Shopping 1
Steenstraat, the main shopping thoroughfare, is lined with a small collection of international chain stores. The nearby Geldmuntstraat and Noordzandstraat are home to boutiques. For details on the city's markets, see pl37. tApostelientje Mapp123 050337860 Balstraat 11 S 9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat, lOam-lpm Sun It's not finding lace that's the problem in Bruges - it's avoiding it. About 80 lace shops operate in the city, many tucked away in nooks and crannies or concentrated along Wollestraat and...
Laced Up
Lace kant in Flemish, dentelle in French blossomed in Flanders in the 16th century. Naaldkant needlepoint lace , which developed in Italy, was predominantly made in Brussels while kloskant bobbin lace is believed to have originated in Bruges. The latter requires thousands of painstaking and meticulous movements of bobbins and pins. Each lace-maker had her own patterns, which stayed in the family and were handed down through generations. The bulk of lace sold in shops throughout Belgium these...
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Veurne Furnes in French is a charming litde town with an absorbing cluster of medieval buildings, all barely a five-minute drive from the coast. Unlike nearby Ypres and Diks-muide, Veurne remained relatively unscathed throughout both world wars it was the Belgian army's headquarters in WWI , and its picture-postcard central square is now a day-tripper magnet. Accommodation is limited, but it's well worth an overnight trip, especially if you're travelling with young kids or looking for a...
TELEPHONE FAX Belgium
Belgium's international country code is Hj 32. To telephone abroad, dial the international access code 00. For an international operator, call 1324. Belgium has a single telephone zone for the entire country. This means it costs the same to make a telephone call within Brussels as to call, for example, from Brussels to Bruges. Area codes are incorporated into phone numbers. This means you must dial the area code as well as the telephone number, even when dialling from the relevant area. Phone...
Getting There Away Vau
Stavelot is not on a train line. If you're coming from Li ge, the closest train station is Trois Ponts 7.10, one hour, every two hours . From Trois Ponts, bus 294 1.20,10 minutes, hourly covers the 6km to Stavelot. From Spa, bus 744 runs four times per day to Stavelot 1.60, 25 minutes . Coo pronounced 'coh' is a tiny hamlet, 7km west of Stavelot, with a handful of buildings clustered around its premier sight - an impressive waterfall built in the 18th century by monks from Stavelot's abbey. The...
Information Yqe
Laverie Rue Borgnet 18 Self-service. NetffiFood 081 22 62 49 Rue Godefroid 1 per hr 2 S 9am-11.30pm Mon-Sat, noon-11.30pm Sun Internet. Office du Tourisme 081 24 64 49 www.pays-de -namur.be Sg Leopold S 9.30am-6pm Nearthe train station. Pick up a copy of the tee Storming the Citadel of Namur brochure - it has an excellent map showing five self-guided walking tours ranging from one to three hours. Tourist office kiosk s 081 24 64 48 PI du Grognon S 9.30am-6pm Apr-Sep At the citadel's base.
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The ancient town of Nivelles Nijvel in Flemish grew up around its abbey, founded in 648, and is still presided over by a magnificent and unusual church. About 35km northeast of Mons, it's Brabant-Wallon's main town and, if nothing else, makes a pleasant and convenient pit stop en route to the ruins at Villers-la-Ville. It's also an easy day trip from Brussels 30km away . The Office du Tourisme 067 84 08 64 www .tourisme-nivelles.be Rue de Charleroi 25 S 9am-5pm Mon- Sat, 1-5pm Sun is housed...
On Ya Bike In Belgium Luxembourg
Cycling holidays are taking off in Belgium and Luxembourg. The countryside in both countries is riddled with well-marked cycling routes and if you hire a bike, bring your own or buy one cheap secondhand, it's easy to either cycle from destination to destination, or to go from city to city by train, using the bike to explore once you're there. Alternatively, combine the two. For those into a cycling holiday along easy flat paths, Flanders is the obvious draw. Get hold of the multilingual...
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Unless you're into hunting, don't bother with St Hubert. This village, 22km southeast of Rochefort, is named after the patron saint of hunters. According to legend, Hubert, a local 7th-century count, was about to do in a stag when Christ appeared between the creature's anders imploring him to embrace a religious life. The count gave up his land and worldly goods and took to the forest where he lived as a hermit. Deer and wild boar still live in the region and the town has remained a favourite...
Snake Bites
Avoid getting bitten in the first place do not walk barefoot or stick your hand into holes or cracks. Half of those bitten by venomous snakes are not actually injected with poison envenomed . If bitten by a snake, do not panic. Immobilise the bitten limb with a splint eg a stick and apply a bandage over the site. Make sure you apply firm pressure, similar to a bandage over a sprain. Do not apply a tourniquet, or cut or suck the bite. Get the victim to the nearest medical facility as soon as...
Hiking
As with cycling, both countries are big on hiking. In Belgium, hikers have the choice of easy, flat terrain in Flanders or the more inspiring hills of the Ardennes in Wallonia. Popular hikes in Flanders generally follow countryside bike paths but make sure you give way to cyclists if walking on designated cycle paths . For a bed for the night, check out Flanders' hikers' huts p298 . Serious hikers should head to the Ardennes -either in southeast Belgium or northern Luxembourg - as well as...
Stedelijk Museum Voor Actuele Kunst Smak
Ghent's highly regarded Museum of Contemporary Art 09 221 17 03 www.smak.be Citadelpark adult child concession 5 free 3.80, lOam-lpmSun free S 10am-6pm Tue-Sun , better known by its acronym, SMAK, is located south of the city centre. It opened in the 1990s under the direction of Jan Hoet, one of Europe's most famous museum curators. It's a huge place and you'll need the map handed out at reception to find any of the big names. Look out for works by Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky and Panamarenko...
Www.dewittelelle.be
Hotel't Sandt Map pp176-7 03 232 93 90 www.hotel -sandt.be Zand 17 s d from 135 150 S Classy classified hotel down by the Scheldt that was once a customs house and later a soap factory. The rooms are a tasteful marriage of modern and old, and some on the top floor have charming beamed ceilings. There are also some duplexes. Hotel Rubens Map pp176-7 03 222 48 48 www .hotelrubensantwerp.be Oude Beurs 29 s d Mon-Fri 160 188, rfront backSat amp Sun 150 170 0 g Old-fashioned hotel with 36 rooms,...
Domaine Royal Parc De Laeken
The Domaine Royal Royal Estate Map pp70-1 is home to Belgium's ruling family. King Albert II and Queen Paola live in the Villa Belv d re former Queen Fabiola widow of King Baudouin inhabits the Chateau Stuyvenbergh and the heir-apparent Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde occupy the main building, the Chateau Royal de Laeken. All the chateaux are out of bounds to tourists, but you can visit the nearby Serres Royales, the Pavillon Chinois and the Tour Japonaise. For more on the royals, see...
Brussels Art Nouveau Top
Art Nouveau is Brussels' architectural jewel. Plenty of buildings can be visited see www.brussels artnouveau.be , but a handful is closed to the public except to those on ARAU tours p95 . The following in alphabetical order are Brussels' best De Ultieme Hallucinatie p107 Falstaff pi 06 H tel Hannon Map pp76-7 02 538 42 20 Ave de la Jonction 1 tram 91 or 92 admission 2.50 S 11am-6pm Wed-Frl, 1-6pm Sat amp Sun This lovely building, with its stone frieze and stained glass, was designed in 1902 by...
Oostduinkerke Koksijde St Idesbald
It's 6km from Nieuwpoort-Bad to Oostduinkerke, where a handful of local men have preserved an age-old tradition of shrimp fishing on horseback. Half an hour before and an hour after low tide, the paardevissers horsebackfishermen ride on stocky Brabant horses into the sea, dragging triangular nets as they trawl for shrimp. Until the start of the 20th century, horse fishing was still carried out along the Belgian coast, as well as in parts of the Netherlands, France and Britain. It died out after...
Carbon Offset Schemes
Climatecare.org and other websites use 'carbon calculators' that allow travellers to offset the greenhouse gases they are responsible for with contributions to energy-saving projects and other climate-friendly initiatives in the developing world - including projects in India, Honduras, Kazakhstan and Uganda. Lonely Planet, together with Rough Guides and other concerned partners in the travel industry, supports the carbon offset scheme run by climatecare.org. Lonely Planet offsets all of its...
Index
Abbaye de Villers 225-6 abbey beers 50 abortion 27 activities 300-3, see also cycling, hiking, kayaking, swimming billiards 90, 302 bird watching 42 boating 302 bowling 90 canoeing 289, 302-3 chess 90, 303 cross-country skiing 255, 303 golf 91,303 horse riding 246, 303 Ice skating 91, 256, 292 rock climbing 303 sguash 91 tennis 32,91 whltewater rafting 258 Adoration of the Mystic Lamb 161,6 alrtravel to from Belgium amp Luxembourg 314-16 Albert 126, 91, 147, 148 Albert II27-8,91 almshouses...
Food Drink
The Belgo Cookbook by Denis Biais and Andr Pllsnler, the creators of a London-based Belgian restaurant, Is a zany, In-your-face cookbook with advice on good tunes to play while cooking guinea fowl In raspberry beer, among other things. A cute expose on chocolate making and Its history can be found at www.users.skynet .be chocolat uk Belgians love their food .and foodies love Belgium. The country's cuisine is highly regarded throughout Europe - some say it's second only to French while in other...
Eating Drinking
tGanzeke 057 20 00 09 Vandepeereboomplein 5 mains 13-24 S Tue-Sun Family-friendly, no-nonsense brasserie good for a snack or light meal. On Saturday it s a favourite with stallholders from the nearby market, and the atmosphere is particularly animated. t Leetvermaak g 057 21 63 85 Korte Meersstraat 2 mains 18-23 S lunch Wed-Sun, dinner Tue-Sun Smooth new bistro - hidden on a quiet backstreet well away from tourist tracks - that was instandy loved by the locals. Sit at the counter or on a big...
Accommodation
Belgium and Luxembourg s accommodation scene ranges from riverside camping grounds to five-star hotels, with the whole spectrum in between. An interesting point about Belgium s scene is the rise in top-quality B amp Bs - we ve highlighted many throughout the guide. Accommodation listings in this book are ordered from budget to midrange and then top end. Budget accommodation ranges from about 17 for a dorm bedto 60fora double room, and includes camping grounds, hostels, some B amp Bs and cheap...