BTO brochure08-NEW - Wallonie

REVEALED
Your definite guide to Brussels and the South of Belgium
Latin Europe in a Nutshell
© Etienne Tordoir
151
Bright ideas
for visiting Brussels
www.brussels151.com
Le Tombeau du Géant or the Giant’s Grave in the Bouillon area © OPT - A. Kouprianoff
This year Belgium gets even nearer, with
a reduced journey time of 1 hour and
51 minutes from London St Pancras
International making Brussels the
closest capital to London by train.
So you can now reach this vibrant
multilingual and cosmopolitan city, the
capital of one of the most developed
countries in Europe, with one of the
highest qualities of life anywhere, even
more quickly.
Brussels is not only the capital of
Europe, it is a city with great shopping,
hundreds of museums of all kinds,
trendy bars, restaurants and eateries
galore, a remarkable diversity of
musical festivals, a great nightlife and a
laid-back atmosphere that all add up to
making it a perfect fun short-break
destination, very far from the dull
bureaucratic city that it is often
perceived to be.
and hilly Belgian Ardennes the backdrop
to delightful castles and chateaux,
some of the prettiest villages in the
country, fantastic regional cooking and
a very relaxed way of life. It is the
perfect place for activity holidays,
alternative city breaks, pampering spa
holidays, golfing and gastronomy
breaks.
In this edition of Revealed! you will also
find out more about the historic
richness of the destination with a
selection of some our favourite historic
sites, and we have also included some
invaluable tips on lovely b&bs and
charming boutique hotels so that you
have one more reason to enjoy your stay
in Brussels and Wallonia!.
And if you want to find out more about
the capital or Europe or the greenest
part of Belgium all you have to do is
take a look at www.belgiumtheplaceto.be
Happy reading!
The mainly French-speaking South of
Belgium, which is also home to some
70,000 German-speaking Belgians, is
an undiscovered gem that offers the
best of Latin Europe in a nutshell. It is
one the most unspoilt areas of Europe,
covered in parks and gardens, with the
wonderful landscapes of the wooded
Produced with the co-operation of the Belgian Tourist Office – Brussels and Wallonia, Telephone: 020 7531 0390 Facsimile: 020 7531 0393
Email: [email protected] www.belgiumtheplaceto.be
All rights reserved. No part of this guide may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any other means, electronic, mechanical,
photographic, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher.
Graphic Design by GreenApple Graphics · Production by GST Worldwide Publishing Limited · 01702 580188
Although every effort is made to ensure that the content, both editorial and advertising are true and accurate at time of going to press neither the publisher or the Belgian Tourist Office –
Brussels and Wallonia can be held responsible for any claims made within this publication. Please note that the views held in this publication are not necessarily those of the Belgian Tourist Office –
Brussels and Wallonia.
3
Tournai, historical centre
© OPT - J. Jeanmart
Brussels & Wallonia
It’s all about History and Lifestyle!...
The French-speaking Southern province of
Belgium is a region of rolling hills and deep
river valleys. Its fertile soil meant it has
been always been highly-prized, first by the
Belgii tribe, then the Romans (when it was
known as Gallia Belgica), then the
Carolingians, then the feudal counts, lords
and dukes who were vassals of the Dukes
of Burgundy and the Habsburg emperors.
The province of Liège enjoyed semiindependence as the territory of the
hereditary Prince-Bishops, who were
electors of the Holy Roman Emperors, and
the region was not unified under one ruler
until its occupation by the French and
incorporation into Napoleon’s empire from
1800 to 1814, along with Brussels and
Flanders. It was merged into the United
Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1814,
gaining independence as part of the new
Kingdom of Belgium in 1830. Wallonia’s
strategic position between France and
Germany led to occupation by German
armies in both World Wars, culminating in
the Battle of the Bulge, a desperate
German counter-offensive, successfully
contained by an Allied army under General
Patton in the winter of 1944-5.
Tournai
Tournai was founded over 2,000 years ago
and was the capital of the Frankish King
Childeric I and also of King Clovis I, who
became King of France. Around 850AD,
it was given to the Counts of Flanders,
vassals of the Kings of France, and
remained part of France until 1521, when
it was transferred to the Habsburg
Netherlands, under Emperor Charles V.
Reconquered by King Louis XIV of France in
1668, it reverted to the Habsburgs in 1713.
In 1755, 10km from Tournai, a Franco-Irish
army defeated Anglo-Austrian forces at the
Battle of Fontenoy, and the city reverted to
France, becoming party of the United
Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 and
then of Belgium in 1830. The city’s two
most famous landmarks are the five towers
of the spectacular Notre-Dame Cathedral
(a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000)
and the Belfry (also a UNESCO World
Heritage Site) whose 257-step staircase
leads to a viewing platform with panoramic
4
views. Tournai boasts 9 mediaeval parish
churches, a splendid Cloth Hall and a large
market square (the Grand’Place) dominated
by the Town Hall. The celebrated Old Master
painter, Roger de la Pasture was born in the
city, and the cathedral contains two
magnificent reliquaries by Nicolas de
Verdun. Tournai has the privilege of being
the only city in Belgium which was ever
English. Henry VIII Tudor, who claimed to
be ‘King of France and England’, wanted to
see his possessions and in June 1513, he
landed at Calais with a strong army. He
had concluded an alliance with Maximilian
of Austria whose ambitions were greater
than Henry’s ones. Maximilian insisted on
not going ahead southwards but on laying
siege to Tournai first.
In fact, Maximilian’s grandson, Thomas
Wolsey, who was already titular of the
Lincoln see, and who was appointed to the
post of cardinal of York, wanted to annex
the see of Tournai too, because he was
interested in the 80,000 pounds annual
income. After a three days’ siege, Henry
VIII, who had his sumptuous ‘tent of the
Cloth of Gold’ in the outskirt of the Lagache
Farm, was called on by the Magistrates of
the town who came to make their
submission and to give him the keys of the
City.
For information on Tournai city centre,
www.tournai.be
▲
These changes of ownership and battles
have left their scars on the countryside we
see today, but also an impressive quantity
of historic buildings : fortified farmhouses,
castles, châteaux, abbeys and cathedrals.
In addition, continuing tourist interest in
military history has led to the creation of
battlefield visitor centres and tours. Some
villages, towns and even cities have also
managed to preserve mediaeval buildings
and districts, which bear witness to
centuries of history.
Tournai, a view to its UNESCO listed cathedral
© OPT - Chris A. Wilton
5
Mons, and its UNESCO listed Belfry
© OPT-Jeanmart
Charming hotel in Tournai:
Hôtel L’Alcantara
A four-star, 17-room hotel located in a
converted eighteenth-century
townhouse close to the town centre,
with an excellent restaurant, serving
local specialities. An ideal place to
relax or to use as a base for exploring
this fascinating region.
www.tournai.be/hotelalcantara
Not far from Tournai….
Beloeil Castle, in the province of Hainaut,
has been the seat of the Princes de Ligne
since the fourteenth century. Today it is
surrounded by a moat and formal gardens,
through which a miniature railway conveys
visitors who come to admire the building,
the gardens, the Prince’s spectacular art
collection displayed in the castle, and his
library of over 20,000 books.
11 Rue du Château, 7970 Beloeil, phone
32 (0)69 689 426, www.beloeil.net
Mons
French 19th century novelist Victor Hugo
was inspired by this dreamy town, set on
the hillside and surrounded by forest. It
was, he wrote to his wife (while travelling
with his mistress in 1837), “une ville fort
curieuse” (a very strange town). At
moonlight, he was enchanted by its
“fantastical buildings” and the mysterious
ringing of the bell from the high belfries, a
song to the town. By day, he pondered the
rich mix of architectural styles, arising from
“the shock of North and the South,
Flanders and Spain”, and praised the
beauty of the Town Hall, the winding,
narrow streets, gracious brick town houses
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and powerful fortifications. The romance of
Mons is unspoilt today – come and lose
yourself in Victor Hugo’s footsteps.
Mons will probably evoke WW1 for most
British readers. It has however been
witness to many more battles than that,
and if it remembers the presence of British
and German troops in 1914 it is also proud
of vestiges dating back to the Romans.
Mons is also a town of tradition and it’s
celebrations of “Lumeçon” and “Le Car
d’Or” highlight these traditions.
Van Gogh was here for some time before
moving on to Provence and the house he
lived in can be visited.
The real start of Mons as a town took place
in the 7 th century when a noble lady
named Waudru had a monastery erected
here. The many craftsmen employed settled
around it. Later in the 9 th century a castle
was built and more and more people
settled around it to be able to take refuge
behind its walls when Vikings were on the
rampage.
In the 12 th century, the walls were
extended and towers and moat were added.
To protect this growing population a second
wall was added in the 13 th century. Mons
was becoming a prosperous town and the
actual Town Hall was built in 1458 and
later enlarged. The construction of the
Collegiate Church of Sainte-Waudru started
▲
The Notre-Dame-de-la-Rose Hospital was
founded in Lessines by Princess Alix de
Rosoit, widow of the Count of Oudenaarde
and lady-in-waiting to Queen Blanche of
France, using money left in his will by her
husband who died of his wounds following
the Battle of Taillebourg in 1242. It is a
rare surviving example of a self-contained
mediaeval hospital: the complex includes a
farm, gardens, a pharmacy, an ice-chamber
and a cemetery. Similar hospitals were built
around the same time all over the Low
Countries. They served as refuges for
paupers too old or sick to work, and treated
other sickness and disease with herbal and
folk remedies. The hospital was staffed by
nuns, who also held daily services in the
Count’s chantry chapel. Today it offers a
fascinating insight to the role of religion
and charity in society, as well as to the
advances in medical treatments.
Musée de l’Hôpital, Place Alix de Rosoit,
7860 Lessines, phone +32 (0)68 332 403
www.notredamedelarose.be
in the same time but took 200 years to
finish…
The UNESCO listed Belfry (280ft) will be
built later on during the 17 th .c. (1662)
Finally, after 1830 and the Independence
of Belgium, the fortifications having
become obsolete, were destroyed between
1861 and 1865.
For more information on Mons city centre:
www.waudru.be, www.mons.be
Boutique hotel in Mons:
Hôtel Saint James
Located in a tastefully-converted
eighteenth-century townhouse in the
city centre, this three-star hotel has 21
non-smoking guest rooms and suites
and offers all modern comforts. Its
meeting room can accommodate
groups of up to 40 people.
www.hotelstjames.be
Not far from Mons:
Thuin is located on the River Sambre (at
the confluence with the River Biesmelle) in
the Province of Hainaut. Its Belfry,
completed in 1638 is a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. The town was part of the
lands of the Prince-Bishops of Liège from
the ninth century onwards, and was fought
over by local aristocrats and later by foreign
armies and besieged many times. Most
notably, the siege by the Spanish army in
1654 was lifted by the use of a huge
cannon called the Spantole, a replica of
which is on display in the town. The town
was occupied by the French army in 1675
and 1794, and was the scene of fierce
fighting in 1914 as the German army swept
through Belgium on its way to France.
Chimay Castle, in the Province of
Hainaut, home of the Royal Princes de
Chimay (heirs to the French crown) was
destroyed and rebuilt seven times, most
recently as the result of a bird’s nest
catching fire in the roof in 1935! Today,
visitors can admire its five towers, its
chapel (with an embroidered banner
presented to one of the princes by King
Louis XI of France) and the private theatre,
designed by Le Fuel and Cambon in 1863,
based on Louis XV’s theatre at
Fontainebleau. The current Princess has
written several books on her family’s history
and is cataloguing the castle’s immense
archive.
Le Château de Chimay asbl,
14 Rue du Château, 6460 Chimay,
phone +32 (0) 60 214 444,
[email protected],
www.chateaudechimay.com
Boutique hotel in the
Chimay Castle area
Le Prieure Saint Géry
in Solre-Saint-Géry
In the heart of this farming village,
39km from Mons and close to
Beaumont, this eighteenth-century
priory was awoken from its slumbers
by the young hotelier Vincent Gardinal,
and converted into a delightful
gourmet restaurant and boutique hotel
with 6 guest rooms. The cooking of
chef Serge Tonneau was recognised by
the 2006 Cook of The Year Award from
the Gault-Millau guide. There is a
meeting room for up to 12 people and
a wonderfully cosy courtyard, the
perfect spot for breakfast or an
apéritif.
www.prieurestgery.be
▲
The eighteenth-century Château de
Seneffe, in Province of Hainaut, was
designed by Dewez, architect to the
Habsburgs in their Netherlands, and has a
spectacular orangery. It narrowly escaped
destruction in the aftermath of the French
revolution and again during the Second
World War, as it served as the headquarters
of General von Falkenhausen, the Nazi
military governor of occupied Belgium, from
1940 to 1944. Today the château is home
to a collection of antique silver and gold
pieces.
6 Rue L.Plasman, 7180 Seneffe,
phone 064 556 935 (+32 64 556 935)
[email protected],
www.chateaudeseneffe.be
Mons, a university centre with a rich history
© OPT - J. Jeanmart
7
Dinant
Namur is the capital of the Province of
Namur and of Wallonia, and has been the
seat of a bishop since 1559. It developed
at the junction of the Rivers Sambre and
Meuse, and the rocky cliff between the
rivers was fortified in the seventeenth
century by Vauban and others to form the
citadel we see today. The citadel is the
venue for a celebrated annual moto-cross
rally which attracts competitors from all
over the world. There is also a folklore
festival every April, which includes a “liars’
contest”, a procession and open-air plays
and concerts. Every autumn, the town
hosts a festival of francophone films. Parts
of the city walls and the count’s castle are
still visible today. The town’s strategic
position meant it was besieged several
times, most notably by King Louis XIV of
France’s army in 1692. In the eighteenth
century, the town expanded rapidly and
many splendid Neo-Classical houses and
public buildings were built, as well as St
Aubain’s Cathedral, the Bishop’s Palace,
Our Lady’s Church, the Groesbeeck de Croix
mansion (now a museum) and the Gaiffer
d’Hestroy mansion (now an art museum).
www.namur.be
Squeezed between the River Meuse and
the high rocks that overlook it, Dinant is a
little town indeed. Its main features are the
river, the imposing citadel high above the
town and the Collegiate Church of Our Lady
with its characteristic pear shaped bell
tower. This natural site of beauty was first
occupied by the Celts before becoming a
Roman settlement on the Roman built road
joining Bavay and Trier. The Prince-Bishop
of Liege had an Episcopal residence here
and the town became part of the
Principality of Liege in 1070. Its main
development took place between the 13 th
and 15 th centuries due to its remarkable
copperware industry known at large as
“Dinanderie”. Dinant held an important
strategic position on the River Meuse and
has thus been the site of many battles over
the years (In 1914, it sustained 17 sieges).
The first major attack dates back to1466 by
Charles the Bold. It was again pillaged and
occupied in 1554 by the troops of the Duke
of Nevers. Occupied by the French between
1675 and 1697 before being returned to
the Prince-Bishop of Liège. It’s during the
Dutch reign (1815-1830) that it became
part of the province of Namur, as it has
The water gardens of the Chateau of Annevoie
© Jardins d'Annevoie
8
remained ever since. Adolphe Sax was born
in Dinant in 1894 - the inventor of the
saxophone and other musical instruments.
1994 saw the celebrations of the 100 th
anniversary of his death.
Dinant also suffered during the two world
wars. Much of the town was burnt down by
German soldiers in 1914 and it is only in
the year 2000 that the local authorities
have allowed a German flag to be flown
amongst all the other European flags,
which decorate the bridge across the river.
Dinant was also badly hit by bombardments
and shelling between 1940 and 1944.
Dinant Military role: Dinant was another
strategically-placed Belgian town that was
fortified in the nineteenth century, making
the most of the dramatic cliffs above the
River Meuse. The citadel held out heroically
for a few days in 1914 against the
advancing German army, and was resisting
another German attack when Belgium
surrendered in 1940. Today, it welcomes
over 150,000 visitors each year.
Citadelle de Dinant, Place Reine Astrid 3-5,
B-5500 Dinant, Belgium,
phone +(32) (0)82 22 36 70
www.citadellededinant.be
▲
Namur:
Citadel of Dinant
© Citadelle de Dinant
9
© The Castle of Lavaux St Anne
© The Castle of Freyr
The dramatic scenery of the Abbey of Villers-la-Ville © Abbaye cistercienne de Villers-la-Ville
Not far from Dinant
Annevoie Castle, in the Province of Namur,
was originally built in 1625 by the Halloy
family. It passed through marriage to the
Montpellier family, and Charles-Alexis de
Montpellier extended and remodelled it
between 1758 and 1770. In 1775, he also
laid out an extraordinary elaborate series of
water gardens, featuring over 20 ponds and
lakes and fifty fountains in the castle’s
grounds, inspired by his travels to gardens
in France and Italy, and it is these gardens
that have eclipsed the castle’s interest to
visitors.
37A, Rue des Jardins, 5537 Annevoie,
phone 082 611 555 (+32 82 611 555),
fax 082 614 747(+32 82 614 747)
[email protected],
www.jardinsdannevoie.be
The château visible today at Freyr, in the
province of Namur, was built in the early
seventeenth century on the site of an
earlier fortress built by the Dukes of
Beaufort. The Treaty of Freyr was signed
here in 1675, and it is rumoured to be the
first place in Belgium where coffee was
drunk . Its spectacular location on a bend
in the River Meuse is enhanced by huge
formal gardens, laid out in the 1760s by
Canon Guillaume de Beaufort-Spontin,
which include 350-year-old orange trees,
which are moved into one of the oldest
orangeries in Europe every winter. The
castle and its grounds are now run by a
charitable trust.
Domaine de Freyr asbl, 5540 Hastière,
phone 082 222 200 (+32 82 222 200),
fax 082 228 323 (+32 82 228 323),
[email protected], www.freyr.be.
The first Vêves Castle was probably built by
Liege-born Pépin de Herstal, grandfather of
the Emperor Charlemagne, in the 7th
century. The castle and its lands passed by
marriage to the Counts of Beaufort,
powerful feudal overlords of a large region,
under the authority of the Kings of France.
Wauthier de Beaufort joined Godefroi of
Bouillon on the First Crusade and Théodore
de Beaufort went on the Third Crusade in
1187 and founded the Order of the Knights
of the Cross 9 on his return. (The Order still
exists today). In 1200, the castle burnt
down, and was rebuilt in 1230 by
Théodore’s brother Rasse. In 1302, another
member of the family was a member of the
King of France’s army defeated by the army
of the Dukes of Burgundy and Brabant at
the Battle of the Golden Spurs, and went
on to negotiate the peace settlement. In
10
1466, the castle was besieged during
another war, in which Dinant was sacked by
the Burgundian army. In 1609, while
preparing an oak tree for sale to a boatbuilder in Dinant, Louis de Beaufort
discovered a magnificent statue of the
Madonna and Child inside. He brought the
statue to Vêves Castle, which became a
place of pilgrimage due to several miracles
attributed to the statue.
Today, visitors can see the military origins
of the castle from the outside, with its thick
stone walls, round towers and battlements.
Once inside, however, the architecture,
furnishings and decoration are eighteenthcentury, most notably in the splendid
Hilarion salon (named after Hilarion de
Liederkerke-Beaufort, 1762-1841), which
includes a portrait of Louis XVIII of France
by Hilarion himself, and Louis XV-style
furniture.
Château de Vêves, 5 Rue de Noisy, 5561
Celles, phone +32 (0)82 666 678, and for
more information on the whole area
Maison du Tourisme du Val de Lesse, Rue
de Behogne, 5 in 5580 Rochefort, phone
+32 (0)84 34 51 72, www.valdelesse.be
Driving through the beautiul Wallonia landscapes © Joseph Jeanmart
Rochefort
Charming hotels in the
Dinant area:
Hostellerie Gilain
In the countryside 36km from Namur
towards Dinant, this four-star boutique
hotel has six guest rooms and a
conservatory-style meeting room for up
to 25 people. Half-board rates and
golfing packages available.
www.hostelleriegilain.com
The village, a few kilometres from
Rochefort, is an important stop off for any
visitor to the region: Han-Sur-Lesse. There is
easily a day’s worth of visits to make in this
village attractions alone.
Next to the church in the village centre is a
ticket booth where you can purchase tickets
for the animal park, the underground caves
or a combined ticket for both.
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Ardennes animal reserve
A safari train takes visitors around the park
for about 45 minutes. All the animals that
once lived in the region can be seen here.
Bears, lynx and wolves are among the
attractions. There are also tarpans (wild
horses) alongside a host of other animals
who still live wild in the surrounding
countryside.
▲
Hotel Mercure Dinant
Castel de Pont-à-Lesse
Set in a private 25-hectare park on the
banks of the River Lesse 10km from
Dinant, this 91-room hotel can host
meetings or conferences for up to 500
people. Originally built as a manor
house in 1810, the building has been
renovated and extended to offer a
comprehensive range of facilities,
including a swimming pool and 9
conference rooms. All guest rooms
have free WiFi Internet access.
www.mercure.com/fichehotel/gb/mer
1512/fiche-hotel.shtml
Rochefort benefits from being located at
the geological and natural sites of the River
Lesse and its valley. It is a preferred
destination for many visitors to Belgium. Its
history dates back to Roman times, and
even beyond. To get a full picture of what
this lovely countryside town and its
surrounding have to offer, we recommend
you to have a closer look at the list of
option on the right-hand side. Vestiges
found in the underground caves show that
the site was already occupied during the
Iron Age. However, it was during the 12 th
century, when the town became part of the
earldom of Rochefort that it developed into
a commercial centre under the protection
of the feudal castle. It is the remains of the
castle, which now form one of the towns
attractions for the visitor.
Caves and underground wonders
From here, you board the old diesel tram
(early 20 th Century) which take you to the
cave entrance about a mile away in the
woods. The exploration of the caves began
in 1771 but is still far from complete. Only a
small proportion of the caves are open to
the public. A cave tour lasts about 45
minutes. Impressive sights include the Dome
, rising to 387 feet There is a light and
sound show at the end of the visit followed
by a short boat ride on the River Lesse to
the exit. A large screen in the “Spéléothème”
(a short walk from the cave’s exit) brings the
caves to life once more through film. The
Museum of the Underground World takes
about an hour to visit. It displays the
archaeological vestiges discovered in the
cave’s underwater chasms.
Durbuy, a relaxation corner in the cobbled streets
of the officially smallest city in the world
© OPT - J. Jeanmart
12
Not far from Rochefort:
Lavaux-Sainte-Anne Castle was originally
built in the thirteenth century in open
countryside near Namur with three towers
and a keep, a style more usually associated
with the Ardennes region. Today, the castle
houses a museum of hunting in the
splendid seventeenth-century state
apartments, whose most recent restoration
was completed in 2004.
8 Rue du Château, 5580 Lavaux-Ste-Anne,
phone +32(0) 84 388 362 ,
[email protected]
Boutique hotels and lovely
B&Bs in the Rochefort area:
Le Château d’Hassonville
King Louis XIV of France had this
castle built as a hunting lodge, and its
superb wooded 55-hectare park shows
us why he chose this spot, 13km from
Rochefort. The building has now been
converted into a 20-room, two-star
hotel, where televisions are banned, to
ensure peace and quiet for everyone.
The meeting room can accommodate
up to 25 people and two peacocks
proudly strut around the grounds.
www.hassonville.be
Hôtel La Malle-Poste
This magnificent seventeenth-century
townhouse in the historic centre of
Rochefort has recently been converted
into an 23-room, three-star hotel and
well-being centre, with an indoor
swimming pool, sauna, Turkish bath
and fitness room.
www.malleposte.be
Restaurant & Hôtel Lemonnier
This Michelin-starred restaurant is
hidden away in a delightful village
between Lavaux, Rochefort and Hansur-Lesse. Attached to the restaurant
is a three-star boutique hotel with nine
guest rooms. The Château Royal
d’Ardennes golf course is a short drive
away, and guests can take strolls in
the extensive garden, where fruit and
vegetables for the restaurant are
grown. www.lemonnier.be
Quartier Latin
This former Jesuit church has been
converted into a 75-room, four-star
hotel, a short walk from the
pedestrianised historic town centre.
The hotel’s well-being centre offers a
full range of therapy treatments, and
its brasserie-style restaurant serves
simple, yet flavourful gastronomic
food. It can host conferences or
meetings for up to 300 people, and is
well-known for its Sunday buffet
brunch. www.quartier-latin.be
Durbuy
Durbuy was an important defensive
position for the lands of the Counts of
Durbuy, who were also Counts of
Luxembourg and Kings of Bohemia. King
John I of Bohemia granted Durbuy a City
Charter in 1331 because it was an
important centre for trade and the
administration of justice, although it lacked
the size and cathedral normally associated
with this status. Since then, it has been
known as “the smallest city in Belgium”.
It derives its name from the Celtic duro
bodion (the dwelling near the fortress), and
indeed its castle dominates the town from
its position above the River Ourthe. The
castle we see today was built in the
seventeenth century on the ruins of an
older building. The town has a fine
seventeenth-century parish church of St
Nicholas and a former Recollects convent.
The town centre is laid out around a market
square and includes many delightful halftimbered buildings, including the former
Grain Hall, dating originally from 1380, and
now an art gallery and exhibition space.
www.durbuy.be
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Charming and boutique
hotels and lovely B&Bs
in the area:
Le Sanglier des Ardennes
Located in a group of four historic
houses on the banks of the River
Ourthe in Durbuy, this 50-bedroom
hotel enjoys splendid views of the
castle and topiary park. It can host
meetings and conferences of up to
150 people, and has six restaurants
and private dining rooms. Golf
packages are available in association
with the Blue Green golf club.
www.sanglier-des-ardennes.be
Le Saint-Amour
Located in the pedestrianised heart of
Durbuy, “the world’s smallest city”, this
trendy boutique hotel has five guest
rooms and one suite, all tastefully
decorated and some with views of the
market square. Weekend and Golfing
packages available on request.
www.saintamour.be
Hotel Victoria
A fully-restored seventeenth-century
house, converted to a three-star, 10room hotel with a gourmet restaurant
specialising in food grilled over a log
fire. Meeting room for up to 10 people.
Close to Blue Green golf course.
www.hotel-victoria.be
Au Milieu de Nulle Part
A lovely house, situated in the heart of
historic Durbuy with refined,
harmoniously-blended decoration and
furnishings. There are two guest rooms
and two guest suites, all named after
perfumes and all for non-smokers only.
The building also houses an antiques
shop. Open Thursday to Monday only. .
www.belsud.be
▲
Auberge & Hôtel du Vieux Moulin
Located 7km from the centre of
Rochefort, this four-star, 8-room
boutique hotel is located at the heart
of the hamlet of Eprave. It is decorated
and furnished in a warm,
contemporary style and can host
meetings of up to 15 people in its
conference room. Its well-known
restaurant Garden is a local
gastronomic landmark. The Royal
Chateau d’Ardennes golf course is
nearby. www.eprave.com
Hilly landscape of the Belgian Ardennes © Joseph Jeanmart
Le Temps d’un Rêve
This dreamy Provençal-style, 4bedroomed chalet is situated in the
centre of “the smallest city in the
world” amid a garden filled with lush
greenery, a perfect spot in which to
relax and recharge your batteries. It
offers B&B rates, with breakfast
provided by Le Saint-Amour. .
www.belsud.be
La Balade des Gnomes
Ten kilometres from Durbuy, Mr Noël,
an architect, has designed and built
his dream bio-organic house, with nine
extraordinary guest rooms named and
decorated after fairy-tales. A once-in-alifetime experience!
www.labaladedesgnomes.be
Bouillon
Known as the “Pearl of the Semois valley”
Bouillon is without doubt the most
important and most attractive tourist centre
of the Semois valley. Its fortified medieval
castle, perfectly preserved, continues to
watch over the town. Miles of way-marked
paths invite the visitor to discover the valley
and its steep slopes.
Belgium’s most famous crusader, Godefroi
de Bouillon, whose statue graces the Place
Royale in Brussels, lived at Bouillon Castle
in the eleventh century. Legend says that it
was originally built three centuries earlier.
Godefroi sold the castle and its lands to the
Bishop of Liège in 1096 to finance his
participation in the First Crusade. He was
part of the army that took Jerusalem in
1099, and was briefly Guardian of the Holy
Sepulchre before dying aged 39 in 1100.
The castle remained in the hands of the
Prince-Bishops until 1679 when it passed
to the Tour d’Auvergne family under the
Treaty of Nijmegen. The family hired the
great military engineer Vauban to re-design
the fortifications, but the castle was never
besieged again.
The castle of Bouillon still stands on its
rock above the town, circled by a meander
of the Semois River and is of course the
main attraction of the town.
It is also the most visited attraction of the
province of Belgian Luxembourg.
The main attractions are the medieval
castle, the Archeoscope and the Ducal
Museum. We suggest that you visit the
Archeoscope to start with as it helps to
understand the history of the castle and
make its visit all the more interesting. The
Archeoscope consists of an educational
light and sound show dramatically
explaining the early days of the settlement
and its castle and the history leading to the
Crusade. It also has interesting exhibitions,
one of which shows a scale model of all the
fortified castles of the region, on both sides
of the French- Belgian border.(Bouillon is
only a stone-through from France).
The Ducal Museum is quite exceptional
Castle of Bouillon © OPT-J Jeanmart
14
and seduces by the richness of its
collections and the charm of the listed 16
th and 17 th century buildings, which house
them. Three sections offer a vast panorama
of Bouillon’s rich history, from the Crusades
to modern times.
Guided visits in English are available at the
castle. However a guidebook in English can
also be obtained for approximately 50p. at
the ticket office for those who prefer to visit
on their own. Maison du Tourisme du Pays
de Bouillon, Quai des Saulx, 12 B-6830
Bouillon, phone +32 (0) 61 46 52 11 ·
www.bouillon-tourisme.be
Le Marché de Nathalie is the only place
where beer is brewed in Bouillon. That is
not its only originality of course. The
brewery is situated in a shop that sells over
300 different types of Belgian beers of
which three are brewed on the spot: Cuvée
de Bouillon – Bouillonnaise and Médiévale.
22, Grand Rue.
Bouillon in itself is a major attraction but it
is also the centre of a beautifully wooded
and hilly region and the typical villages all
along the Semois display a particular
charm and breathtaking landscapes that
should not be missed.
Here is a list of the hotels you can find in
these fairy tale landscapes and beautiful
surroundings of Bouillon:
Liege, the “River Meuse’s daughter”
© OPT - J. Jeanmart
Charming hotels and lovely
B&Bs in the area:
L’Auberge du Moulin Hideux
A seventeenth-century watermill,
converted into a hotel in 1947, this
was the first non-French hotel to be
listed in the prestigious “Relais &
Châteaux” guide. Its 12 rooms and
suites offer every modern comfort, and
the hotel has its own tennis court and
indoor swimming pool. Its location on
the banks of the River Semois make it
a haven for fishermen, canoeists,
mountain-bikers and walkers. Its
meeting room can accommodate
groups of up to 15
people.www.moulinhideux.be
Hostellerie Prieure de Conques
The former retreat house of the
Cistercian Abbey at Orval, located in
the village of Conques, 26km from
Bouillon, has been converted into a
four-star hotel with 18 non-smoking
guest rooms, each with stunning
views. Half-board or full-board rates
only. Home made honey for sale. A
really peaceful spot in which to
unwind. www.conques.be
Au Bonheur des Anges
A 3-star, self-contained gite for two
non-smoking guests in the former
hayloft of a nineteenth-century stone
farmhouse in the village of Laforêt,
27km from Bouillon. The house is now
home to a painter-sculptor-ceramicist
who also makes his own liqueurs!
Les Anges
A 4-star gite located in a converted
former clergy-house next to a village
church, 10km from Bouillon. An ideal
base from which to explore the Semois
valley on foot, by mountain bike, on
horseback or in a canoe. There are
four double guest rooms decorated in
contemporary style, and an interiors
shop next door.
On your way to Bouillon:
Don’t miss St-Hubert,
L’Ancien Hôpital
This historic building, where King
Leopold I once stayed, has recently
been converted into a three-star
boutique hotel with six guest rooms,
overlooking the Basilica Church of St
Hubert, patron saint of hunters. It is an
ideal base for nature-lovers, mountainbikers, golfers and walkers, and can
host meetings of up to 12 people.
www.ancienhopital.be
Liège
15
▲
Once the seat of an hereditary PrinceBishop, who was an Elector of the Holy
Roman Emperor, Liège was one of the
wealthiest cities in Europe, amply
demonstrated in the magnificent St
Lambert’s Cathedral, one of the largest
churches in Christendom. However, the
rampant corruption of the Prince-Bishop’s
court and the high taxes he levied to pay for
his extravagant lifestyle made him
unpopular, and when the French revolution
offered the city’s inhabitants the chance to
overthrow him, they did so with gusto,
burning the cathedral to the ground in the
process. Under Napoleon’s concordat with
the Papacy in 1801, the Collegiate Church
of St Paul became the new cathedral. In
addition to its stunning architecture and
furnishings, many mediaeval reliquaries,
ivories and silver and gold plate is displayed
in its treasury. The twelfth-century brass
fonts, attributed to Renier of Huy are often
described as one of the seven wonders of
Belgium. They can be admired in St
Bartholomew’s church, (Eglise StBarthélémy) which dates from the eleventh
and twelfth centuries, with an eighteenthcentury French Baroque interior. The
modern-day St James’ church (Eglise St
Jacques) is all that remains of a huge
Benedictine abbey. It is best-known for its
flamboyant Gothic nave with its vaulted
stone ceiling, dating from 1538. St Denis’
church is another survivor from the tenth
century, with additions dating from the
fourteenth and eighteenth centuries. Inside
the church are a splendid eighteenthcentury pulpit, a sixteenth-century organ
case and a magnificent sixteenth-century
Brabant school painted altar-piece. The
Palace of the Prince-Bishops was one of
the largest Gothic civic buildings in Europe
when completed in 1526 by Prince Erard de
la Marck. Extra wings were added to the
building in 1734 and 1852 in a mixture of
Gothic and Renaissance styles. It now
serves as the Law Courts building for Liège,
but the main courtyard is accessible to
visitors, who can admire the richlydecorated 60 columns that support the
overhanging upper floors. Passing the site
of St Lambert’s cathedral and crossing the
market square brings visitors to the HorsChâteau district of the city, which takes its
name from being outside the first set of city
walls, built in the tenth century. When the
second set of walls was built in the
thirteenth century, the district was inside
them. The main street (Rue Hors Château)
is lined with the impressive Neo-Classical
and Baroque facades of the houses of the
city’s leading cloth merchants. In between
these buildings runs a warren of alley-ways,
many of which still lead to inhabited
houses. Up the hill to the citadel runs an
extraordinary stone staircase with 373
Liege, a genuine latin city with a strong café terrasse culture
© Joseph Jeanmart
steps, known as the Montagne de Bueren
after Vincent de Bueren who successfully
beat off an attack by Louis XI of France’s
army here in 1468. The stairs were built in
the nineteenth century by the citadel’s
garrison, either purely as a work-creation
exercise or to provide a short-cut back to
the citadel from the city’s bars that avoided
the red-light district, depending on which
legend you want to believe. Fortunately,
there are places to sit down on the way up
or down!
www.liege.be
Liege military role in the
modern ages
Liege’s strategic position between France
and Germany has led to it being seized by
armies of both countries in history. In 1887,
Franc-German tension was growing, and the
French began construction of the Maginot
Line of fortifications along their border with
Germany. Supported by King Leopold II, the
Belgian government ordered a similar line
of forts to be built across the Meuse valley
to defend Liège and Namur in 1888. The
forts were designed by General Brialmont,
the Belgian army’s chief engineer and
formed a line approximately 50km long.
There were six large forts at Barchon,
Fléron, Boncelles, Flémalle, Loncin and
Pontisse and six small ones at Evegnée,
Chaudefontaine, Embourg, Hollogne, Lantin
and Liers. Most of the forts were on hilltops and were built of concrete. Each fort
had 120mm, 150mm and 210mm fieldguns, with a range of around 7km. The
forts’ garrisons would be supported by an
observer corps, based in church towers and
on hill-tops, who could inform the forts of
the progress of enemy armies by telephone.
Unfortunately, the forts met the same fate
as their French counterpart in both World
Wars: the German army simply went around
them and isolated them, forcing them to
surrender without firing a shot. The forts
are consequently well preserved. No longer
part of the Belgian Ministry of Defence
since the 1980s, many of the forts are now
looked after by volunteers and can be
visited by prior arrangement with the Liège
Tourist Information Centre.
Fédération du Tourisme de la Province de
Liège, 77 Boulevard de la Sauvenière,
4000 Liège, phone +32 (0)4 232 6510,
[email protected], www.ftpl.be
Not far from Liege
Well-known today for its beer, Val-Dieu
Abbey, in the Province of Liege, traces its
16
foundation back to the thirteenth century,
when it was founded by Count Lothair of
Dahlem to seek forgiveness following his
assassination of St Albert of Louvain in
1192. The abbey was built by Cistercian
monks, who farmed the land and brewed
beer here in the Aubel valley. The abbey
was rebuilt after fires four times, and in
1796 it was dissolved by the French
Revolutionary government of occupation.
Two monks continued to rent the abbey as
a home for a few years, and on the death of
the last monk in 1839, the owner stripped
the buildings of anything re-useable and the
site became a ruin. In 1844, a group of
Cistercians returned to the site and partially
re-built the abbey, where their community
lived until 1975. The brewery buildings
were then sold to the brewery that occupies
them today, and the church and abbot’s
lodge became a private home.
www.val-dieu.com
In 1233, the Count of Marchin built
Modave Castle to protect the town of Huy.
The castle was demolished and rebuilt
several times, and the building we see
today dates from the late seventeenth
century, when Maximilian-Henry of Bavaria,
and then Cardinal von Fürstenberg
inherited the property. The richly decorated
interior is frequently used for concerts,
most famously at Christmas. To safeguard
the large rainwater-catchment area in the
castle’s grounds, the property was
purchased by the Brussels Water Board in
1941. who reconstructed the famous
“Marly machine” an early hydraulic pump,
designed by the carpenter Rennequin
Sualem in 1668, which is now displayed in
the grounds.
Château de Modave, 4577 Modave, phone
+32 (0) 85 411 369), www.modavecastle.be.
Boutique hotels
in the Liege area:
Hôtel Hors-Château
Located in the Impasse des Drapiers,
a delightful mediaeval street in the
hors-château district of Liège, this
eighteenth-century building has been
converted into a 9-room, three-star
boutique hotel. All rooms have airconditioning and double-glazing. The
building’s conversion won the City of
Liège’s Town-Planning Award for 2007.
www.hors-chateau.be
Pliny the Elder, who lived in the first
century, made the first reference to the
town when he mentioned the Sparsa
Fontana in his 37-volume Natural History ,
a work that aimed to set forth in detail all
the contents of the entire world.
In the first half of the 16 th century the
town became famous as a health resort
after Henry VIII, who was occupying the city
of Tournai at the time, championed the
curative powers of Spa’s waters. Royalty
(among them Charles II and Peter the Great
of Russia), statesmen and aristocrats from
all over Europe flocked to the town in
search of an elixir, and by the 18 th century
such was the flow of well-heeled visitors
that Spa became known as “The Café of
Europe.”
In the 19 th century, so many of these
visitors were British that some of the
streets were given very British-sounding
names, such as Avenue du Lawn Tennis
and Route du Balmoral, and one of its 200
springs was named after the Duke of
Wellington who frequented the town along
with Disraeli. British gamblers even had
their own casino, The Vauxhall, and one of
the luxury hotels of the day was the Hôtel
Britannique, where James Joyce once
stayed.
Today, Spa is still famous for its waters,
some which are bottled and available in UK
supermarkets in the forms of the blue
bottled Spa Reine, or the red-bottled
sparkling Barisart, but it is also receiving a
lot of attention for its recently built Thermes
de Spa, an ultra-modern thermal centre
located on the top of a hill directly
overlooking the picturesque town.
Not far from Spa:
The mediaeval pearl of Belgium’s Germanspeaking Eastern Cantons is Reinhardstein
Castle, dramatically perched 500m above
a river valley, looking like something
straight out of a fairy tale. Originally
completed in 1354 for the Duke of
Luxembourg, the castle passed through
several owners until it was sold as a bien
national under the French occupation in
1800 to the Count of Metternich, who
abandoned the property during the
Napoleonic wars, at the end of which it
became part of Germany. Pillaged for
building stone, the castle gradually
decayed, until being saved in a
comprehensive restoration that was
completed in 1969 by Jean Overloop, who
lived here until his death in 1994. The
castle now houses a collection of art,
weapons and devotional items, and party of
the grounds is a nature reserve and bird
sanctuary. Château de Reinhardstein, 4950
Ovifat-Robertville, phone +32(0) 80 446
868, www.reinhardstein.net
▲
Les Acteurs
An interesting two-star hotel, furnished
and decorated on the theme of cinema
and films, in a renovated townhouse,
converted to offer 16 guest rooms,
ideally situated for guests to benefit
fully from the excellent shopping,
nightlife and gastronomic restaurants
in the city centre. www.lesacteurs.be
these places where getting your sparkle
back is taken very seriously by the local
experienced people, for centuries.
Château des Thermes
This four-star hotel is located 13km
from Liège in an eighteenth-century
castle with modern extensions. It has
47 guest rooms and is the only hotel in
Belgium to have its own hot spring,
with water bubbling out at 34°C in its
spa centre and swimming pool. Room
rates give free access to all the spa
facilities. www.chateaudesthermes.be
Spa
The original town of Spa, from which spa
centres all over the world took their name,
is actually located in the south east Belgian
province of Liège, in the heart of the
beautiful lush forests of the Belgian
Ardennes.
Spa treatments have existed in Belgium
since the dark and celtic ages. Spa in
Southern Belgium is in fact the place after
which all spas in the world have been
named. The region where Spa is located is
renowned for the quality and diversity of its
natural spring, and if you need a genuine
and healthy break, you should head to
Spa, the genuine one
© OPT - J. Jeanmart
17
Waterloo, In the
backyard of Brussels:
Waterloo, reconstruction of the battle at the Bivouac © OPT - A. Kouprianoff
The Abbey of the Prince-Bishops
of Stavelot The Abbey of Stavelot hosts,
in 4 languages, the Museum of the Ancient
Principality of Stavelot- Malmedy; the
Museum of the Racing Circuit of SpaFrancorchamps; the Apollinaire Museum.
Futhermore some exceptional
archaeological vestiges, a museum shop,
a tavern and numerous animations
throughout the year will highly contribute
to make your stay in Stavelot a memorable
one. Guided visits for individuals in English
on request but audio-guides are available.
www.abbayedestavelot.be
Boutique hotels and lovely
B&Bs in the area:
La Vigie
This house was originally built as the
home of a sea-captain and his family
around 1900 in the heart of Spa, and
has now been completely renovated
and converted to offer four delightful
guest rooms, furnished with linen by
Alexandre Turpault, for non-smoking
guests only. The hotel can offer guests
aromatherapy massages and products
from its own “Essentials” cosmetics
and household care range on request.
www.belsud.be
La Chamboise
A trendy B&B in a lovely house with a
winding staircase, 4.5km from Spa.
The four guest rooms on the top floor
are decorated and furnished to
different themes. Weekend massage
and relaxation packages are available.
Guests have access to the large
garden. No smoking and no pets
allowed. www.belsud.be
Le Manoir de Lébioles
This trendy three-star hotel, located in
the countryside 4km from Spa offers
discreet luxury, privacy and first-class
service to the guests in its 16 suites.
“Hole in One” golfing packages are
available in co-operation with the Royal
Fagnes golf club, and cookery courses
can be held on request in the hotel’s
restaurant which was marked 15/20
by the Gault-Millau guide. It can
accommodate groups of up to 40
people for meetings or conferences,
and is conveniently located for the
Spa-Francorchamps Formula 1 motorracing circuit.
www.manoirdelebioles.com
Le Soyeuru
This family-owned working farm is a
short drive (5.5km) from Spa in the
midst of peaceful countryside. There
are five guest rooms and one suite,
plus a restaurant-cum-art gallery.
Groups of up to 25 people can be
accommodated in the meeting rooms.
The Royal Fagnes golf course is
nearby, as is a place offering
parachute jumps. www.lesoyeuru.be
Boutique Hôtel Dufays
This former family home, 16km from
Spa, has been converted into a sixroom, three-star boutique hotel, with
superb views across the countryside
towards Stavelot. It is not far from the
Royal Fagnes golf club.
Hostellerie Val d’Amblève
On the outskirts of Stavelot, 16km
from Spa in the heart of the Belgian
Ardennes, a warm welcome awaits you
at this four-star, four-room boutique
hotel, the only member of the
“Romantiek Hotel” association in
Wallonia. www.levaldambleve.be
18
Waterloo, Modern Europe’s
decisive battle:
The defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of
Waterloo on 18 June 1815 by an allied
army commanded by the Duke of
Wellington and Field-Marshal Blücher was a
turning-point in European history, marking
the definitive end of the Napoleonic wars
and heralding the Congress of Vienna that
re-drew frontiers and divided the continent
into spheres of interest that were to last a
century. Today most of the battlefield has
reverted to agricultural use and is dotted
with memorials, including the unmissable
Lion Mound, commemorating the Prince of
Orange. Visitors can climb the steps to the
summit, 120 feet above the fields below,
for panoramic views. At the base of the
mound, a recently-opened visitors’ centre
explains the various stages of the battle
and its significance in a multi-lingual, multimedia presentation; a startling 1915
painted panorama makes you feel as if you
are in the midst of the battle; a waxworks
museum recreates the scenes in the French
and allied headquarters, and visitors can
get a soldier’s-eye view of the battlefield
from the back of an open truck in a short
tour.
Waterloo Battlefield Visitor Centre, 252
Route du Lion, 1420 Braine-L’Alleud,
www.waterloo1815.be
Wellington Museum, 147 Chaussée de
Bruxelles, 1410 Waterloo,
www.museewellington.com
Waterloo Tourist Information Centre, 218
Chaussée de Bruxelles, 1410 Waterloo
www.waterloo-tourisme.be
The Waterloo area is one of the historic
sites managed by the Brabant Wallon
Provincial Government, and is included in
the brochure “The Green Escape, The Time
Of Pleasures” which can be ordered to the
Belgian Tourist Office Brussels & Wallonia
on [email protected]
The Château of La Hulpe, in the Province
of Walloon Brabant, is best known today as
the country house of the Solvay family in
the nineteenth and early twentieth
centuries, but the original buildings were
built for the Count of Béthune. The main
castle was completely rebuilt by the
Solvays, but the original Home Farm
buildings of 1833, designed by Cluysenaar
(who is best-known for the Royal Galleries
shopping arcade in central Brussels) have
survived as the home of the Folon
Foundation, dedicated to showing the work
of the artist Jean-Michel Folon to as wide a
public as possible.
Waterloo, a view the Lion’s mont and the battlefield,
© OPT - A. Kouprianoff
Fondation Folon, Ferme du Château
de La Hulpe, 6A Drève de la Ramée, 1310
La Hulpe
phone 02 653 3456 (+322 653 3456), fax
02 653 0077 (+322 653 0077),
[email protected],
www.fondationfolon.be
Brussels
Not far from Waterloo:
Brussels is fast getting rid of its dull and
grey image and gaining itself a reputation
as one of Europe’s must-do cool short
break destinations, with her human size,
trendy bars and restaurants, fabulous
food, great nightlife, fantastic shopping,
numerous museums and other attractions
such as the many interesting exhibitions
and festivals
of all kinds that are organised there every
year.
Villers-la-Ville Abbey was founded by a
group of Cistercian monks sent from
Clairvaux by St Bernard in 1146 following
an invitation and donation of land from the
Count of Marbais. The monks chose a site
close to supplies of water and building
materials and built the original church,
which was replaced in the thirteenth
century by a much larger stone building,
which expanded to house 400 monks and
which owned 10,000 hectares of farmland,
extending as far as Antwerp and Namur,
under the protection of the powerful Dukes
of Brabant. Early in the eighteenth century,
many of the abbey buildings were rebuilt in
the Neo-Classical style. In 1796, the abbey
was closed down by the Revolutionary
French army and the buildings were sold to
a building-supplies merchant, who stripped
them of all re-usable materials, turning
them into the spectacular ruins we can see
today. The ruins were stabilised in 1893
and restored in 1984, and now provide a
spectacular setting for a full programme of
open-air concerts, operas, plays and
falconry demonstrations each summer.
Abbaye de Villers-la-Ville, 55 rue de
l’Abbaye 1495 Villers-la-Ville, phone +32
(0)71 880 980, www.villers.be
Now that journey times to the heart of
Brussels only take 1 hour and 51 minutes
by train from London, it is the perfect time
to discover the capital of Europe at its most
enchanting when it sparkles with its all its
Christmas glitter and magical illuminations.
Downtown
A B&B with three double, non-smoking
guest rooms spread over three floors of a
converted townhouse in the lively St
Jacques district, a short walk from the
Grand’Place and the Mannekin-Pis.
L’Art de la Fugue
A B&B situated close to Brussels-Midi
railway station with its excellent rail, bus,
tram and metro links in one direction, and
the historic city centre in the other. Three
double guest rooms decorated in a variety
of styles.
You can book B&Bs in Brussels via the
online form at www.bnb-brussels.be
Brussels is also becoming well known as a
mecca of style, attracting more and more of
the big names in national and international
fashion to its growing shopping districts –
151 tips and bright ideas for visiting
Brussels are available on
www.brussels151.com
So, why not experiencing the European
capital of Cool in one of its best B&B –
Here is a selection:
Casa Bxl
A charming B&B with two double guest
rooms located in the trendy St Jacques
district of the city centre, offering an
excellent base for exploring the historic
buildings, museums and nightlife!
19
Comic strip trail in Brussels
© OPT - JP Remy
Brussels the European Capital of Cool : St Boniface district © OPT - JP Remy
Hip & Stylish Brussels
Yves Saint Laurent famously said that
“Fashions change but Style is eternal”
and nowhere is this more true than in
Brussels.
The period between 1890s and 1930s
was a golden age in Brussels architecture,
being the birth place of Art Nouveau and
one of the leading capitals for Art Deco.
In the 1960s and 1970s, two decades
renowned for their disastrous approach to
urban lifestyle everywhere around the
world, the middle classes preferred to
move and live in the suburbs or the
surrounding region and to commute in
and out of the city every day in their cars.
In the 1980s, the first of the “new wave”
Belgian fashion designers were looking
for places to produce, show and sell their
clothes and other products, and many of
them were pleasantly surprised to find
spacious cheap premises at the heart of
the city centre.
In their wake have come the BCBGs (“bon
chic, bon genre” a sort of Belgian Sloane
Ranger) and the bobos (“bourgeois
bohèmes” or bohos) whose money and
desire to make-over abandoned buildings
have revitalised run-down areas, as well
as reviving the high-end retail districts of
the Upper City, both the staidly
conservative, antiquey Sablon district, the
more studenty Marolles and the brash
bling-and-brand culture of the Boulevard
de Waterloo and the Avenue Louise,
where the little old ladies with poodles
sipping a half-’n-half, a Brussels cocktail
made of 50% Lambic and 50% Faro, are
being outnumbered by twenty-something
fashionistas.
But all is not lost. The BCBGs and bobos
can be found discreetly browsing in the
designer boutiques, restaurants and
interiors shops around the Rue du Bailli
and the Place du Châtelain (just off the
Avenue Louise), pausing for lunch or
dinner at Rouge Tomate, L’Atelier de la
Truffe Noire, Le Fils de Jules, La
Quincaillerie or L’Ami d’Enfance. Their
antique-loving parents will be found in the
side-streets running off the Place du
Grand Sablon, pausing for tea and cakes
at Wittamer or to pick up some designer
20
quiches and tarts at La Tarterie de
Pierre, an offshoot of the award-winning
choclatier Pierre Marcolini, whose new
flagship chocolate store on the corner of
the Rue Stevens look more like a
jewellers. Long-established restaurants
such as Lola and Au Vieux St Martin
have been joined recently by the loungestyle Sister Act and L’Arrière Pays with its
delightfully shady terrace.
Rouge Tomate, 190 Avenue Louise,
phone 02 647 7044,
www.rougetomate.com
L’Atelier de la Truffe Noire, 300 Avenue
Louise, phone 02 640 5455, www.ateliertruffenoire.com
Le Fils de Jules, 35 Rue de Page, phone
02 534 0057, www.filsdejules.be
La Quincaillerie, 45 Rue du Page, phone
02 533 9833, www.quincaillerie.be
L’Ami d’Enfance,117, Chaussée de
Vleurgat, phone 02 640 6660,
www.lamidenfance.be
Wittamer, 6 Place du Grand Sablon,
phone 02 512 3742, www.wittamer.com
La Tarterie de Pierre, 39 Place du Grand
Sablon
Pierre Marcolini, 1 Rue des Minimes,
phone 02 514 1206, www.marcolini.be
▲
The empty buildings fitted the designers’
minimalist ideas perfectly and the first of
the young pioneers opened their shops
along and around the Rue Antoine
Dansaert, opposite the Stock Exchange in
the early 1990s. Today the street is
featured in every guide book to the city
and has this become more mainstream
and a little passé for the design
cognoscenti. The “pioneers” have moved
on to the working-class Marolles district,
the run-down areas bordering the canal
and the former industrial Western inner
suburbs.
Atomium by night
© OPT - J. Jeanmart
21
Brussels fashionable and laid back districts © OPT - JP Remy
Lola, 33 Place du Grand Sablon, phone
02 514 2460
Ganterie Italienne, 3 Galerie de la Reine,
phone 02 512 7538
Au Vieux St Martin, 38 Place du Grand
Sablon, phone 02 512 6476,
www.nielsbrothers.com
Philippe, 18 Galerie de la Reine, phone
02 511 9828
Sister Act, 25, Rue de la Régence, phone
02 503 1378, www.sisteract.be
Nicolas Witmeur, 13 Galerie du Roi,
phone 02 513 7253
Kaat Tilley, 4 Galerie du Roi, phone 02
514 0763, www.kaattilley.com
Finally, the “Dansaert effect” has spread
to the Rue des Chartreux that runs
parallel to it, and across the Boulevard
Anspach to the St Jacques district,
definitely on the way up. In the Rue des
Chartreux, check out Gabriele, Louise
Assomo, Shampoo & Conditioner and Le
Vestiare for clothes, bloemen! for flowers,
Toit for interiors and AM Sweet for
reassuringly old-fashioned tea, cakes and
confectionary. On the other side of the
Boulevard Anspach in and around the
Rue Marché au Charbon, have a peek
inside PrivéJoke (fashion) and Lady
Paname (lingerie and “sex life
accessories for women), then stop for a
coffee or something stronger at Au Soleil
or Fontainas.
Delvaux, 31 Galerie de la Reine, phone
02 513 0502, www.delvaux.com
Gabriele, 27 Rue des Chartreux, phone
02 512 6743
L’Arrière Pays, 60, Rue des Minimes,
phone 02 514 7707
Things have obviously changed when
designers like Olivier Strelli open shops
on Avenue Louise and Kaat Tilley opens
a shop in the Galeries Royales, which are
developing into a popular high-end
accessories venue, with both longestablished shops like leather-goods
supplier Delvaux, the Ganterie Italienne
(gloves) and newcomers like Philippe
(shoes) and Nicolas Witmeur (jewellery).
Olivier Strelli, 72 Avenue Louise, phone
02 512 5607, www.strelli.be
22
Louise Assomo, 64 Rue des Chartreux
Shampoo & Conditioner, 18 Rue des
Chartreux, phone 02 511 9402
Le Vestiaire, 37 Rue des Chartreux
bloemen!, 44 Rue des Chartreux, phone
02 514 0037
Toit, 46 Rue des Chartreux, phone 02
503 3338
AM Sweet, 4 Rue des Chartreux, phone
02 513 5131
PrivéJoke, 76-78 Rue Marché au
Charbon, phone 02 502 6367,
www.privejoke.be
Lady Paname, 5 Rue des Grands Carmes,
www.lady-paname.be
Au Soleil, 86 Rue Marché au Charbon,
phone 02 513 3430l
Fontainas, 91 Rue Marché au Charbon,
phone 02 503 3112
Brussels Design Hotels
BeManos
22 Square de l’Aviation, 1070 Brussels
phone 02 520 6565 (+322 520 6565)
fax 02 520 6767 (+322 520 6767)
[email protected]
www.bemanos.com
▲
After decades when the words
“design” and “Brussels” were rarely
seen together, and the city was bestknown for the unsympathetic
“Brusselisation” redevelopments of
the late twentieth century, the twentyfirst century has witnessed something
of a Belgian design revolution. The
international success of the local
fashion designers from 1980s on,
encouraged by government support
and subsidies mean that Brussels is
now a thriving design centre for
clothes, interiors and accessories,
and no longer the butt of jokes in
other countries!
© HotelBloom
Growing awareness of fashion trends
among the younger generations has
led to increased demand for so-called
“design hotels” which step away from
the dull uniformity of the big hotel
chains to revel in typically quirky
Belgian eccentricity and offer unique
travel experiences.
BeManos
Following their success with the Manos
1er and Manos Stephanie hotels on the
Chaussée de Charleroi in Ixelles, the
Poulgouras family recently opened the
BeManos, Brussels’ first five-star
boutique design hotel. Conveniently
located a short walk from the busy
Brussels-Midi station, where the highspeed Thalys and Eurostar services
stop, the hotel offers 60 rooms and
suites. Rooms cost fro m 275, junior
suites fro m 370 and suites fro m 510
(per night, including breakfast). Stylish
dining is available at the BeLella
restaurant, and guests and their friends
can relax to music spun by resident DJs
in the Black Lounge and the BeBar. The
BeManos hotel is also an excellent
place to de-stress : an exclusive
boutique offers the full range of Korres
Natural personal care products from
Greece, guests can order a massage,
pedicure or manicure, and they can use
the hotel’s sauna.
For business visitors, the BeManos
hotel offers two fully-equipped meeting
rooms, for up to 60 people. The
dramatic black-and-white decor and
furniture recalls the cult film
“Barbarella” and the hotel’s silver
facade stands out among its
neighbours in a recently-refurbished
square.
23
This hotel launches in September 2007
and is the result of a comprehensive
transformation of a former bland chain
hotel on the rue Royale. Gone are the
former pastel-and-beige anonymous
rooms that could have been anywhere,
replaced by dramatic, vibrant floral
prints and designs by the cream of
young local designers. Even the hotel’s
concrete facade has been jazzed up
with a huge bright orange banner!
While retaining its 110-place car park
and its ideal position close to the
Botanique metro, bus and tram stop,
the hotel’s interior has been completely
re-configured to offer three categories
of rooms: L, XL and XXL (all at least
30m?), starting at 70, including
breakfast. L-category rooms are
designed for one person, XL for two and
XXL for three, with one sleeping on a
sofa-bed. All rooms have free WiFi
internet access and a Senseo coffee
and tea machine. In addition, there are
four duplex lofts and The Suite, a
150m? self-contained apartment with
panoramic views of the city centre.
BLOOM! Hotel
250 Rue Royale
1210 Brussels
phone 02 220 6611 (+322 220 6611)
[email protected]
www.hotelbloom.com
▼
© HotelBloom
© BeMans
BLOOM! Hotel
The White Hotel
212 Avenue Louise
1050 Brussels
phone 02 644 2929 (+322 644 2929)
[email protected]
www.thewhitehotel.be
Sofitel Brussels Europe
The Sofitel Brussels Europe hotel is a
rare combination of the consistently
high standards and facilities you would
expect from the worldwide Accor Group
with a typically quirky local Belgian
sense of design and style. The result is
an unusually enjoyable yet reliable
place to stay. Conveniently located
overlooking the bustling Place Jourdan,
with its café terraces, market and Chez
Antoine the famous, award-winning
friterie, yet only a short walk across the
Leopold Park from the European
Institutions, the hotel offers 149 rooms,
12 suites and 11 meeting rooms that
can handle groups of up to 300 people.
© Sofitel
▼
There is a fully-staffed Business Centre
with typing, secretarial, translation and
interpreting services available, as well
as a fitness centre and Turkish bath. All
rooms have free WiFi internet access.
The Spuds restaurant and bar offers a
range of meals and drinks in relaxed,
designer surroundings. There is a
private car park with valet parking and
pets are welcome. Some rooms have
been adapted to conform with the US
Disability Act’s access requirements for
reduced-mobility guests.
Sofitel Brussels Europe
1 Place Jourdan 1040 Brussels
phone 02 235 5100 (+322 235 5100)
fax 02 235 5101 (+322 235 5101)
[email protected]
www.accor.be
The Dominican
The rue Léopold, opposite the back of
the La Monnaie opera house, was once
the site of a Dominican abbey, from
which the hotel takes its name. The
abbey was demolished in the
eighteenth century and replaced by a
row of elegant townhouses, one of
which was home to the painter JacquesLouis David, famous for his heroic
portraits of Napoleon and other French
revolutionary leaders. David lived in
exile in Brussels from the fall of the
Napoleonic regime in 1814 until his
death in 1825. Parts of the façade of
this building have been incorporated in
the hotel, whose interior was created by
the award-winning German design duo
known as “FGStijl”. When the hotel
opens in late 2007, its 150 rooms will
all be laid out like cloisters, overlooking
a large internal courtyard and thus
minimising traffic noise. There will be
three categories of rooms: Deluxe,
Executive and Loft, plus three suites,
with daily rates of between 150 to
1,450. The hotel will also have three
meeting rooms for up to 300 people, a
sauna, Turkish bath and fully-equipped
gym.
The Dominican
9 Rue Léopold 1000 Brussels
phone 02 203 0808 (+322 203 0808)
fax 02 203 0807 (+322 203 0807)
[email protected]
www.thedominican.be
▼
© The Dominican
Following the pioneering example of
The Hempel Hotel in London, The White
Hotel offers a pure white haven for
travellers to relax and take life a little
slower. It is located on the prestigious
Avenue Louise, close to the luxury
shops of the Place Stephanie and the
Boulevard de Waterloo in one direction,
and the wide open spaces and
woodland of the Bois de La Cambre
park and the Forêt de Soignes in the
other. The rooms all offer at least 35m?
of space, with a king-size bed or twin
beds, a terrace or balcony, a flat-screen
television and WiFi internet access. The
Superior category rooms are larger
(48m? minimum) and are airconditioned. Each room contains at
least one work by a Belgian designer,
selected by Lise Coirier of the online
designer store Labeldesign.be
© The White Hotel
▲
The White Hotel
This hotel offers a unique opportunity
in Brussels to stay in one of twelve
rooms designed by twelve of the
leading Belgian fashion designers. In
addition, the hotel offers 240 other
rooms and 17 suites at rates from
211 on weekdays and 107 at
weekends. It is conveniently located in
the Rue Duquesnoy, a short walk from
the Grand’Place and Brussels Central
railway station, opposite the Grand
Casino. Guests can use the fullyequipped Fitness Centre and Business
Centre. There are 15 meeting rooms for
up to 300 people. The hotel’s barrestaurant Chutney’s is a popular place
for guests and non-residents alike.
Royal Windsor Hotel
5 Rue Duquesnoy 1000 Brussels
phone 02 505 5555 (+322 505 5555)
fax 02 505 5500 (+322 505 5500)
[email protected]
www.royalwindsorbrussels.com
More on Brussels
fashion designers:
Jean-Paul Knott studied fashion in New
York and then worked for Yves Saint
Laurent in Paris for 12 years, during
which time he founded his own
company and designed collections for
Krizia, Féraud and DIM, before moving
to Brussels in 2004..
Shop at 5 Rue Léon Lepage, 1000
Brussels
Gerald Watelet worked as a chef at the
Michelin-starred restaurant Villa
Lorraine in Brussels before moving to
Paris and founding his own fashion
house in 1988. From his modest first
show at the Belgian Embassy in Paris in
1991, his business grew, and he
launched his “Almost Couture” ready-towear range in 1998. In 2003, he took
over Philippe Venet’s salon, staffed with
former members of the YSL Haute
Couture team. He is regularly asked to
design clothes for the female members
of the Belgian royal family and the
Luxembourgeois grand-ducal family.
Showroom at 62, Rue François 1er,
75008 Paris
Marina Yee studied fashion design in
Brussels and Antwerp, and was a
member of the pioneering group of
© Royal Windsor Hotel
▼
The Royal Windsor Hotel
designers who put Belgium firmly on
the design map in the 1990s. She now
has shops in Paris, Osaka and Brussels
selling her womens’ clothes. She won
the 2003 Modo Bruxellae Award for the
Best Young Designer
Showroom at 3 Marché aux Porcs,
1000 Brussels.
Mademoiselle Lucien is the
womenswear brand name used by
Pascal Di Pietro Martinelli and Laurent
Uyttersprot, who formed a design
partnership in 1998. Their first
collection was shown using Barbie dolls
instead of models, and their Fashion
Room boutique opened in 2001. Their
designs are influenced by Art Deco,
orientalism and the ballerina Akarova.
Princess Claire of Belgium is their bestknown client.
Showroom at 90 Rue de la Mutualité,
1180 Brussels
[email protected]
www.mademoiselle-lucien.be
Nicolas Woit Woit studied dressmaking
in Morocco before going to Paris to
work in the ateliers of Issy Miyake,
Chloé and Thierry Mugler, where he
won the Paco Rabanne Prize. He
returned to Brussels in 1990, and was
one of the pioneer designers to open a
shop in the then run-down Rue Antoine
Dansaert in 1998. His designs are
often inspired by vintage clothes, and
he retains an enormous affection for
the great Belgian designers of the
1940s, 50s and 60s.
Showroom at 80, Rue Antoine
Dansaert, 1000 Brussels
www.nicolaswoit.com
[email protected]
25
Haider Ackermann was born in Santa
Fe de Bogota in Columbia and then
adopted by French parents, with whom
he lived in various parts of Africa,
France and the Netherlands before
studying fashion design in Antwerp
from 1994 onwards. He worked as an
intern for John Galliano and then was
an assistant to Wim Neels before
presenting his first collection in Paris in
2002. He is now based in Antwerp.
Pascale Kervan studied haute couture
fashion and design in Brussels and set
up her own made-to-measure
womenswear business in 1995. A
display window at the prestigious
Astoria Hotel in Brussels showcases her
latest creations.
Atelier at 11 Champ de Présenne, 1390
Grez-Doiceau, Belgium
[email protected],
www.pascalekervan.com
More information on all Brussels
fashion designers is available on the
dedicated website:
www.modobruxellae.be
Marina Yee © Etienne Tordoir
The flea market on the
Place du Jeu de Balle
© OPT - JP Remy
Five things to do in Brussels
on Sundays
After the hustle and bustle of weekdays,
many visitors are surprised at how quiet
the city is at weekends. On Saturdays, the
city centre and commercial districts are
busy with shoppers, but on Sundays an
atmosphere of calm descends on
Brussels. This provides an opportunity for
the city’s inhabitants to lie in and then
enjoy a leisurely brunch or lunch before
doing their housework or odd jobs, or
playing or watching sport. The streets and
pavements are empty and many shops
are closed.
If you think the sense of calm means
there’s nothing to do, then think again!
If you know where to look, you can
continue to discover more facets of this
captivating city.
Second, most of the city’s museums and
art galleries are open on Sundays, often
for free! (Most of them are closed on
Mondays). You therefore have a chance to
catch up on exhibitions you missed earlier
in the week, whether at the huge Royal
26
Museums of Art in the rue Royale; the Art
museum extension, Autoworld and
Military museums at the Cinquantenaire
Park; or at the host of smaller quirky
museums in the suburbs, such as the Art
Nouveau Horta museum in Ixelles, the Art
Deco Van Buuren house in Uccle , the
Wiertz Museum, dedicated to one of the
most controversial figures of the Belgian
Romantic movement, or the Natural
Sciences museum in the shadow of the
European Parliament building.
Third, browse and shop antiques on the
luxury antique market of the Sablon,
which is located in the shadow of one of
the prettiest sacred buildings of Brussels.
It’s held on the Grand-Place du Sablon,
it’s invaded by an eclectic collectors
looking for Rococo chairs, plates and
event ancient porcelain. Boutique and
posh shops surround the market. Have a
brunch at the local Pain Quotidien. If your
style is more ‘hippy’, then head for the
flea market that stands a few minutes
from the Sablon, in the heart of the
Marolles: old telephones, little spoons,
rusted iron beds (ideal as door stops!),
vinyl records and prams piles up. The
‘Vieux Marché’ (old market) on Place du
▲
First, and most unmissably, Europe’s
second biggest weekly street-market after
Liege Sunday market of La Batte,
overflows the pavements between the
inner ring road and Brussels-Midi railway
station. From around 8.30am to 1.30pm,
the streets are filled with stalls selling
clothes, food, plants and flowers. As well
as the usual fruit and vegetables, there
are stalls selling Greek, Italian, French,
North African, Turkish, Chinese and Indian
speciality food and drink, where piles of
fresh sardines on ice are next to
rotisserie-grilled chickens, huge
containers of olives, trays of fat, ripe figs,
piles of fresh mint and coriander, Italian
charcuterie, Portuguese salt cod and
French organic cheeses. Further on are
stalls selling garden bedding plants,
herbs, fruit trees, cut flowers and a huge
range of house plants. It’s not uncommon
to see people carrying six-foot potted
palm trees making their way home on
public transport! Around another corner
you can come across stalls selling
Moroccan rai music CDs, Turkish silk
slippers, or hot waffles. The Midi market
is a real microcosm of the many
nationalities and cultures that live
together in Brussels. There are many café
terraces nearby where you can enjoy a
reviving cup of coffee or mint tea while
taking in the varied sights and sounds.
Brussels parks and their romantic settings
© OPT - J. Jeanmart
27
© OPT - JP Remy
Jeu de Balle, as the inhabitants call it, is
one of the most picturesque of the
capital. At daybreak, trucks unload their
treasures. This is where the popular heart
of Brussels beats. The surrounding
streets are packed with second-hand
shops, antique dealers and bazaars of all
sorts, turning the area into an Ali-Baba
cave. On Sunday the market and shops
open from 7.00 until about 15.00.
Brunches in les Marolles are especially
good at the Halles des Tanneurs, 40 rue
des Tanneurs (€25.00 per person, a kids
corner, a florist, a library and a wine bar
are also featured there) or Bl@Bla &
Gallery, 5 Rue des Capucines, for a more
quiet mood. This eatery is located in a
former biscuit factory and offers a large
buffet with all the classic dishes that
make up an English breakfast. Try the
cream scones and Marcolini pastries!
Fourth, the five themed tour organisers
that make up Voir et Dire Bruxelles
organise a wide range of bus, walking and
cycling tours in various parts of the city on
Sundays, covering themes as diverse as
chocolate, town-planning, folklore and
architecture. Full details are available at
www.voiretdirebruxelles.be
Finally, why not make up your own picnic
basket at a baker’s or supermarket and
then head off to one of Brussels’ many
parks to enjoy an outdoor lunch and
then a snooze? Brussels favourite parks
are Park Design / Jardin du Fleuriste in
Laeken where you can relax on a cutting
edge design bench, watching at the city
skyline, two steps away from the
Atomium.
At Le Bois de la Cambre, just display your
white napkin on the grass for a very
romantic ‘Déjeuner sur l’Herbe » Ronbinson Chalet will be soon re-open
and you’ll be able to reach it by boat - In
Summer, Roller bladers will enjoy this
park to the full, since cars are banned on
Sundays
Brussels Park or Le Parc de Bruxelles is
the ultimate urban park. A stone throw
from the Royal Museums and the Belgian
Parliament, it is located opposite the
Royal Palace. It is mostly renowned and
appreciated for its amazing sculptures.
If you fancy a sun bathing, head for the
Parc de la Woluwe and its soft hills and
valleys, next to the Avenue de Tervuren.
Whereas, if you don’t want to get out from
28
central Brussels uppertown, head for the
lovely Parc d’Egmont: great terrasse
culture and views to the Palace of Counts
of Egmont, and, why not?, enjoy your
brunch at the nearby Hilton, overlooking
the park.
P&O Ferries
08705 980 333 www.poferries.com
A new light to our destinations
© Jospeh Jeanmart
Sea France
0870 571 1711 www.seafrance.com
Superfast Ferries
0870 234 0870 www.superfast.com
Practical Information
VISA & PASSPORT INFORMATION
Visitors must be in possession of a valid
passport to travel to Belgium.
Further information can be obtained
from the Consular section of the Belgian
Embassy, 17 Grosvenor Crescent,
London SW1X 7EE - Visa will have to
applied for at the Belgium Visa
Application Centre, 5 Lower Belgrave
Street, Victoria, London SW1W 0NR. Visa
application centre’s information website:
www.vfs-be-uk.com/
bmi 0870 607 0555 www.flybmi.com
British Airways 0870 850 9850
www.britishairways.com
Ryanair 0871 246 00 00
www.ryanair.com
Brussels Airlines 0870 600 1728
www.brusselsairlines.com
BY TRAIN
An excellent way to reach Brussels and
southern Belgium from London and the
GETTING TO BRUSSELS AND
THE SOUTH OF BELGIUM
Brussels & Wallonia are easily accesible
from various points in the UK by air,
train, road, and sea.
southeast of England is via Eurostar
from either London St Pancras, or
Ebbsflleet International in Kent. Trips
from London to Brussels take 1 hour 51
minutes, trips from Ebbsfleet take 1 h
41 minutes.
BY AIR
A number of airlines operate regular
services out of Gatwick and Heathrow,
as well as from the main regional
airports.
For more information, contact Eurostar
directly on 08705 186 186 or click on
www.eurostar.com.
Most scheduled airlines fly into Brussels
National airport in Zaventem, which is
situated 14kms from Brussels city
centre, to which it is connected by a
train service that leaves every 20
minutes from a station in the basement
level of the airport terminal building.
Flight and departure information is
available by calling BIAC on +32 (0) 2
753 77 53 or by visiting the airport’s
website www.brusselsairport.be
Some airlines from the UK (Ryanair) also
use Charleroi Brussels South airport
which lies 46kms south of Brussels. A
coach service is provided by the airline
for 11.00 euros each way into Brussels
Midi Station (around 45 minutes).
Alternatively you can get the bus (N68)
from the airport to Charleroi-Sud train
station from where you can catch train
to Brussels. For more flight information
call Charleroi Aiport on +32 (0) 71 251
211 or visit www.charleroi-airport.com
More information can also be obtained
from the individual airlines below.
Those who do drive their own cars
across to Belgium are advised that a
valid national driving licence is required
and that national stickers must be
displayed on cars. In addition, EU
nationals are strongly advised to obtain
a Green Card.
Other agencies through which tickets to
Brussels and other Belgian destinations
can be booked are
International Rail on 08700 84 14 10 or
www.internationalrail.com
RailEurope on 08705 848 848 or
www.raileurope.co.uk, and
Railbookers.com on 08707 300 720 or
www.railbookers.com. Information on rail
services within Belgium can be obtained
from International Rail Ltd, on their
dedicated website
www.belgianrailtickets.com, telephone
08700 841414, or on the Belgian
National Railways www.brail.be.
BY ROAD AND SEA
Those wishing to drive over to Belgium
will need to travel either by ferry or by
shuttle with Eurotunnel. All relevant
contact details can be found below.
Eurotunnel
0870 535 3535 www.eurotunnel.com
Norfolkline
0870 870 10 20 www.norfolkline.com
29
GETTING AROUND IN BRUSSELS
AND THE SOUTH OF BELGIUM
Brussels is so compact that it is possible
to go everywhere on foot. However there
is also an excellent public transport
system integrating underground, tram
and bus services.
In addition, there are taxi ranks dotted
throughout the city, most often outside
the city’s top hotels.
When travelling outside Brussels, there
is a reasonably priced and efficient train
network, or the possibility to hire a
vehicle. Car hire is available to drivers
aged 23 years or more (who have held a
licence for at least a year) on
presentation of a passport or identity
card and valid driving licence. Cars can
be hired from the locations listed below.
In Brussels - Avis: +32 (0) 2 720 0944
located at the airport, the Hotel
Renaissance in the European district,
and Brussels Midi station; Budget Renta-Car: +32 (0) 2 753 2170 at the airport
and Avenue Louise 327; Europcar: +32
(0) 2 721 0592 at the airport, Chaussée
de Waterloo 538, and Brussels Midi
station; and Hertz: +32 (0) 2 720 6044
at the airport, Brussels Midi station and
Boulevard Lemonnier 8 - the latter only
hires out cars to drivers aged 25 years
or more. In Charleroi - TC Location Rent
a Car +32 (0) 71 323 334 (airport), Avis
+32 (0) 71 323 535 (in town) or +32(0)
71 35 19 98 (at the airport), Hertz +32
(0) 71 25 19 08 (airport).
Please note that in Belgium, cars are
driven on the right-hand side of the road,
seat belts must be worn (both in the
front and back seats of the car) and
generally there is a charge for parking.
However, the motorways, on which there
is a speed limit of 120kph (74mph), are
toll free in the South of Belgium. Parking
is easily available in inner city car parks,
many of which are underground.
ACCOMMODATION
Comprehensive brochures on
accommodation are available from the
Belgian Tourist Office
TIME
Belgium is one hour ahead of Greenwich
Mean Time.
BANKS & MONEY
Banks are open from 9am till 12 noon
and 2pm till 4pm Monday to Friday, but
most large cities have foreign exchange
counters that have longer opening hours.
Exchange facilities are also available at
airports and major railway stations and
also at cash points.The Euro is legal
tender in Belgium.
OPENING HOURS
In most cities, shops are open from
10am till 6pm or 7pm, Monday to
Saturday.
In addition, souvenir shops and flea
markets (in towns where they exist) tend
to be open on Sundays until 2pm.
HEALTH ISSUES
It is advisable for visitors to carry an
E111 (available from UK Post Offices)
with them in case of medical
emergencies. Medical services in
Belgium are among the best in the
world. Chemists (“pharmacie” in French)
are normally open from 9am till 6pm,
Monday to Friday. During the night and
at weekends, one chemist always
remains open to deal with emergencies the names of the chemists that are open
are shown in the window of every
pharmacy.
Disabled Travellers:
For information and advice, please
contact the Belgian Red Cross, well in
advance of travel. The address is Croix
Rouge de Belgique, Rue de Stalle 96 1180 Brussels, +32 (0) 2 371 31 11
or www.redcross.be
EMERGENCIES
For an ambulance and the fire brigade,
dial 100; for the police, dial 101.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN 2008
New Year’s Day 1 January
Easter Friday 21 March
Easter Monday 24 March
May Day 1 May
Ascension Day 2 May
Brussels Capital Region Day 8 May (1)
Whit Monday 12 May
National Day 21 July (2)
Assumption Day 15 August
French Community Day 27 September (2)
A Destination Closer than You Thought...
Miles
Time
Brussels
38 Charlerol Airport
127 145 Calais
73 197
Ostend
92 83 219 170 Bastogne
38 16 132 106 Binche
92 68 192 175 Bouillon
58 37 173 136 Dinant
72 63 199 150 Durbuy
69 60 196 147 Han Sur Lesse
78 69 204 156 La Roche en Ar
59 58 188 134 Liege
66 57 193 144 Marche en Far
41 28 117 92 Mons
40 24 160 118 Namur
85 76 211 163 Saint Hubert
86 86 216 161 Spa
54 58 86 61 Tournai
96 89 228 174 Vielsalm
14 32 135 83 Waterloo
17 28 150 95 Wavre
Brussels
00:45 Charlerol Airport
02:00 02:15 Calais
01:15 01:40
Ostend
01:50
00:45
01:50
01:05
01:30
01:10
01:35
01:00
01:15
00:50
00:45
01:35
01:25
01:00
01:50
00:25
00:25
01:45
00:25
01:40
00:50
01:25
01:05
01:30
01:05
01:10
00:35
00:40
01:25
01:30
01:05
01:41
00:35
00:45
03:30
02:00
03:50
02:50
03:10
02:55
03:15
02:50
02:55
01:45
02:30
03:15
03:15
01:20
03:40
02:10
02:15
02:50
01:35
02:50
02:10
02:30
02:10
02:40
02:00
02:15
01:25
01:45
02:35
02:25
01:00
02:50
01:30
01:25
Bastogne
Binche
Bouillon
Dinant
Durbuy
Han Sur Lesse
La Roche en Ar
Liege
Marche en Far
Mons
Namur
Saint Hubert
Spa
Tournai
Vielsalm
Waterloo
Wavre
All Saints’ Day 1 November
Armistice Day 11 November (4)
German Community Day 15 November (3)
Christmas Day 25 December
(1) Only in Brussels
(2) Only in Brussels and Wallonia
(except for the German-speaking
communities)
(3) 5 Only in the German speaking cantons
of southern Belgium
MORE INFORMATION
In the UK, more information can
be obtained from:
Belgian Tourist Office Brussels & Wallonia,
217 Marsh Wall, London E14 9FJ
E-mail: [email protected] www.belgiumtheplaceto.be
Tel: 0800 9545 245 (free brochure line)
or 020 7537 1132 (live operator)
Fax: 020 7531 0393.
Once in Brussels, more information can
be obtained from the tourist information
desk at Brussels National in Zaventem
and in Charleroi Brussels South airports
or from the following numbers:
+32 (0) 70 22 10 21
Or Tourist Information Brussels,
Hotel de Ville, Grand-Place,
B-1000 Brussels,
Tel: +32 (0) 2 513 8940
Fax:+32 (0) 2 513 83 20
(open daily 9am-6pm/Sundays 10am2pm during winter).
30
A view of the Eastern Counties of Belgium
© OPT- Jeanmart
Chateau of Vesves
© FAST
Wallonia
Belgiumon the
Wild Side!
At - A - Glance Guide
To The Latin South Of Belgium
Its history is older than antiquity • It was an opera that sparked off
its revolution • The people treasure their liberty above all else
The language is among the world’s most romantic • Its gastronomy is up
there with the Michelin stars • The wine it produces is low in quantity, high
in quality • The speciality soup is a meal in itself • Its artists lead the world
in the Ninth Art • The rustic ‘rivieras’ along its riverbanks are very laid back
Legend has it that fairies, goblins and elves are at home here • It boasts
palaces that rival Versailles • Its people champion open borders and
free passage • More types of beer are brewed here than there are days in
the year • The night life pulsates, even more famously underground
A nobleman led its first crusade to the Holy Land • The whole population
revels in the year-round merry-go-round of fiestas • In the past most of the
great powers have fought over it • Slimmers make a meal of its thin-sliced
salami • Trout, the ‘king of fish’ graces the best tables • The people are
famous for the warmth of their hospitality • The baguettes are oh, so well
bred • The climate is micro: somewhere the sun’s always smiling
Upmarket sports include hunting, shooting, fishing, riding, golfing
Victor Hugo decried its obscurity as a tourist destination • In the national
supermarket’s outlets a sommelier is available to offer free advice
One of its famous towns was dubbed the Café Of Europe • More spiced
beers are brewed here than anywhere else • Its haute couture competes
with the world’s very best • Its connoisseurs love their meat and wine
strictly red • Its capital city is the capital of avant-garde • Its people’s joie
de vivre is infectious • Two’s company, but three is always a party
The high ground is reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands • You can take
the world’s purist waters here • Racing drivers claim its Formula One track
is the finest • The French Fries were invented here and are crisper than
anywhere else • The only museum of its kind in the world is here
Clients who can’t abide bums on beaches, will love it • Its capital city
is ranked No 2 as a convention destination worldwide
It’s the south of Belgium. It’s the most Northern part of Latin Europe.
Belgian Tourist Office
Brussels & Wallonia
217 Marsh Wall
London E14 9FJ
Tel. Admin:
Tel. Trade:
Tel. Press:
Fax:
www.belgiumtheplaceto.be
020 7531 0390
020 7531 0391
020 7531 0392
020 7531 0393