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 If Belgium's spotlight on the
European stage is a little dim, it's only because its people are
rarely boastful. This slow-burning country has more history, art,
food and architecture packed into its tiny self than many of its
bigger, louder neighbours.
A rich and bubbling vat of beer, chocolate, oil paint and
bureaucrats, Belgium gives off the heady pong of the bourgeoisie.
But stir the pot a little and you'll find an 'artificial state'
roughly made up of two parts Germanic Flemings to one part
Celtic-Latin Walloons.
Attractions
Brussels.
The city of choice for Eurocrats, Brussels is sumptuous,
historic and luxuriously cosy. With artistry richer than
chocolate, architecture as graceful as its cuisine and diversity
frothier than the beer, Brussels is an heirloom of northern
culture at its best. Get lost in a dense circuit of
cobblestone alleys before emerging suddenly into the
magnificence of the Grand Place, with its baroque guildhalls,
splendid Gothic town hall and ringside gaggle of pavement cafes
and intimate restaurants. Then see what else the backstreets of
Brussels have to offer.
 Antwerp.
The richly historic city of Antwerp is Belgium's most underrated
tourist destination. Few places tangle the old and the new quite
so enchantingly. Here eclectic Art Nouveau mansions stare back
at Neo-Renaissance villas, and medieval castles provide a
magical backdrop for the city's myriad bars and cafes.
Bruges.
Home to Europe's best-preserved medieval buildings, Bruges is
Belgium's most visited town. Suspended in time 500 years ago by
the silting of its river, this 13th-century city is blessed with
two medieval cores, the Markt and the Burg, and some of the
country's most compelling art collections.
In the middle of summer Bruges teems with tourists; out of
season its beauty is a easier delight to behold. The whole
historic centre of Bruges was added to UNESCO's World Heritage
List in 2000 and, in 2002, Bruges took centre stage as the
European City of Culture.
 The Ardennes.
Home to deep river valleys and high forests, Belgium's southeast
corner is often overlooked by travellers hopping between the old
art towns and the capital. But here you'll find tranquil
villages nestled into the grooves of the Meuse, Lesse and Ourthe
valleys or sitting atop the verdant hills.
It was in this area that the Battle of the Bulge once raged.
There are several tours available which make the most of the
ancient citadels of the region. The town of Namur is the best
base for exploration, offering plenty of transport options to
some of the more inaccessible spots.
History
Belgium's big-gun
neighbours France, Germany and England (which faces it across
the North Sea) long favoured this little nation as a nice spot
to kill each other. Conquered by German tribes, Christianised by
the 7th century and carved up during the Frankish Empire in
1100, much of Belgium enjoyed a golden age of prosperity and
artistry under the French Duke of Burgundy during the 14th
century. This was a boom time for the cloth-trading Flemish
towns of Ypres, Bruges and Ghent. With the demise of Bruges due
to British competition and a silted river, Antwerp soon became
the greatest port in Europe.
 The golden age began to tarnish in the mid-15th century when the
Low Countries (present-day Belgium, the Netherlands and
Luxembourg) were inherited by Spain, igniting a long battle
against Catholic Spanish rule. The fanatically Catholic Philip
II of Spain sent in the Inquisition to enforce Catholicism.
Thousands were imprisoned or executed before full-scale war
erupted in 1568. The Revolt of the Netherlands lasted 80 years
and in the end Holland and its allied provinces booted out the
Spaniards. Belgium and Luxembourg stayed under Spanish rule.
Napolean's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo near Brussels led to
the creation, in 1814, of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands,
melding Belgium and Luxembuorg into the Netherlands. But the
Catholic Belgians revolted, winning independence in 1830.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place (aka France and Germany),
Belgium managed to retain its neutrality throughout the century,
at the end of which Flemish nationalism flowered. Meanwhile,
King Leopold II began to amass a fortune for himself (and,
indirectly, for his subjects) by his genocidal exploitation of
his holdings in the African Congo.
 Despite Belgium's neutral policy, the Germans invaded in 1914.
Another German attack in 1940 saw the entire country taken over
within three weeks. King Leopold III's questionably early
capitulation to the Germans led to his abdication in 1950 in
favour of his son, King Baudouin, whose popular reign ended with
his death in 1993. Childless, Baudouin was succeeded by his
brother, the present King Albert II.
Postwar Belgium was characterised by an economic boom, later
accentuated by Brussels' appointment as the headquarters of the
European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
(NATO). The Belgium of today is home to a vast army of diplomats,
and with them has come a rampant, highly bureaucratic form of
internationalism - followed closely by bland skyscrapers and
intimidating restaurants. While the country's number one city is
being busily groomed to suit the rest of Europe, the Belgians
themselves remain nonchalant - the true spirit of the country
will always emanate from its people and its past.
In December 1999, Prince Philippe, 39-year-old heir to the
Belgian throne, married a speech therapist with Flemish and
Walloon roots, finishing an eventful century with what many
Belgians saw as a promising flourish.
Culture
Belgium packs
quite a cultural punch; world-class art, picture-perfect castles,
sumptuous chocolate everywhere and more varieties of beer than
plant and wildlife species combined.
 It is a place of the divine (moules et frites) and the divided (the
Flemish north and Walloon south are as different as raw chicory
and cheese fondue). The north and south speak different
languages and regard one another as culturally dubious.
Comic strips are another Belgian forte and while there are many
local favourites, Hergé, the creator of the quiffed reporter
Tintin, is the most widely known.
At the turn of this century, the sinuous architecture of Art
Nouveau started in Brussels led by Henri van de Velde and Victor
Horta. Horta was famed for his interiors which avoided straight
lines - ceilings simply became curved continuations of walls.
Stained glass and wrought iron were much used to accentuate this
whiplash of lines.
Belgian food is highly regarded throughout Europe - some say
it's second only to French. Combining French and German styles,
meat and seafood are the main raw ingredients. The Belgians
swear they invented frites (chips, or fries), and judging by
availability, it's a claim few would contest. And though they
didn't actually invent beer or chocolate, they may as well have.
Getting There & Away
Belgium has two
international airports, the main one being Zaventem, 14km
(8.7mi) northeast of Brussels. The other one, Deurne, is close
to Antwerp and has less frequent flights to Amsterdam, London,
Liverpool and Dublin only. Depending on when you leave, flights
to London can be cheaper from Deurne. If you're in Europe
already, a bus or train is the best option. Eurolines and
Hoverspeed Citysprint operate international bus services to and
from Belgium. Belgium Railways has frequent international
services. Brussels has three main stations and is the central
hub, with lines in all directions. Car/passenger ferries operate
to and from Britain.
Getting Around
 Getting around
Belgium is cheap and easy, which makes up for the rather
expensive, and often heavily booked, accommodation. While there
are plenty of buses and hiring a car is an easy enough option,
the country's transport system is dominated by its efficient
rail network. The fastest services are the InterCity trains,
backed up by InterRegional and local trains. In the more remote
areas, buses take up the slack. There's a good public transport
system (including trams and a small metro system in Brussels and
Antwerp). Taxis, which lurk outside most train stations, are
metered and expensive. Cycling is popular in the flat north and
many roads have separate lanes for bikes. Railway stations rent
bikes. It's also possible to hire a boat to cruise along the
many rivers and canals.
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