Belgium always had alot more going for it than the faceless political and bureaucratic buildingsthat litter the outskirts of its capital,
Brussels,would have you believe. A
stringof engaging historiccities such as Bruges, Ghent, Liège, Namur (and Brussels itself)offer
impressive architecture,
lively nightlife,
first-rate cuisine and numerous otherattractions for visitors. Today, the anachronistic images of ‘boring Belgium’have been well and truly banished, as more and more people discover its veryindividual charms for themselves.
There is reinvented
Antwerp, a
hotbedof fashion and slick modern design, along with the more bucoliccharms of the beautiful mountainous
Ardennes region to the east, and thedelightfully picturesque
Meuse Valleyas well as the sweeping sand of the
coastline resorts of the western seaboard. Belgium is also a land whosespecialties include ubiquitous
beers, delicate
chocolates,
moules frites and Belgian
waffles.
Easy to both access and totravel around, pocket-sized Belgiumis divided into the
Flemish north(Flemish-speaking) and the
Walloon south(French-speaking). Brussels,the capital, is the heart of both the country and the European Union, as wellas the headquarters of NATO.
Belgium’s
democracy is of the typically stable, cautiously progressive,western-European liberal type. The principal domestic problem is continuingtension between the Flemish-speaking north and the French-speaking south of thecountry. However, throughout the years, Belgium has evolved towards an
efficient federal system. Fivereforms have been necessary to achieve this (in 1970, 1980, 1988-89, 1993 and2001). In 2005, Belgiumcelebrated 25 years of federalism and for the first time ever, article one ofthe Belgian Constitution stated that ’Belgium is a federal state made outof communities and regions’.
GeographyBelgium is situated in northwestern Europe and is bordered by France, Germany, Luxembourg and The Netherlands. The landscape is varied, the rivers and gorges of the Ardennes in the southeast contrasting sharply with the rolling plains which make up much of the northern and western countryside. Notable features are the great forest of Ardennes near the frontier with Germany and Luxembourg and the wide, sandy beaches of the northern coast, which run for over 60km (37 miles). The landscape is liberally dotted with historic cities, castles and churches.
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