Belgium Travel Guide

Browse the Belgium Photo Gallery

Cuisine

Belgian cuisine is similar to French, based on game and seafood, although its critics claim that the country is a nation of gourmands rather than gourmets – that is, portion sizes are usually generous. Quality, however, is not sacrificed, and visitors can expect flavorsome, unpretentious dishes. Each region in Belgium has its own special dish. Butter, cream, beer and wine are liberally used in cooking. The nation is particularly famed for, among other things, its waffles, its chocolate, its beer and its mussels. Some claim that the frite, or deep-fried potato chip, was invented in Belgium.

Things to know: Most restaurants have waiter service, although self-service cafes are becoming more common. Restaurant bills always include drinks, unless they have been taken at the bar separately. In the latter case, this is settled over the counter. The majority of cafes have licenses to serve spirits. Beers and wines are freely obtainable everywhere and there are no licensing hours.

National specialties:
• Moules frites (mussels and chips/French fries).
•Endives with Béchamel sauce.
•Ardennes sausages, ham, and pâté are renowned.
• Salade Liégeoise (salad with green beans, bacon, onions and vinegar).
• Stoemp (potato mashed with vegetables, often served with sausages).

National drinks:
There are over 400 beers brewed in Belgium, ranging from lagers and pilsners through to Lambic (made from wheat and barley), white and fruit beers, to Trappist monastery beers.
•Fruit beers, such as Kriek cherry beer, are a specialty.
•Famous names include Stella Artois, Leffe, Hoegaarden, Duvel and Chimay.
•Gueuze is a highly distinctive spontaneously fermented Brussels specialty.

Legal drinking age: 16.

Tipping: A service charge of 16% is usually included in hotel or restaurant bills, although an additional tip may be left at the discretion of the individual. Cloakroom attendants and porters may expect a tip per item of luggage.

Nightlife

As you’d expect from one of the continent’s major capitals, Brussels has an active and varied nightlife, ranging from highbrow theater and opera to the more hedonistic world of bars and clubs. The city’s ten theaters produce plays in both Dutch and French, while its key musical venues welcome a broad mixture of local and international acts. Most of the post-sundown action tends to be focused on two main areas: the uptown Porte Louise area and the downtown area between Place Roger and Place de la Bourse.

Elsewhere, the nightlife choices reflect the size of the town - but there is no shortage of fun to be had in any of the major cities. Bruges (www.brugge.be), one of the major visitor destinations, offers a good range of evening options, while Antwerp (www.antwerpen.be) has a lively club scene. For the serious clubbers, though, Ostend (www.toerisme-oostende.be) is the place to be.

The Belgians are keen on their food, and the country is very well supplied with excellent restaurants to suit all budgets - the perfect evening out here involves a gourmet meal. From mussels in Flanders to fine freshwater fish in Wallonia, you won't go hungry, and the eateries are busy at all times of the week.