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Tours & Walks Brussels
71 Reviews A meeting with a Brussels Greeter is a free of charge opportunity to get a unique and personal insight into the city. Your Greeter will take you to unusual and often hidden places that are off the...
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Pedestrian tunnel Antwerp
13 Reviews This is worth mentioning as well. There are two flights of escalators to reach the tunnel. Though they are still steep and very long. No wonder the escalator system were built to descent the height...
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Nearby Towns or Villages. Brugge
22 Reviews In Brugge, I rented a bike and followed an easy route to the Netherlands. The path was next to the tree-lined Damme canal with the occasional windmill and small town on the side - there was even a pub...
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Down on the Beach Oostende
7 Reviews When a grain of sand enters an oyster shell, the oyster covers it with nacre, a substance the oyster also uses to coat the inside of its shell. Layer upon layer of nacre is deposited on the grain of...
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WW I related Ieper
17 Reviews We visited the British "Canada Farm cemetery" in Elverdinghe, between Ypres and Poperinge. It's just one of multiple small army cemeteries in the region. It's not really a special attraction, but...
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Markets & Flea Markets Brussels
11 Reviews Go to the MAROLLEN (quarter in BRUSSELS) and walk around and I am sure that you will find beautifully coloured nice clothing and lots of fine gifts.......POTTERY e.g.. and....when the shops don't...
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Along the river, right and left bank Antwerp
19 Reviews Our favourite hang out was Cafe Beveren. Located on the riverbank in the centre of the city it is a `locals` bar in something of a timewarp. It seems to have stepped out of the 1960s and has at its...
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Quiet Streets and Areas. Brugge
46 Reviews Spend half a day making the walk from the north east corner of Brugge, along Damse Vaart Zuid, to the small town of Damme (about 5km distance each way). The entire walk is along a serene, tree-lined...
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Mercator Oostende
4 Reviews MERCATOR MARINE. You cannot miss it arriving at Ostend. The Mercator Yacht Harbour,the three masted sailing ship 'Mercator',it also contains many yachts. It is nice to take a walk among the pride of...
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Outside Ieper Ieper
14 Reviews Grab yourself a bicycle at the train station in Ieper...The surrounding countryside is beautiful and perfect for a ride exploring War Memorials or just to change up your pace of life for a day or...
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Chinese & Japanese Towers Brussels
14 Reviews These were commisioned to a French architect by king Leopold II. They are located on the northern corner of the Royal Park in Laeken area. I couldn't see much inside the Japanese Tower, because only...
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Antwerp-around Central Station Antwerp
13 Reviews As we were exiting Centraal Station, no doubt reading a map in one of our guidebooks, a local came up and suggested that if we liked architecture that we should visit the Antwerp Zoo, right next door...
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Belgian Windmills Brugge
18 Reviews There are four windmills along the canal that circles the old town section of Brugge. It seems as though most people do not bother to venture out to them, so, there are no bothersome crowds. I...
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Museums Oostende
2 Reviews A visit to Oostende is not complete without a visit to the Provincial Domain of Raversijde. One moment you will find yourself in the Middle Ages, the next shivers will run down your spine in the...
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Inside Ieper Ieper
7 Reviews This building on the Grote Markt caught my eye. It is reconstructed, of course, but its Renaissance-style frontage is fascinating. There was once a Medieval house here, called 'Der Wulf', then a...
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Jeanneken Pis Brussels
10 Reviews Where? Go to the dead-end in Impasse de la Fidelite, which is off the Rue des Bouchers What? Jaenneke Pis is a much more recent addition, dating back only to 1985. The statue shows a little girl...
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Surroundings-Zurenborg (Berchem) Antwerp
13 Reviews This area is situated between the Dageraadplaats and the Berchem Train Station ... for more info about the history of the Cogels Osylei and its surroundings, i.e. Zurenborg quarter, go to my...
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Churches / Museums / Parks Brugge
23 Reviews Where? In Potterierei, just under a mile from the old city centre What? A quirky museum of all things medieval: sculpture, books and manuscripts, religious articles, paintings, furniture - pretty...
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Statues / Monuments Oostende
2 Reviews Napoleon built this fort as defence against a possible invasion from the English. A British invasion never came and the fort was completed only upon the fall of Napoleon During worldwar I and II this...
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Parcs & Gardens Brussels
36 Reviews And suddenly we found ourselves in Spain. The statue of D. Quixote and Sancho Pança that I knew in Madrid was in front of us. Well, it is not Spain, but Spain square, wisely ornamented with a replica...
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Antwerp-South Antwerp
8 Reviews .. and a cultural center Off beat track regarding the evolution in the design: from hydraulic power plant to "cultural power plant". Also, off beat path considering its current activities and...
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Breweries / Cafes. Brugge
16 Reviews This is a great spot ....quiet at the time that I visited with the few people that participated in a bike tour with Quasimondo Bike Tours...we stopped in to have a refreshment...we discovered a GREAT...
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St Petrus & Paulus Church Oostende
1 Review Since the church looms above the cityscape when you exit the train station, you can't really call the Saint Peter and Paul Church "off the beaten path", and yet somehow it is. It's easy to disregard...
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Waterloo Brussels
8 Reviews Who never heard of Waterloo? The village itself might be small but the place of interest is outside the village. Here historici can dream of the big battlefield between Napoleon against big names as...
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Church: Saint Pauls church Antwerp
16 Reviews Inside the church gate, the Mount Calvary is situated, surround by houses from beginning 16th century. It's a peculiar, spectacular open-air theatre of statues, built between 1700-1734. It depicts...
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Everyone that goes to Brussels should visit this bronze statue located near the Grand Place. There are lots of stories about the orgin of this legend but they all agree that the son of a 12th century Duke was found reliefing himself on the spot where the fountain was erected.At the Grand-Place there is a tourist information booth at the corner of the Hotel De Ville that will give directions, or you can follow the street signs that begin on the left side of the town hall.
Baarle-Hertog, which is how the town is called in Dutch, is a Belgian exclave in the Netherlands, next to the Dutch town of Baarle-Nassau. The demarcation of the border here was extremely difficult as there were a lot of historical agreements and treaties between the Dukes of Breda and the Counts of Brabant. All these were confirmed in the Treaty of Maastricht, which consacrated the existence of a number of itsy-bitsy enclaves in this area.It is said that the borderline goes across a number of particular houses and, so goes the legend, during a time when Dutch law required an earlier closing time for restaurants, customers had to move their tables to the "Belgian" side within the same restaurant. All this sounds quite improbable, but Baarle-Hertog arguably remains as off-the-beaten-pace as it can get in Belgium.
If you like "of the beaten paths", I recommend to visit "Reinhardstein", also called "Burch Metternich". This imposant fortress, located in Waimes (Ovifat) was originally built in 1354, but destroyed after the French Revolution. Professor Overloop, resuscitated it from its ruins starting in 1969 according to 17th century drawings. It took him 6 years of hard labour to finish the renovation. He furnished the castle with old (sometimes weird) stuff. The castle was his home until he died about 12 years ago. Nowadays the castle is still occupied.The castle is open in Summer and visits are only by guided tour. Each room has it's own (funny) story. English tours, with a strong French accent (!) (75 min) are possible.Province of Liege in the East of Belgiumfor a map click here
This was a battle in the 1710-14 War of the Spanish Succession. Britain, Austria, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Denmark "The Allies" were up against France, Spain, and Bavaria. The war was caused by Louis XIV's acceptance of the Spanish throne on behalf of his grandson, Philip, in defiance of the Partition Treaty of 1700, under which it would have passed to Archduke Charles of Austria (later the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI).On 18 Aug 1705, Waterloo witnessed its first battle by the British and her allies against the French. Although not as famous as the 1815 battle, it was still important but is now largely forgotten. General Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough's brother, led a successful repulse against the French, marching on the same road that Napoleon was to take a century later and fighting on the same fields, and after the battle moved on to meet his brother to the North-East of...
The small town of La Roche is situated in the Upper Belgian Ardennes, 70km from Liege and 20km from Marche-en-Famenne. It's 1 of the primary tourist towns of the Ardennes region, nestled in a crook of the Ourthe River, surrounded by hills, with spooky castle ruins that overlook the town.More on my La Roche-en-Ardenne Page.
The capital of Namur Province and the political capital of Wallonia, Namur is located at the confluence of the Sambre River and the Meuse River. That's why it's often been attacked, destroyed and reconstructed.More on my Namur Page.
Marche is located in the province of Luxembourg, 100km away from Brussels, near the Ardennes forest, between the valley of the Lesse and the valley of the Ourthe.More on my Marche-en-Famenne Page.
Once the smallest town in the world, Durbuy is located on the banks of the Ourthe River, at the edge of the Ardennes, not far from Liege, Namur and Marche-en-Famenne.More on my Durbuy Page.
The Beguinage seem like an oasis from the hustle and bustle of Ghent. These beguinages were similar to nunneries. They were built in the Middle Ages for very poor women called the beguine who lived there lives in the same manner as nuns. They were not recognized by the Catholic Church as convents. Although considered a religious order, a major reason they were established was because the women needed to unite together because of the decline of the male population during the Middle Ages due to wars and disease. The beguinage that I visited, Beguinage of Sint-Amandsberg, actually seemed like a medieval co-operative with bright red brick row houses. However it was not actually that old, being built in the late 19th century in a neo-Gothic design. It surrounded a baroque church. There was no one there when I visited so I found it to be restful place after my busy day touring the city.
De Haan along the coast is a place many people miss in favour of bigger towns but just catch a tram from Oostende along the coast. Most foreigners who end up along the Belgian cost never seem to go further than Oostende or Zeebrugge where the ferries land them when they arrive. This is a shame as there are so many more places to see. De Haan is one of our favourites and a bit smaller than the rest. As a Swede, I like it very much as it doesn't have the usual tall holiday buildings along the beach, but instead smaller houses. It is also more picturesque than the bigger ones and feels more safe and fun with children.
Conrad Brussels Brussels
11 Reviews and 322 Opinions Location, Building
Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce Brugge
4 Reviews and 299 Opinions The Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce is definitely the most romantic hotels in Brugges. Stunning location,...
Hilton Antwerp Antwerp
17 Reviews and 256 Opinions OK we´d been wanting to stay here for years, but was always too pricey. We managed to get a decent...
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Q: Dear all, Does anyone knows whether it is possible to get a phone sim card in Belgium for use during a short term/traveller stay...
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