Language · 11 published
Country guide
Belgium covers 30,689 km² and holds more than 11.8 million people, a density of 383 per km² that ranks sixth in Europe. It is divided three ways — Flanders in the north, Wallonia in the south, the Brussels-Capital Region in the middle — and the language divides with it: Dutch for about 60 per cent of the population, French for about 40, German for the one per cent in the East Cantons. The choice for a visitor is largely between Brussels, which carries the seats of the European Commission and Council and the headquarters of NATO, and the Flemish cities: Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Leuven.
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
1 place matches
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
Galeries royales Saint-Hubert - Koninklijke Sint-Hubertusgalerijen
The Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries are a prestigious ensemble of glazed shopping arcades in central Brussels. Designed by architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaer and inaugurated in 1847, they represent one of Europe's earliest covered shopping passages.
Source: OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata ·
Five to seven days covers Brussels plus two or three rail-linked cities such as Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Leuven or Liège. Staying in one or two bases avoids losing time to repeated hotel changes in this compact network.
Belgium’s foreign-affairs service publishes visa and short-stay requirements. Check the rule for the passport being used and the full Schengen itinerary, especially when Belgium is not the first external border crossed.
Brussels Airport connects directly with Belgium’s national rail network, and intercity trains link the principal cities without compulsory reservations. Local buses, trams and metros belong to separate regional operators, so one urban ticket is not automatically valid nationwide.
April through June offers long sightseeing days, while September usually retains workable conditions with fewer peak-summer pressures. Belgian weather remains changeable, making a waterproof layer useful in any of these months.
The euro (EUR) is Belgium’s currency. Card and cash acceptance can differ between a station machine, a market stall and a small business, so retain a second payment method rather than assuming one card will work everywhere.
Belgium uses 112 for emergencies and Type C or E plugs at 230 V. The recorded national guidance says mains tap water is safe.
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