Lonely Planet Belgium & Luxembourg , livre ebook

Belgium & Luxembourg

Contents

Plan Your Trip

Welcome to Belgium & Luxembourg
Belgium & Luxembourg’s Top Experiences
Need to Know
First Time Belgium & Luxembourg
Month by Month
Itineraries
Family Travel
Regions at a Glance

On The Road

Brussels
Sights
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Nightlife
Entertainment
Shopping
Information
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
Bruges, Ghent & Northwest Belgium
Bruges
Damme
Belgian Coast
Knokke-Heist
De Haan
Bredene
Zeebrugge & Lissewege
Ostend (Oostende)
Nieuwpoort
Oostduinkerke
De Panne
Beer Country
Veurne
Diksmuide
Poperinge
Ypres (Ieper)
Ypres Salient
Kortrijk
Oudenaarde
Geraardsbergen
Ghent
Antwerp & Northeast Belgium
Antwerp (Antwerpen)
Around Antwerp
Westmalle
Turnhout
Lier
Mechelen
Leuven
Hageland
Diest
Hasselt
Haspengouw
Tienen
Zoutleeuw
Sint-Truiden
Tongeren
Wallonia
Western Wallonia
Tournai
Pipaix
Aubechies
Ath
Lessines
Enghien
Mons
Binche
Nivelles
Waterloo Battlefield
Louvain-la-Neuve
Charleroi
Thuin
Aulne
Botte de Hainaut
Philippeville
Mariembourg & Nismes
Chimay
The Ardennes
Namur
Crupet
Dinant
Han-sur-Lesse
Rochefort
St-Hubert
Bouillon
Orval
Arlon
Bastogne
Achouffe
La Roche-en-Ardenne
Durbuy
Huy
Liège
Verviers
Spa
Coo
Stavelot
The Eastern Cantons
Luxembourg
Luxembourg City
Moselle Valley
Schengen & Remerschen
Müllerthal Region
Larochette
Echternach
Beaufort
Éislek
Bourscheid
Diekirch
Vianden
Esch-sur-Sûre
Wiltz
Clervaux

UNDERSTAND

Understand Belgium & Luxembourg
History
Belgian Beer
Arts & Architecture
The Belgian People
Creative Cuisine

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Directory A-Z
Accessible Travel
Accommodation
Activities
Climate
Customs Regulations
Discount Cards
Electricity
Food
Health
Insurance
Internet Access
Legal Matters
LGBTIQ+ Travellers
Money
Opening Hours
Post
Public Holidays
Safe Travel
Telephone
Time
Toilets
Tourist Information
Visas
Work
Transport
Getting There & Away
Air
Land
Sea
getting AROUND
Air
Bicycle
Boat
Bus
Car & Motorcycle
Hitching & Ride Sharing
Local Transport
Train
Language
Behind the Scenes
Our Writers

COVID-19
We have re-checked every business in this book before publication to ensure that it is still open after the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the economic and social impacts of COVID-19 will continue to be felt long after the outbreak has been contained, and many businesses, services and events referenced in this guide may experience ongoing restrictions. Some businesses may be temporarily closed, have changed their opening hours and services, or require bookings; some unfortunately could have closed permanently. We suggest you check with venues before visiting for the latest information.
Welcome to Belgium & Luxembourg

Celebrated chocolate shops, abbey breweries and soaring castles are just a few reasons Belgium and Luxembourg are so easy to love. There’s also those early-morning walks along canal-side lanes and rambles by kayak or bike through bucolic scenery. Travelling here is also about experiencing the past, through art, industry and geopolitical conflicts. Most of all, it’s the surprises that await every visit – from surreal carnival celebrations, to wine-tasting and cycling amid the vineyards of the Moselle Valley.

Bruges | BOTOND HORVATH / SHUTTERSTOCK ©
by Regis St Louis, writer

@regisstlouis @regisstlouis
For more about, see our writers
Belgium & Luxembourg’s Top Experiences

1 CAPTIVATING CITYSCAPES
Belgium’s medieval town cores are home to a bounty of Unesco World Heritage sites. These cobblestone centres are packed with treasures from the past. You can ascend lofty bell towers for views across the Gothic cityscape or take in the architectural grandeur while boating along a canal, pedalling the lamplit lanes or browsing markets in a cinematic square.

Bruges
Laced with canals and full of evocative step-gabled houses, Bruges is the ultimate picture-postcard tourist destination. Meandering canals, towering churches and picturesque squares set the stage for memorable rambles in one of Europe’s most enchanting cities.

YASONYA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

SHARON LAPKIN / GETTY IMAGES ©

Brussels
Ringed by gold-trimmed, gabled guildhouses and flanked by the 15th-century Gothic town hall, Brussels’ Grand Place ranks among the most beautiful medieval squares in Europe. The cobblestones were laid in the 12th century, when the square was used as a marketplace.

REPISTU / GETTY IMAGES ©

Luxembourg City
It’s hard to imagine a more picturesque capital than this one. Perched along a deep river gorge, Luxembourg City is packed with atmospheric lanes that wind past grand cathedrals and cutting-edge museums.

FRéDéRIC COLLIN / GETTY IMAGES ©

Top Experiences
2 CASTLES & CITADELS
Belgium is remarkably over-endowed with fortifications: from grand châteaux to rugged stone ruins and pre-WWI fortresses, there are castles for all tastes. You’ll get an eyeful of centuries-old architectural techniques amid often striking surrounds – riversides, formal gardens, panoramic hilltops. Visiting these remarkable buildings is inevitably a journey into the past, and you’ll get a deeper understanding of centuries-old geopolitical conflicts on guided tours.

Citadelle de Namur
Reason enough to visit the riverside capital of Wallonia, the hilltop citadel-fortress was once considered among the most impregnable in Europe. Walking its lofty ramparts and dark tunnels is like stepping back in time. Guided tours and interactive exhibitions help bring the place to life .

CEDANT / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Château de Belœil
This grand castle has been part of the royal House of Ligne since the 14th century, and has an impressive fortified facade rising above a moat. Even more striking are the formal gardens first laid out in the 1660s, which have earned this place the moniker of ‘Belgium’s Versailles’ .

MONIKAISANSKA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Beaufort Castles
In Luxembourg, you can scramble around Beaufort’s medieval castle ruins before fast-forwarding a few centuries to its Renaissance-style neighbour. The best way here is to walk the trail through the woodlands.

SERGEY NOVIKOV / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
3 CONFLICTS OF THE PAST
Since at least Roman times, what we now call Belgium has regularly found itself in the path of invaders. A lion statue atop an artificial hill overlooks the famous Waterloo battlefield. Endless rows of gravestones in the northwest commemorate four years of WWI hell. And haunting former prison camps and museums honour those who died in WWII.

Flanders Fields
Flanders Fields became synonymous with senseless death in the wake of WWI’s trench warfare. Museums vividly evoke the context and conditions that soldiers endured, while in the Ypres Salient you can see restored WWI trenches, resurrected townscapes and contemplative graveyards.

JURGAR / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Waterloo
You could spend days visiting historical sites (Butte du Lion) and learning about the events surrounding Napoleon’s infamous defeat by the Duke of Wellington. The impressive Memorial 1815 museum takes you to the heart of the conflict .

BONANDBON / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Bastogne War Museum
Hitler’s devastating last-gasp counter-attack in the Battle of the Bulge is still a vivid memory in these thoughtfully designed exhibitions. Some events are told through the eyes of four different fictional characters, which helps humanise the battle .

VILIUS VEITAS / SHUTTERSTOCK © ARCHITECT GEORGES DEDOYARD

Top Experiences
4 BEER & WINE TASTING
Brewing is an almost mystical art in Belgium, with a dazzling rainbow of different styles – a classic, hop-draped Belgian beer-pub might serve over 200 choices. What really excites are the strong, abbey-brewed Trappists, locally crafted dark ales, crisp golden Tripels and, for the adventurous, a range of sharp, spontaneously fermented lambics, often blended with soft fruit. Wine-loving Luxembourg offers some excellent opportunities for vineyard tours.

Chimay
Spend some time exploring Chimay’s royal castle and tiny centre before heading south of town to immerse yourself in the world of legendary abbey brewing at the Espace Chimay .

CLAUDIO DIVIZIA / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Caves St-Martin
The Moselle Valley in Luxembourg is a riverine region famed for its vineyards. For insight into old traditions of producing sparkling wine, visit the subterranean Caves St-Martin .

VALERY SHANIN / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Val-Dieu
Spin back the wheels of time on a visit to a working Cistercian monastery founded in the 13th century. Join a tour, drink glorious beers from the brewery and take in the pretty parkland scenery .

BARMALINI / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Top Experiences
5 OUTDOOR ADVENTURES
If you want to get out into the fresh air, there’s more to Belgium than historic cityscapes, especially in the forests, rolling hills and meandering rivers of Wallonia. You can go paddling along forest-lined waterways, hike through enchanting forests and gorges, and go cycling along meandering wildflower-lined roadways in the countryside. Brave souls can take a dip off Belgium’s pretty beaches, and there’s also skiing in the wintertime.

Bouillon
Sitting serenely on the Rivière Semois, the picturesque village of Bouillon makes an excellent base for walking and cycling in the surrounding forests or paddling trips along the river.

La Transardennaise
See the verdant forests and peaceful valleys of the Ardennes while cycling or hiking this scenic 160km route between La Roche-en-Ardenne and Bouillon. You can overnight in villages along the way .

Müllerthal Trails
Amid striking rock formations, moss-lined brooks and narrow gorges, you can head out on day hikes or make a grand six-day circuit campin