Travel guide Belgium

Very popular in the early ^20th century, Art Nouveau was inspired by natural forms and structures: flowers and plants, but also their curves, and favored materials such as glass and steel in the midst of the industrial revolution. Belgium is home to many Art Nouveau houses and buildings, many by the master Victor Horta.

Belgium has almost 700 comic strip authors. Hergé opened the ball with Tintin and Snowy in 1929. Morris imagined Lucky Luke in 1946. André Franquin drew Spirou in 1947, Marsupilami in 1952, and Gaston Lagaffe in 1957. Peyo designed the Smurfs in 1954. And Jean Roba's Boule et Bill in 1959 was a precursor to modern comics.

The Belgian belfries, listed by Unesco, are towers supporting bells that punctuated the economic and social life of cities in the Middle Ages (working hours, lunch break, tocsin, festivals ...). The belfry was also a watchtower in front of potential dangers and represented the independence acquired by the cities in front of the feudal regime.

Beguinages date back to the Middle Ages and are listed by UNESCO. Single women came together to help each other, without taking vows. However, they lived devoutly and carried out social and medical work. Each beguinage included a dispensary, manufacturing workshops, a church and modest-sized houses.

The gradual reclamation of the land from the 11th century onwards pushed the sea further and further away and dug canals for irrigation and water drainage, which were very convenient for transporting goods to the centre. These can be found in Bruges, but also in Ghent and in the Belgian countryside linking the cities together.

Since the 16th century, Belgium has been renowned for the quality of its lace-making crafts. The work is divided between two production centers: Brussels, which specializes in bobbin lace with cut threads, and Bruges, which is the capital of the fairy stitch from Binche and of bobbin lace with continuous threads.

Whether you like soccer or not, you have to admit that it has one quality: it brings Belgians together around the same fervor, the same passion. Belgium has seen some fine generations (notably in 1986 and 2014), but has never managed to win a major trophy. The Red Devils are still a team to be feared!

Brussels is home to the European Commission and the European Parliament. What's more, Belgium is fortunate to be at the crossroads of Latin and Northern European cultures. As a result, its richness is unparalleled: Belgians are very open-minded culturally, and speak English and German in addition to French and Dutch.

A little cold, perhaps, but full of charm, with its tides, breakwaters, iodized air and vast sandy beaches. The Belgian coastline, with almost 70 kilometers of coastline, is part of the Belgian childhood, with its sand castles decorated with paper flowers and mica windmills, and its pedal-powered "cuistax" rides.

With the technique of glazing, this oil painting allows a luminosity, a transparency and nuances unseen in Europe. It depicts the religious, the daily life of the inhabitants. The Mystic Lamb by the Van Eyck brothers in 1432 was the foundation of the primitive movement, embodied by Memling, Van der Goes and Bosch. Brueghel the Elder and Rubens followed in the Renaissance.

"With cathedrals for only mountains / And black steeples as masts of cocagne..." Brel sang so well the Plat Pays. If Belgium deserves this reputation for its western part (the seaside and its hinterland), on the other hand, Wallonia is much more hilly, especially going down to the Ardennes, in the southeast of the country.

This means of transport is very popular throughout the country, whether you're going to school, to work, to the disco... You'll be surprised by the number of facilities available for cyclists (cycle paths, ramps, bike parks, etc.). Just be careful if you're driving or walking: they're the kings of the road!