Tag: Antwerp

Travel Tips to European Countries: Belgium

About the Country

Belgium is situated in the west of Europe. The berth here mostly comprises of flat coastal plains in the northeast, and southeast is occupied by the Ardennes Forest. Dutch, Flemish, French and German are the official languages of Belgium, with Dutch being the widely spoken followed by French. The weather here is pretty predictable. Months from April to September are the warmest. Diverse the weather is pretty humid and skies are gray, that explains why umbrellas besides raincoats are a part of the dressing. So, if the visit is planned for holidays during the rainy season, one must not forget to carry sufficient cover for maximum protection, as this is a coastal girdle. Imprint case of emergency call 100 or 112.

Culture

Belgians are English – convivial and will make every attempt to speak in English with a foreigner. Always remember to carry a small gift or at least flowers especially when invited over dinner. The dress to slack will be mentioned in the invitation, when invited for a party. Smoking in public is acceptable.

Shopping

Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend, Namur, Mons, Lige, Ghent and Mechelen are the main shopping centers. Belgium is famous for ceramics and benefit – beaten copperware from Dinant, laces from Bruges, crystals from Val Saint Lambert, woodcarvings from Spa and Belgiums finest chocolates. In jewelry, diamonds from Antwerp are on high demand.

Eating Out

The specialty of most of the restaurants is horse and rabbit meat dishes. Although visitors can find a wide range of ethnic foods, but the most famous are frites and mayonnaise and mitraillette; mitraillette is a large bun filled with fries, donair meat and garlic sauce, the vegetarians can ask since a veg. substitute for the donair meat. While eating at a restaurant, tipping is considered customary along with the value – added tariff. At the cinemas, leave a 0. 50 tip for the attendant and 0. 25 after using the public toilets.

Electricity

Voltage is 230 V again frequency is 50 Hz.

Travel

Delta Air Transport has inaugurated its new European airline SN Brussels Airlines recently. It flies to larger than 58 destinations in Europe and as well as worldwide. The Brussels Zayentem airport is twelve km from the city and it takes 35 magazine to grasp the city from the airport. The airport has facilities analogous duty free shops, car parking, taxi booking, car hiring, banks, post office, restaurants, and medical help. Internet and fax services are provided as the passengers. The Airport City Express train transports passengers to three main railway stations – Brussels North, At ease and South. One can avail a bus which runs regularly from the airport, taxis can also be hired which wait outside the arrival hall. Tipping the taxi drivers is witting customary. Train runs every 15 minutes.

Another airport, Brussels South Charleroi, is 5 km away from Charleroi and 46 km from Brussels. Ryan air serves as the local airline here and has cheap deals for contrastive European destinations to and from Charleroi. The facilities provided here are bus and train services, caf, car hire, and duty free shops.

Ostend airport is 5 km away from the city and car parking, car hire, duty free shops, and restaurants are provided here.

Antwerp airport is just 2 km away from the community. Buses drop to the Brussels Central Station every few minutes.

Liege is situated at a distance of 5 km away from the city. Buses run at regular interval here.

The departure impost at Brussels Zayentem is 20. 93, Brussels South Charleroi is 3. 49, Ostend and Antwerp is 10, and at Liege is 7.

There is a network of high – speed trains, which are operated by Thalys, from Belgium to France, connecting Brussels with other destinations like Bordeaux, Chambry, Cannes, Marseille, Lyon, Nice, Valence Perpignan, and Rennes. Booking should be made in advance for these trains. The national railway operates through outmost the day providing service every few minutes to destinations such as Andorra, Austria, France, Czech, Germany, Italy, Poland, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands. Insiders can avail the Inter – Rail act which allows visitors to travel almost 29 European Countries. This service is valid for residents who own been settled known for more than 6 months.

Duty Free Items

Visitors can transact alcohol, tobacco, cigarettes, coffee and tea off-track getting customs duty levied on them, but individual the goods should be limited. Check out for the limits before carrying such goods. Food items that are not preserved are better avoided.

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Belgium, One of Europes Best Destinations

Just a few miles from France or Germany, is the country of Belgium. Home to the European Union and NATO, this is considered to be one of the smallest yet industrialized nation in Western Europe.

People can take a train from either France or Germany to see this small country. In a day or two, visitors will be able to visit the various cathedrals, medieval cities and castles that are still there today. The tourists will also be enjoy the good food, beer and chocolate that this place is known for.

Here are some examples of these places.

The first is the Royal Museum of Ancient and Modern Art, which has collections of various paintings and art work. The person can join the tour or go about this place to be able to appreciate everything at a leisurely pace.

Those who love dinosaurs and see fossil remains of those dating back more than a million years ago can check out the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History. If the prehistoric remains are no the persons cup of tea, perhaps Autoworld will be much better appreciated since it features a collection of cars both old and new from different countries around the world.

The one thing the person will notice about Belgium is the architecture. Not all of the buildings are the same and this variety will astound anyone who is walking through the streets.

The most well known style of architecture in Belgium is known as the Art Nouveau. Here, people will see the different homes that will tell if this part of the city is for the high class, those in the middle and the lower class.

One statue that is quite cute is the Mannekin Pis or the Pissing Boy in English. This is located at the Cathedral of Saint Michel. The nice thing here is that the statue is dressed up during different times of the year such as a Santa Claus suit for Christmas or a robe during the feast of St. Michel. Other than that, it is nude.

The Atomium is a steel structure representing an iron atom with 9 spheres connected by corridors. Those who pass here will be able to get to the park and a miniature exhibit of the Europes famous landmarks.

When the people are hungry, the best place to get a bite is the world famous Petite Rue des Bouchers or the street of butchers. Every household here is a restaurant. Tourists can check out the various homes before deciding to get a table and eat whatever the heart desires.

Walking distance from here is the Grand Palace. This is the central market of Brussels where tourists can buy food and souvenirs before packing up and going home.

Aside from staying in the capital of Belgium, which is Brussels, the person should also check out the landscapes, artworks and architecture of its other cities such as Antwerp, Ghent or Leuven.

Lodges or inns in these places are reasonably priced. One can even take a leisurely hike to appreciate nature in the Ardennes Forest which starts from the city of Namur has a citadel built on a rock. The individual can either rent a car or take the train to be able to see these other wonderful places.

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