Thursday, June 11, 2015

10 places you must visit in Belgium

1. Brussels:

Brussels

Brussels:
Playing the role for French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, Brussels is one of the most attractive places in the world. Officially the locality is known as the Brussels-Capital Region and the entire locality is comprised of 19 municipalities. The City of Brussels, which is also the capital of Belgium is also located here. the metropolitan area contains over 15 million populations and they are mostly comprised of the Flemish and French. This is a multilingual center as a large number of people are living here who have their origin in the other lands. Besides, this has become a hub of international politics and culture. The region also hosts some of the institutions of the European Union and is used as the headquarters of some other organizations such as NATO. The city was under the Dutch speaking people but from the beginning of the 19th century, the language has moved to French for the city being dominated by French people. Now the city uses both the languages in almost every cases but majority of the people prefer to speak French language. The history of city dates back to 979 and the history is related with transferring of some religious relics. The city got completed in the 13 th century and became a center of attraction for everyone.

2. Bruges:

Bruges

Bruges:
Located at the northwest part of Belgium, Bruges is mostly famous for its diversified cultures and museums filled with ancient relics. Earlier, it was an important center for fishing and trade and commerce in the European zone. Now, Bruges is the capital of West Flanders and also achieved fame for the canals, streets made with cobbles and the ancient buildings of mediaeval ages. Visitors prefer to take their meals at the restaurants and cafes which are set in the old and ancient buildings of the 17th century. The views of the city have made it more attractive to the visitors from home and abroad. The city is also located in the Flemish Region of the country and thus majority of the people use Dutch to communicate. A notable portion of the city is at off the coast where the scenarios are exceptional and charming. The city also holds a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For the canals based communication system, often the city is termed as the Venice of the North. The Bruges port is economically important for the city and the College of Europe is also located here. Due to its connection with the Sea, it was considered as a coastal settlement and relics of Bronze and Iron Age are found here. The city has passed its golden eras from the 12 th to 15 th century and experienced a decline after the 15th century for some times. Now the city has become one of the major tourist attractions in the world for the medieval structures alone.

 

3. Antwerp:

Antwerp

Antwerp:
The city is more famous for its connection with the Middle Ages than being one of the biggest port city of Belgium. Earlier, it was the center of traders, cutters and polishers of diamond and played the same role for centuries. The European fashion academy, also known as the Royal Academy of Fine Arts was established in 1663 and the academy played an important role to make the city modern. The city is located by the side of the River Scheldt in Belgium and is the capital of Antwerp Province in Flanders regions. The metropolitan area of the city houses a good number of inhabitants and thus it has become a populous city in Belgium. The city has been playing important roles for economy and culture since the 15 th century and experienced some memorable events of history. The city has also hosted some of the important events like the 1920 Summer Olympics, World Gymnastics Championships in the early part of 1900. The city was a prime target during the World Wars for its port and experienced German occupation till May of 1940. Now the city has a good number of old building and museums that preserve the history of the city. The Antwerp zoo is one of the major attractions for the visitors outside of the country and there are many other visiting places that has made it more attractive to the outsiders.

 

4. Ghent:

Ghent

Ghent:
Ghent is one of the richest cities in Belgium and located on the northwest part of the country. The city is on the beginning of the confluence of the Rivers – Leie and Scheldt. The medieval landmarks have made the city attractive to all and consequently a large number of people come to visit the city. A 12th century castle and a row of guildhalls have turned into the icon for the city. The city is under the Flemish Region and began its journey in 1300. This is the second largest city considering the population in Belgium. The most attractive festival of the city is known as the Ghent Festival. The festival attracts a good number of crowd and is held for ten days together. This is a great city for cycling and many of the population use bicycles to reach their destinations. Besides, the city is also well connected with bus, trams and other transportation modes. The climate is mild and rainfall is in plenty. The medieval establishments are still in their original state while some of them have been restored. The Museum of Fine Arts is one the of the places where the visitors find some masterpieces of paintings from some renowned artists. The culinary tradition of Ghent is admirable especially the classic meat stew, chocolates, brown Trappist, candies etc. are favorite to the outsiders in line with the other delicious food items.

5. Mons:

Mons

Mons:
Mons is one of the most important cities in Belgium and the municipality includes a good number of well reputed institutions. The city has also gained the title of European Capital of Culture for its extraordinary patronization to cultural activities and also it holds different festivals round the year. It is said that the city was settled even before the arrival of Julius Caesar in the 1 st century BC. Naming of the city also has some histories that date back to the 7-th century. The city started growing after the 12th century and unfortunately the city had fallen under the target of different rulers and nations. After the fall of French Empire, the city became a bit relaxed and turned in to the center of heavy industry during the Industrial Revolution. For the establishment of the heavy industries, the local culture became highly influenced by the people working there. The city suffered extreme bombings during the Second World War as it was considered as the center of industrial hub for the country. Now everything has been changed and the city is filled with different beautiful structures and places like The Grand Place, The City Hall, The collegiate church of Sainte-Waudru, Museum François Duesberg etc. Week-long series of festivities took place in the city and they are pretty ancients as well. As a result, the city remains crowded with the foreign visitors.

6. Soignies:

Soignies

Soignies:
Soignies is the municipality that is comprised of a town and a couple of villages. There are six villages with the Soignies town and the municipality is located in the province of Hainaut. The military headquarters of NATO is located at Casteau, one of the villages of this municipality. Naming of the locality has some specific histories and the origin of the name appeared from a Latin word – sunicam referring to the Senne. In fact, Senne is a spring located near to Soignies and the river has crossed Brussels as well. The locality is also renowned in the world for the blue limestone and specifically for the glass industry. The glasses made here are globally famous for their quality and special features. History of the locality dates back to the 7 th century. An abbey was set here by a wealthy governor and gradually a city grew up centering the abbey. Before the settlement, the locality was filled with forests and some of the parts of the forests are still found there. The locality has some special sites for its visitors and among them the collegiate church of St Vincent is notable. The church is one the of the Romanesque churches in the country. Besides, the cloth market near the church is also a notable place and that has been operating since the 16th century. Moreover, the local festivals and carnivals are also attractive for the outsiders in the municipality.

7. Tournai:

Tournai

Tournai:
Tournai is slightly remote from Brussels and is a metropolitan area. The city name is pronounced differently in different languages and has a notable number of inhabitants. This is a Walloon city and municipality and also a part of Hainut province. This is one of the oldest city of Belgium and has a great contribution in the cultural history of the country. The geographical location describes that the city is at the southern border of Flemish plain under the Wallonia region in Belgium and connected with the River Scheldt. The city is part of different administrative organizations from different regions. A group of French speaking people also live here and the municipality is the combination of some former other municipalities which has made it bigger than the other municipalities of the country. The history of the locality dates back to Carboniferous Period. The stones found here are dark and not easy to break. So, those are used for different purposes. The place did not have that much importance during the Roman times but became the capital of Frankish empire. The textile industry of the city boomed during the 15th century in line with the expansion of painting. Later, the locality was occupied by England and then again got freedom from the occupation. Now this is one of the most impressive places of Belgium and contains some of the World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.
 

8. Liège:

Liège

Liège:
This is the other city of Belgium that contains a good number of ancient relics of different age and the city is located adjacent the Meuse River. The city is under the Walloon region where majority of the French-speaking people live. The city has been serving as a commercial hub for the country for a long time and the old town is filled with different ancient buildings and establishments. The Opera Royal de Wallonie is the place where the visitors could enjoy opera and the Grand Curtius Museum also attracts them most. The museum is housed on a building that dates back to the 17th century. The city is adjacent to the borders of Netherlands and Germany and is former industrial hub of Wallonia. Presently, the city is also playing important roles in economic and cultural aspects of the country. With a huge metropolitan area, the city has become one of the most populous cities in the country. Human settlement on the city dates back even before the Roman empire got established here and many of the natives were turned into Christianity. The city has suffered different damages during different times for its importance as a strategic position. Liège has also experienced the first and second World War and got damaged. The local industry declined to some extent and the employment conditions also deteriorated. The economic conditions got changed when it opened border for the European Union. Now this is one of the most visiting cities in Belgium for different attractive places.


9. Dinant:

Dinant

Dinant:
Dinant is a city in Belgium and mostly famous for its fertile lands. Agriculture is the key economic activates here. The city is located on the River Meuse and it is under the Namur province in Belgium. Positioned in the upper Meuse Valley, the city is around 90 kilometers away from Brussels. The river has been separated where the city is located. Human settlement began away from the river though in most cases the settlements are done in the river banks. Later, the settlement took the shape of a town and now it has turned into Dinant. The locals used to get their products and materials for agriculture from the river while the limestone was another source of wealth to the people. The city had its population even before the Roman times and dates back to 7 th century. The city also got severely damaged during the first World War while different parties fought to capture the town. The city also suffered the largest massacre committed by the Germans when over 5000 civilians were killed by the German soldiers. Some of the landmarks had to be rebuilt. Now the city has several attractive sites to visit and enjoy. The Collegiate Church of Notre Dame de Dinant is one of such places while the Citadel of Dinant is another one, built in the 11 th century, to visit for the foreigners. The house of Adolphe Sax, who invented the saxophone – a musical instrument, is also located here.

10. Ardennes:

Ardennes

Ardennes:
This is one of the scenic places that sustained different injuries during the World Wars. Now the entire region is filled with caves, rivers and dense forests. This is one of the perfect places for hiking while fishing in the rivers are also a great pastime for the visitors in the country. In fact, Ardennes is the combination of extensive forests with hills, ridges and terrains. The entire range has been extended to Germany, France and Luxembourg. The locality is famous for the charcoal industry which backed the industrial activities of 18th and 19th centuries in Wallonia. It was considered as the second great industrial region of the world for its massive production and productivity but the system declined in the 20th century. The region turned impenetrable during the World War II and thus it experienced less injuries of the Second World War. The mountains in the regions are 1300 meters in average height. The industries in the locality were established near the coal mines so that the transportation of the fuel becomes easier and coals were the fuels for the industries. But the scenarios have been changed extremely in the present days and the forests are now being used for wild games like hunting. Besides, the visitors also like to take a walk inside the forests. Cycling is another important activity here. As a result, the regions has gained much fame among the local and foreign tourists.

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