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OVERVIEW

A land whose specialties include ubiquitous beers and delicate chocolates, Belgium is often perceived to be dull. The image that it’s simply a staid haunt for business executives and Eurocrats, or the gateway to the rest of Europe, reinforces the idea. But Belgium is a prime destination if you’re interested in countryside, culture and history, served up alongside a huge proportion of highly acclaimed restaurants serving everything from haute cuisine to moules-frites or Belgian waffles.

Easy to travel around, this pocket-sized country is divided by the Flemish north (Flemish-speaking) and the Walloon south (French-speaking). Brussels, the capital, is the heart of the country and the European Union. Expanding outwards from the brilliant Gothic architecture of the Grand-Place, this cosmopolitan city contains numerous interesting museums and many fine eateries. The Manneken Pis statue is the place to pose for a photograph and laugh incredulously at others doing likewise.

Ostend, in the north, is a popular seaside resort with a long sandy beach, bustling harbor and shops to explore. With its canals and cobbles, thirteenth-century Bruges is one of Europe’s finest examples of a medieval town and home to some impressive art collections. Antwerp is renowned for diamonds and throughout all these towns it’s difficult to escape the bars and pavement cafes. The south holds great appeal for outdoorsy types – the forested Ardennes is a nature-lover’s paradise cut by rivers and gorges where walking opportunities abound.

Social Conventions
Belgians will often prefer to answer visitors in English rather than French, even if the visitor’s French is good. It is customary to bring flowers or a small present for the hostess, especially if invited for a meal. Dress is similar to other Western nations, depending on the formality of the occasion. If black tie/evening dress is to be worn, this is always mentioned on the invitation. Smoking is generally unrestricted.

Tipping
A service charge of 16 per cent is usually included in hotel or restaurant bills. Cloakroom attendants and porters may expect a tip per item of luggage. A tip is generally included in taxi fares.

International Travel:

Air
Following the bankruptcy of Belgium’s international carrier, Sabena, in 2001, Belgium’s regional airline, DAT (Delta Air Transport), has launched its new European airline SN Brussels Airlines (SN). 53 European destinations are served as well as others worldwide. For further information, check online
Approximate flight times
From Brussels to London is 50 minutes and from Antwerp is 50 minutes. From Brussels to Los Angeles is 16 hours and to New York is 7 hours.

International airports
Brussels Zaventem (BRU) is 12km (8 miles) northeast of the city (travel time – 35 minutes). The Airport City Express train connects all three main railway stations (Brussels North, Central and South) with the airport, running every 15 minutes, 0600-0000 (travel time – 15 to 20 minutes). The airport station is located on level one below the terminal. Other trains also depart frequently for the city and for destinations all over Belgium. Coaches depart from the airport bus station on ground level for major cities in Belgium, France and The Netherlands. Buses run regularly to and from the city and the bus station is located below the Arrivals Hall. Taxis to the city cost approximately &Euro;30, and are only available from outside the Arrivals Hall; all licensed taxis are recognizable by their yellow and blue license emblems. Hotel courtesy coaches go to Holiday Inn, Novotel and Sofitel. There are helicopter services to and from Antwerp, Ghent and Kortrijk. Airport facilities include car parking, car hire (Alamo, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt), post office, banks, bureaux de change, bars, restaurants, incoming and outgoing duty-free shops, medical facilities, computer and fax facilities and conference and business facilities.
Antwerp (ANR) (Deurne) is 2km (1.2 miles) east of the city. There is a regular bus service (no. 16) to Central Station. Taxis are available. Airport facilities include an outgoing duty-free shop, car hire (Budget and Hertz), bank and bar/restaurant.
Ostend (OST) , 5km (3 miles) from the city, has car parking facilities, car hire, bureau de change, restaurant, bar and duty-free shop.
Charleroi (CRL) (Brussels South Charleroi) is 5km (3 miles) from Charleroi and 46km (29 miles) from Brussels. Airlines serving the airports include Ryanair, which operates cheap flights to several European destinations from Charleroi. Buses depart every 30 minutes to Charleroi (travel time – 10 minutes). There are regular coaches to Brussels (travel time – 45 minutes). Airport facilities include automatic money changer, car hire (Avis, Europcar, Hertz and TC Location), cafe, business lounge and duty-free shop.
Liège (LGG). There are taxis and a regular bus service to the center, 5km (3 miles) away.

Departure tax
None.

Sea
Antwerp is one of Europe’s busiest commercial ports, but passenger services generally operate out of Ostend or Zeebrugge. P&O Ferries (tel: (08705) 202 020) operates between Hull and Zeebrugge (travel time – 14 hours).

Rail
The Belgium national railway, Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Belges (SNCB), operates frequent day and night trains to destinations in Andorra, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and the UK. High-speed trains – Trains à Grande Vitesse or TGV – operate between Belgium and France, connecting Brussels with destinations in Brittany, on the French Atlantic coast, the Côte d’Azur and the French Alps. Cities that can be reached from Brussels by TGV include Bordeaux, Cannes, Chambéry, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Perpignan, Rennes and Valence. TGV trains depart from Brussels and need to be booked in advance. Further high-speed trains are operated by Thalys , a service jointly run by the the Belgium, French, German and Dutch national railways. The main international Thalys trains link Brussels to Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Cologne (Germany) and Paris (France).
Rail passes: International rail passes include the Eurail and Euro passes, available to non-European residents and permitting unlimited travel in most European countries for a period of one or two months; and the Interrail pass, permitting unlimited travel in Europe to European residents. The Benelux five-day Tourrail ticket offers five days of unlimited travel within a period of 30 days by rail in Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. The Rail Plus Senior card is available to people aged over 60 and entitles the buyer to reductions of up to 25 per cent on international tickets in 19 European countries. For further information, contact Rail Europe (tel: (08705) 848 848; e-mail: or Belgian National Railways (tel: (020) 7593 2332; fax: (020) 7593 2333;.
Channel tunnel: Eurostar, a service provided by the railways of Belgium, France and the UK, operates direct high-speed trains from London (Waterloo International) via the Channel Tunnel to Brussels (Midi/Zuid). The travel time from London to Brussels is two hours 40 minutes. For further information and reservations, contact Eurostar (tel: (0870) 160 0052 (travel agents) or (08705) 186 186 (public; within the UK) or (+44 1233) 617 575 (public; outside the UK); or Rail Europe (tel: (08705) 848 848). Travel agents can obtain refunds for unused tickets from Eurostar Internet Contact Center, 2nd Floor, Kent House, 81 Station Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 1PP. Complaints and comments may be sent to Eurostar Customer Relations Travel Center, 1-1-G Eurostar House, Waterloo Station, London SE1 8SE, UK. General enquiries and information requests must be made by telephone.

Road
There are good road links from most of the European countries. Eurolines, departing from Victoria Coach Station in London, serves destinations in Belgium. For further information, contact Eurolines (52 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1; tel: (08705) 143 219;

Channel Tunnel: From the UK, all road vehicles are carried through the tunnel in shuttle trains running between the two terminals, one near Folkestone in Kent, with direct road access from the M20, and one just outside Calais with links to the A16/A26 motorway (Exit 13). Each shuttle is made up of 12 single- and 12 double-deck carriages, and vehicles are directed to single-deck or double-deck carriages depending on their height. There are facilities for cars and motorcycles, coaches, minibuses, caravans, campervans and other vehicles over 1.85m (6.07ft). Bicycles are provided for. Passengers generally travel with their vehicles. Heavy goods vehicles are carried on special shuttles with a separate passenger coach for the drivers. Terminals and shuttles are well equipped for disabled passengers. Passenger Terminal buildings contain a variety of shops, restaurants, bureaux de change and other amenities. The journey takes about 35 minutes from platform to platform and around one hour from motorway to motorway. Eurotunnel runs up to four passenger shuttles per hour at peak times, 24 hours per day. Services run every day of the year. For further information about departure times of shuttles at the French terminal, contact Eurotunnel Customer Information in Coquelle (tel: (3) 2100 6100). Motorists pass through customs and immigration before they board, with no further checks on arrival. Fares are charged according to length of stay and time of year and whether or not you have a reservation. The price applies to the car, regardless of the number of passengers or size of the car. Promotional deals are frequently available, especially outside the peak holiday seasons. Tickets may be purcased in advance from travel agents, or from Eurotunnel Customer Services in France or the UK with a credit card. For further information, brochures and reservations, contact Eurotunnel Customer Services UK, PO Box 2000, Folkestone, Kent CJ18 8XY (tel: (0800) 096 9992;

The following goods may be taken into Belgium without incurring customs duty by travelers aged over 17 years arriving from non-EU countries:
200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco; 2l of wine, 1l of spirits or 2l of sparkling wine or 2l of non-sparkling wine or 2l of fortified wine; 50g of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette; other goods up to &Euro;64.45 or &Euro;24.79 for nationals under 15 years (subject to change – contact the Embassy for up-to-date information); 500g of coffee or 200g of coffee extract; 100g of tea or 40g of tea extract.

Prohibited items
Unpreserved meat products. Other unpreserved foodstuffs must be declared.

Abolition of duty-free goods within the EU
On June 30 1999, the sale of duty free alcohol and tobacco at airports and at sea was abolished in all of the original 15 EU member states. Of the 10 new member states that joined the EU on May 1 2004, these rules already apply to Cyprus and Malta. There are transitional rules in place for visitors returning to one of the original 15 EU countries from one of the other new EU countries. But for the original 15, plus Cyprus and Malta, there are now no limits imposed on importing tobacco and alcohol products from one EU country to another (with the exceptions of Denmark, Finland and Sweden, where limits are imposed). Travelers should note that they may be required to prove at customs that the goods purchased are for personal use only.

Internal Travel:

Air
As Belgium is such a small country, there are no internal flights. Bus services operate between Brussels airport to Antwerp, Ghent and Liège; see Travel – International section.

Rail
SNCB operates a dense railway network with regular trains on most lines. On the main lines there are more frequent trains. For more information contact SNCB . Fares: First- and second-class, single and return tickets are available. However, a return ticket is double the single fare and is only valid on the day of issue. Children from six to 11 years pay half price. Discount travel: Weekend return fares are available from Friday (after 1900) to Sunday for the outward journey and on Saturday and Sunday for the return journey (on long holiday weekends, these periods are extended). A 50 per cent reduction card, valid for one month, is for sale. It entitles the holder to buy an unlimited number of half-price single tickets.
Go Pass offers 10 second-class trips for persons aged under 26 and Multi Pass (valid for one day) offers one return trip between any two stations for a minimum of two people and a maximum of five. The Rail Pass offers two people 10 single trips within 1 year. The Golden Rail Pass offers six first-class single journeys, between any two stations, to people aged 60 and over. Enquire at Rail Europe (tel: (08705) 848 848) for further information. For information on timetables, routes and special passes contact Belgian National Railways (tel: (020) 7593 2332; fax: (020) 7593 2333; Runabout tickets: The Five-day B-Tourrail ticket permits five days of unlimited travel within a period of 30 days on Belgian Rail. Principal stations in Belgium (and throughout Europe) are able to issue single and return tickets valid from the border to principal foreign stations (in conjunction with a Tourrail ticket). For details of Benelux Tourrail tickets, see the Travel – International section. The Euro Domino pass permits unlimited travel in any one European country for a period of three to eight days in any calendar month.

Road
There are many different brands of petrol available, and prices vary. Traffic drives on the right. Main towns are connected by toll-free motorways. It is compulsory for seat belts to be worn in the front and back of vehicles. Children under 12 are not permitted to travel in the front seat of a car. A warning triangle must be displayed at the scene of a breakdown or accident. It is compulsory to carry a fire extinguisher or first aid kit in all vehicles. The speed limit on motorways and dual carriageways is 120kph (75mph) with a minimum speed of 70kph (45 mph), on single carriageways outside built-up areas is 90kph (55mph), and in built-up areas is 50kph (31mph). Trams always have priority on roads. Bus: Extensive regional bus services are operated by the bus companies which publish regional timetables. There are long-distance stopping services between towns. Taxi: Plentiful in all towns. The tip is included in the final meter price. If there are no taxi stands, taxi companies may be telephoned for an extra charge of about &Euro;2.5. Car hire: Both self-drive and chauffeur-driven cars are available. The minimum age is 23 and the person must possess a valid full license with at least one year of validity (and which will be required upon collection of the car). Documentation: A national driving license is acceptable. EU nationals taking their own cars to Belgium must obtain a Green Card. The Green Card tops insurance cover up to the level of cover provided by the car owner’s domestic policy.

Urban
There is a good public transport system in all the major towns and cities, with underground, tram and bus services in Antwerp and Brussels, bus and tramways in Charleroi, Ghent and Ostend and bus systems elsewhere. There is a standard flat-fare system, with discounts for 5- and 10-journey multi-ride tickets. 1-day tickets and multi-mode tourist travelcards are also available.

Travel times
The following chart gives approximate travel times from Brussels (in hours and minutes) to other major cities and towns in Belgium and neighboring countries.

Geography
Belgium is situated in Europe and bordered by France, Germany, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. The landscape is varied, the rivers and gorges of the Ardennes contrasting sharply with the rolling plains which make up much of the countryside. Notable features are the great forest of Ardennes near the frontier with Germany and Luxembourg and the wide, sandy beaches of the northern coast, which run for over 60km (37 miles). The countryside is rich in historic cities, castles and churches.