Belgium Information

Apart from borderlines, Belgium shares the history, culture, and opulence of its neighbors France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, making Belgium a melting pot of various European lifestyles, cuisines, and architectural styles. Its strategic location at the crossroads of Western Europe also helped propel Belgium to stardom, from a tribal Roman province, to the bastion of many great empires, stage of famous wars such as the Battle of Waterloo, and to one of today's richest nations in terms of culture and economy.

Home of the Belgian chocolate

Belgium is divided into three regions-Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia. As the founding member of the European Union, Belgium is also the capital of the EU, which is based in Belgium's capital, Brussels, best-known for its Art Nouveau high-rises, grand palaces, and shops selling the world-famous Belgian chocolate. Brussels is a bilingual city with both French and Dutch as the official languages. Thus, it is common for streets and landmarks to have two different sounding names. The city's multicultural essence is also reflected in its African neighborhood in Matonge district, as well as by Saint-Gilles, a concentration of French, Portuguese, Spanish, Maghrebi and Polish communities.

Land of the avant-garde

North of Belgium is Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region that cradles Belgium's second-biggest city, Antwerp. More than 70 percent of the world's diamonds are traded in Antwerp, thus, it is called the “world's leading diamond city.” Apart from its jewelry, Antwerp has built a reputation on its artistic and intellectual culture, which has produced a long list of personalities-from Baroque painter Sir Peter Paul Rubens to today's avant-garde fashion designers Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester.

Venice of the North

While Antwerp boasts of modern buildings and nightlife, its neighbors Brugge, Ghent, and Wallonia are noted for their festivals and medieval architecture. Brugge has been dubbed “Venice of the North” for its winding canals. Wallonia, Belgium's southern French-speaking region, is celebrated for its fairytale-like castles, 12th-century Cathedral of Notre Dame, rolling hills of Ardennes, and the ancient town of Spa, the origin of the therapeutic bath.