Discover BE

Belgium is compact and richly layered: Bruges’s medieval canal network and Flemish gabled rooftops, the Art Nouveau grandeur of Brussels and its celebrated restaurant scene, Ghent’s student energy and Gravensteen castle, and Antwerp’s diamond trade and fashion reputation. Distances are short — the whole country is crossable by train in under two hours.

The food and drink culture punches far above Belgium’s size: hundreds of abbey and craft beers, praline chocolate ateliers in every city, moules-frites as an institution, and Brussels rated among Europe’s top dining capitals. The Ardennes hills in the south add hiking, caves and a quieter, forested side to a country often visited only for its cities.

Top places in BE

• Bruges — A perfectly preserved medieval canal city — market square, belfry tower and Flemish gabled breweries.
• Brussels — Grand Place, Art Nouveau buildings, EU institutions and one of Europe’s most celebrated food-and-beer capitals.
• Ghent — Gravensteen castle, three rivers and a university-city energy that keeps it lively year-round.
• Antwerp — Rubens’s home city: a fashion capital, a diamond quarter, a stunning railway station and great nightlife.
• Liège & the Ardennes — Wallonia’s cultural hub at the gateway to forested hills, cave systems and hiking trails in the Belgian south.