Belgium is a low-lying country on the North Sea coast in the Benelux. With the majority of West European capitals within 1,000 km of the Belgian capital of Brussels, and as a member of the long-standing international Benelux community, Belgium sits at the crossroads of Western Europe. Its immediate neighbors are France to the southwest, Luxembourg to the southeast, Germany to the east and the Netherlands to the north.
Belgium is a densely populated country trying to balance the conflicting demands of urbanization, transportation, industry, commercial and intensive agriculture. It imports large quantities of raw materials and exports a large volume of manufactured goods, mostly to the EU.
Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830. It was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II and has many war graves near the battle zones, most of them are around Ieper (in English archaically rendered as Ypres, with Yperite another name for mustard gas due to intensive use there in WWI). It has prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Tensions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Brussels Airport (also known as Zaventem due to the town in which it is mainly located) is Belgium's main airport, IATA code BRU. It is not located in Brussels proper, but in surrounding Flanders. The airport is the base of the national airline Brussels Airlines , which was founded when SN Brussels Airlines and its low budget sister company Virgin Express merged in March 2007. All other full-service airlines use BRU, as well as budget carriers such as Vueling and SkyEurope
By car - Major European highways like the E-19, E-17, E-40, E-411 and E-313 pass through Belgium.
By bus - You can get to Belgium from all over Europe on Eurolines coaches. International busses have stopovers in Antwerpen, Brussels north-station, Leuven & Liege.
By ship - There are overnight ferries to/from Zeebrugge from Hull in England and Rosyth in Scotland, but they are not cheap. There's also a vehicle-only daytime service from Oostende to Ramsgate in England.
By Train - There are direct trains between Brussels and:
Amsterdam, Luxembourg (normal trains, running every hour)
Paris, Köln/Cologne, Amsterdam (Thalys)
Lyon, Bordeaux, Paris-CDG airport and many other French cities (TGV Bruxelles-France).
London (Eurostar) all tickets from London allow you free onward travel within Belgium; all tickets to London include free travel from any Belgian trainstation to Brussels South, where Eurostar departs.
Frankfurt, Köln/Cologne (ICE)
Berlin, Hamburg (night train)
They connect with domestic trains at Brussels' Gare du Midi/Zuidstation, and with all Eurostar or ICE and some Thalys tickets, you can finish your journey for free on domestic trains. For all high-speed and sleeper trains, you need to book in advance for cheap fares, either online or using a travel agency.
You might want to check the TGV connections to Lille too. The trains from the rest of France to Lille are more frequent and usually cheaper. There is a direct train connection from Lille Flandres to Ghent and Antwerp. If your TGV arrives in Lille Europe, it will take a 15 min walk to the Lille Flandres railway station.
STAY SAFE
Except for certain neighbourhoods in central Brussels and the outer edge of Antwerp (the port and docks), Belgium is a safe country. Belgians are somewhat shy and introverted, but generally helpful towards strangers.
For those landing in Charleroi and Liège, those are the regions that boast the highest crime rates in Southern Belgium. But if you keep an eye on your belongings, and don't wander alone at night, nothing really serious can happen to you.
Muslims and people of North African ancestry may experience mild resentment, a problem that is particularly acute in Brussels and Antwerp. Always use your common sense, of course. Don't walk in empty streets in the middle of the night, showing off expensive equipment or jewelry. Marijuana laws are quite lenient, with small amounts only punishable by fines.
RESPECT
The Belgian attitude towards life is one of humility, and being proud of what's given to you. A real Belgian patriot is very hard to find. The different duchies and counties making up the "Southern Low Countries" were first united in the 15th century, only to be separated in the 16th century from the "Northern Low Countries" (today Netherlands) after decades of war. Afterwards the territory we today call "Belgium" was part of the Spanish (1501-1713) Austrian (1713-1790) and French (1790-1815) Empires. It was briefly re-united with the Netherlands in 1815 but broke away again in 1830 to become the Kingdom of Belgium. Every one of these rulers have left their mark in palaces, castles, forts and cities which form the rich historic tapestry that is Belgium today.
Belgium is easily as open minded as e.g. the Netherlands, and foreigners are easily forgiven for their wrongdoings. It has a Catholic history, but with most of the people it is not a problem to comment on religious topics. In fact, most people are not in the least religious.
Most Belgians do not like to discuss their wages or their political preferences. Especially when people talk about politicians they oppose they may be very unwilling to disclose who they actually support. Belgian politics are complicated for strangers, and even for Belgians too.
Depending on who you talk to, talking about right-wing politics may spark heated discussions. Flanders especially is very polarized between the far right (the second largest party, 20% of the vote) and all other parties, which are more liberal-leaning.
Also be careful about commenting on Flemish identity, it could cause some trouble. Do not mistake patriotism, even Flemish nationalism, for far right sympathy as many Flemish nationalists are actually quite liberal and cosmopolitan.
Language is a very contentious issue, and is the subject of endless political wrangling. Although many people in Flanders speak and understand French reasonably well, you may wish to avoid approaching people in French unless you speak no other language; English is preferable. On the other hand, Dutch is not widely understood in French-speaking Wallonia. To speak French in Flanders is sometimes considered as offending.
CITIES
