Belgium Hotels

Belgium, a small country of some 30,000 sq km with a population of 11m, which has a big role in Europe. Its capital, Brussels, is home to the European Parliament - and it has a monarchy too. Three languages are spoken here - Flemish, French and, for most of the population, English. Lying between France and Germany, this is one of the ‘Low Countries’, with a landscape close to sea level. However, it isn’t all flat - go east and you will find wooded hills.

There are many waterways, which run through its towns and cities giving them an attractive character for the visitor. It is a nation easy to reach and get about in, with an excellent transport infrastructure - ports, railway network and motorways. Art, culture and tradition persist strongly in this country, which has a surprising number of processions and carnivals every year, some relating to religion, others to ancient myth and folklore.

You eat well in Belgium, famous in particular for its chocolate and its patisserie. Perhaps less famous are its chips - it is said to have invented ‘French fries’ - and delicious waffles, best eaten from food stalls on the street or the beach, washed down perhaps with locally made beer. Bruges is probably the best city for the tourist to visit as its entire historic centre is a world heritage site and it is a small city so has a human scale.

It is a great place to walk and explore with its network of cobbled streets, bridges, rivers and canals. And there are always the windmills, so typical of the Low Countries.