolles quarter, rue Haute hosts the daily flea market at Place du Jeu de Balle. Throughout the lower town are murals of Belgium’s comic-strip heroes like Tintin.

The upper town boasts dramatic architecture and parks, with a string of grand names along its Boulevard. The Royal Quarter overshadows everything else with the palace and the fountained Parc de Bruxelles leading through to the Belgian Parliament. The Fine Arts Museum boasting old masters like Bruegel, Rubens, Magritte, Delvaux and Monet.

A short tram ride from Brussels Montgomery to Tervuren takes you through parks and the beautiful Ambassadorial district. Tervuren is home to the African Art Museum and Léopold II’s spectacular monuments and parks.

Outside of Brussels

Some 10 miles, south-west of Brussels is the small Flemish town of Leuven. It has a big university and an even bigger history. The number of inhabitants amounts to more or less 90,000 people. The student numbers, which are awesome in European standards, are around 22,000. The entire city lives off and with the University, which was founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V. It is considered to be the oldest catholic university in the world.

Belgium by the sea

Antwerp unmistakably has positioned itself as a unique fashion city. It is a mini metropolis, a little big city that is culturally loaded and strategically packed-out, chock-full of diverse physical characteristics and stark evidence of finger-on- the-pulse global connections, still somehow behaving like an oversized village, albeit a happily peculiar version of one.

Antwerp is the fourth largest port in the world and the second in Europe. It stretches for more than twelve miles along the banks of the River Scheldt, reaching up to Rotterdam and out to the North Sea.

Every European country seems to have one: a city that thoroughly encompasses all that the place holds dear. Bruges is such for Belgium, sitting there all proud and pretty, epitomizing the grandeur and perfection otherwise relegated to storybooks, and hey presto, the tag 'Venice of the north' is securely fastened.

With canal boats, horse-drawn carriages and bicycles as readily-available transport options, the ethnic spirit is available for the visitor to swallow whole from the word go, hastening appreciation of the cultural niceties which zoom into view from every direction.

Inland, south of Brussels, is Liege, a sizeable and dynamic town on the banks of the River Meuse. It’s the intellectual capital of Wallonia and the birthplace of Georges Simenon, the prolific thriller writer. Despite some grim architectural reminders from its industrial days, the old centre remains attractive and overflows with bars, cafés and restaurants.

Further south is Namur, a university town known as the gateway to the rivers and forests of the Ardennes. An eerie presence overcomes one when walking through the cobbled squares as this was where the 1992 serial killer docu-drama ‘Man Bites Dog’ was filmed.

Hop onto the train in Namur and head still further south to Dinant which is at the centre of the Meuse Valley. Dinant is a pretty little town slung along the river beneath craggy green cliffs about 30km south of Namur - a handy base for venturing into the surrounding countryside either by boat, bike or on foot. Dinant is dominated by its two main buildings: the Citadel, which overlooks the town from a 100 meter cliff, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame, outsized against the surrounding structures and capped by a bronze onion dome.

A famous native of Dinant is Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone.

Nearby is the castle of Jehay, which was built in the 11th century and has, through the centuries, been home to aristocrats and royalty. It is a magnificent example of medieval Renaissance architecture, surrounded by a moat. Today it is owned by the Province of Liege who has opened it to the public. The castle is full of rare furnishings, silverware collections, antique lace, china, tapestries, books dating back to the 11th century, sculptures and paintings by the masters, and many other precious artefacts.

The marvel continues in the gardens, along the paths, arbours and fountains; all along the main alley bordered by cascades and nymphs, delicate works by Count Guy can den Steen.

Ten contemporary sculptors take us on an artistic journey full of original works and installations in the woods surrounding. These wood magicians invite us for a stroll in the gardens and parks surrounding the castle of Jehay (between early June and the end of September).

There’s just something about Belgium. Maybe it’s the friendly welcoming people who with three official languages still find it easy to converse in English, the fourth language. Maybe it’s the stunning architecture decorating the quaint cobblestone squares. Or perhaps it’s the incredible cuisine. Whatever it is that revs your motor, you will find it there.

Cindy-Lou Dale is a writer, journalist, and photographer based in Brussels

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