A complete travel guide to | Belgium & luxembourg
Introduction
GETTING AROUND
BY TRAIN
Belgium’s railway system (Wbelgianrail.be)
– SNCB in French, NMBS in Flemish
– is comprehensive and efficient, and fares
are comparatively low. If you are under
26, don’t have an InterRail or Eurail pass,
and are spending some time in Belgium,
ask for the Go-Pass 10, which buys you
ten journeys between any Belgian stations
for €50. (If you are planning on travelling
from Belgium to Luxembourg and have a
Go-Pass 10, use the pass to get to the
Belgian border town of Arlon and buy an
extension from there.) SNCB/NMBS
also publishes information on offers and
services in their comprehensive timetable
book, which has an English-language
section and is available at major
train stations.
Luxembourg’s railways (Wcfl.lu)
comprise one main north–south route
down the middle of the country, with a
handful of branch lines fanning out from
the capital. There are a number of passes
available, giving unlimited train (and
bus) travel.
BY BUS
In Belgium buses are only really used for
travelling short distances, or in parts of the
Ardennes where rail lines fizzle out. They’re
used more in Luxembourg, due to the
limited rail network. RGTR (Wmobiliteit
.lu) has routes across the country. Fares are
comparable to those in Belgium.
BY BIKE
The modest distances and flat terrain
make cycling in Belgium an attractive
proposition, though only in the
countryside is there a decent network of
signposted cycle routes. You can take
your own bike on a train for a small fee or rent one from any of around thirty
train stations during the summer at about
€10 per day; note also that some train
excursion tickets include the cost of bike
rental. In Luxembourg you can rent bikes
for around €10 a day, and take your own
bike on trains (not buses) for a minimal
fee per journey. The Luxembourg Tourist
Office has leaflets showing cycle routes
and also sells cycling guides.
ACCOMMODATION
Accommodation is one of the major
expenses on a trip to Belgium or
Luxembourg but there are some budget
alternatives, principally the no-frills end
of the hotel market, private rooms
(effectively B&Bs) arranged via the local
tourist office, and a plentiful array of
good hostels. Whichever type of
accommodation you choose, it’s best to
book ahead, especially in peak season.
In both countries, prices begin at
around €60 for a double room in the
cheapest one-star hotel; breakfast is
normally included. Reservations can be
made (for free) through most tourist
offices on the day itself; the deposit they
require is subtracted from your final hotel
bill. Private rooms can be booked
through local tourist offices too. Expect
to pay €40–70 a night for a double, but
note that they’re often inconveniently
situated on the outskirts of cities and
towns. An exception is in Bruges, where
private rooms – many of them in the
centre – can be booked direct.
Belgium has around thirty HI hostels,
run by two separate organizations:
Vlaamse Jeugdherbergcentrale in Flanders
(T032 32 72 18, Wwww.jeugdherbergen
.be), and Jeunesse de Wallonie in Wallonia
(T022 19 56 76, Wlesaubergesdejeunesse
.be). Most charge a flat rate per person
of €19–25 for a bed in a dormitory or
€42–50 for a double room, with breakfast
included. Some also offer lunch and
dinner for €5–10. Some of the more
touristy cities such as Bruges, Antwerp
and Brussels also have privately run
hostels, which normally charge about
€20 for a dorm bed. There are ten HI
hostels in Luxembourg, all of which are members of the Centrale des Auberges de
Jeunesse Luxembourgeoises (T026 27 66
200, Wyouthhostels.lu). Dorm bed rates
for HI members are around €20, with
non-members paying an extra €3.
Breakfast is always included; lunch or
dinner is €6–8.
In Belgium, there are literally hundreds
of campsites, anything from a field with
a few tent pitches through to extensive
complexes. The vast majority are simpler
one- and two-star establishments, for
which two adults with a tent can expect
to pay €10–20 per night; surprisingly,
most four-star sites don’t cost much more
– add about €5. All of Luxembourg’s
campsites are detailed in the Duchy’s
free tourist office booklet. Prices vary
considerably, but are usually €5–7 per
person, plus €5–7 for a pitch. In both
countries, campsite phone numbers are
listed in free camping booklets, and in
Luxembourg the national tourist board
(T042 82 82 10, Wvisitluxembourg.com)
will make a reservation on your behalf.
FOOD AND DRINK
One of the great pleasures of a trip to
Belgium is the cuisine, and if you stay
away from tourist spots, it’s hard to go
wrong. Southern Belgian (or Wallonian)
cuisine is similar to traditional French,
retaining its neighbour’s fondness for rich
sauces and ingredients. The Ardennes
region is renowned for its smoked ham
and pâté. Luxembourg’s food is less varied
and more Germanic, but you can still
eat out extremely well.
In Flanders the food is more akin to
that of the Netherlands, with mussels
and French fries the most common dish.
Throughout Belgium, pork, beef, game,
fish and seafood are staple items, often
cooked with butter, cream and herbs, or
sometimes in beer; hearty soups are also
common. Hesprolletjes (chicory and ham baked in a cheese sauce) and stoemp
(puréed meat and vegetables) are two
traditional dishes worth seeking out.
Traditional Flemish dishes such as
waterzooi, or “watery mess” (fish or
chicken stew), and carbonnade (beef
casserole) are also widely available. There
are plenty of good vegetarian options
too, such as quiche and salad, and you
can find vegetarian restaurants in all of
the larger cities.
In both countries, bars and cafés are
a good source of inexpensive meals,
especially at lunchtime when simple
dishes – omelettes, steak, mussels – are
offered as a dish of the day (plat du jour/
dagschotel) for around €12. Restaurants
are usually pricier, but the food is
generally excellent. Frituurs (stands
serving chips) are ubiquitous, cheap
and usually offer a variety of hot sauces,
such as stoofvlees (beer-soaked beef).
Belgium is also renowned for its
chocolate. The big chocolatiers, Godiva
and Leonidas, have shops in all the main
towns and cities, but high-quality
chocolate is also available in supermarkets
at a much lower price – try the Jacques
or Côte d’Or brands.
Beer in Belgium is a real treat. Beyond
the common lager brands – Stella Artois,
Jupiler and Maes – there are about seven
hundred speciality beers, from dark stouts
to fruit beers, wheat beers and brown
ales. The most famous are the strong ales
brewed by the country’s six Trappist
monasteries; Chimay is the most widely
available. Luxembourg doesn’t really
compete, but its three most popular
brews – Diekirch, Mousel and Bofferding
– complement the food wonderfully.
French wines are universally sold, but
Luxembourg’s wines, especially the
crémant (sparkling wine), produced along
the north bank of the Moselle, are light
and refreshing. You’ll also find Dutchstyle
jenever (similar to gin) in most bars in the north of Belgium, and in
Luxembourg home-produced eau-de-vie,
distilled from various fruits.
CULTURE AND ETIQUETTE
It’s nearly impossible to make a faux pas
among the Belgians – they’re a relaxed
bunch who take life at a leisurely pace
(so don’t be offended if a barman
finishes polishing the glasses before
serving you). Leave a ten percent tip in
restaurants, and greet acquaintances
with three kisses, not two.
SPORTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Ardennes is ideal for hiking, kayaking,
cycling and horseriding ; cross-country skiing is also
an option. La Roche-en-Ardenne and
Bouillon make excellent bases in Belgium,
while in Luxembourg the towns of
Vianden and Echternach – each about an
hour from Luxembourg City – are popular
destinations for hikers and cyclists.
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