Lonely Planet in Belgium & Luxembourg

Belgium

Belgium has three official languages, Flemish-speakers (about sixty percent mainly in the north), French-speaking Walloons (forty percent mainly in the south), and a few small areas of German-speakers (mainly in the east). Belgium has a cultural diversity that belies its rather dull reputation among travellers.
The north and south of Belgium are visually very different. Marking the meeting of the two, Brussels, the capital, is a culturally varied city at the heart of the European Union. The north, made up of the provinces of West and East Flanders, Antwerp, Limburg and much of Brabant, is mainly flat, with a landscape and architecture not unlike Holland. Antwerp is the largest city, a bustling old port with doses of high art, redolent of its sixteenth-century golden age. Further south and west are the great historic cities, Bruges and Ghent, with a stunning concentration of Flemish art and architecture. Another enjoyable, inland Flanders town is the cathedral city of Mechelen, halfway between Brussels and Antwerp. In the south of of Brabant (mainly industrial and agricultural) historic city of Tournai. East of here lies Belgium's most scenically rewarding region, the Ardennes, an area of deep, wooded valleys, high elevations and dark caverns. The Ardennes reach across the border into the northern part of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a verdant landscape of rushing rivers and high hills topped with crumbling castles. Diekirch, Vianden and Echternach are perhaps the three best centers for touring the countryside, and Luxembourg City itself is also a great place to see.

Hostels and student accomodation

Use our Hostel Booking form to book your hostel.
Belgium has more than 30 HI youth hostels, run by two separate organizations, one for Flanders - Vlaamse Jeugdherbergcentrale, Van Stralenstraat 40, B-2060 Antwerp (tel 03/232 72 18) - another for Wallonia - Les Auberges de Jeunesse de Wallonie, rue Van Oost 52, B-1030 Brussels (tel 02/215 31 00). Most Belgian hostels charge a flat rate per person of around F380 for members, though in major centres such as Ghent you can expect to pay F500-650; breakfast is included. Many hostels also offer meals for F150-300. During the summer you should book in advance wherever possible. Some of the larger cities - Antwerp and Brussels, for example - have a number of unofficial youth hostels. These normally charge about F500 for a dormitory bed and are often just as comfortable. You'll also find some universities offering student rooms for rent during the summer vacation, Ghent being a good example. Rooms are frugal and rates are reasonable - reckon on about F500 per person per night. There are 14 youth hostels in Luxembourg, all of which are members of the Auberges de Jeunesse Luxembourgeoises (AJL), rue du Fort Olisy 2, L-2261 Luxembourg (tel 22 55 88). Rates for HI members are F350-750 per person, with the Luxembourg City hostel at the top end of the price range. Breakfast is always included; lunch or dinner is F200-300. Sheets can also be rented for an extra F125.

Places to See

Belgium is most famous for its Chocolate Often imitated but never bettered, Belgian chocolate is internationally famous: Leonidas are probably the cheapest chain, but many people prefer the chocolates of the smaller Neuhaus company. Every large town has at least a couple of chocolate shops.

The Ardennes The southern part of the country holds the forested hills and river valleys of the Ardennes, popular with canoeists and hikers alike.

If you're heading for Antwerp, you must visit the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Cathedral and admire the three Rubens paintings hanging inside, as well as the fine sixteenth-century interior.

Of the hundreds of exquisite medieval paintings on view in Belgium, perhaps the most wonderful is the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, a stunning and extraordinarily intricate painting displayed in St Baafskathedraal in Ghent.

Catch up on Hergé's Adventures of Tintin in Brussels at the Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée, which is devoted to the fascinating history of the country's cartoons and comic strips.

Tournai's antique town centre, with its narrow lanes and cobbled alleys, fans out from an imposing Romanesque Cathedral, decorated with extraordinary carvings of the Virtues and the Vices.

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