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| | | | A time to remember
From the Daily Mail
Every night in the little Belgian town of Ypres, the traffic comes to a standstill. But it's not the rush hour that causes the gridlock, it's the daily service of remembrance for the 500,000 World War One soldiers who lost their lives in the muddy Flanders fields around the town.
Each evening at 8pm on the dot, three beret-wearing buglers march out into the middle of the road.
They stop, turn - and play a Last Post that echoes round the vaulted ceiling of the Menin Gate, the colossal stone memorial to the Allied war dead, astride the main thoroughfare out of town.
It was along this route that hundreds of thousands of Allied troops passed, on their way to the horrors of the front line.
In those days, the gate didn't exist - nor indeed the rest of the town, having been flattened by shelling. But in 1927, when the town was finally rebuilt, the Menin Gate was erected in memory of Allied soldiers who had died at Ypres but whose bodies were never found.
One of the first organised tour groups to visit the Menin Gate was a 150-strong party from the British Legion, mostly widows and parents of the fallen soldiers.
And this summer, the Legion is undertaking a 75th anniversary pilgrimage, through its war-tour company Remembrance Travel.
'We'll be attending the Last Post, of course', says Piers Storie-Pugh, head of Remembrance Travel. 'And we'll be visiting all the key locations.'
These include the Essex Farm dressing station, where Canadian surgeon Dr John McCrae sat beside the Ieperlee Canal and wrote the famous poem In Flanders Field.
Also Tyne Cot, the largest Commonwealth war cemetery (11,000 graves) in the world. And the last surviving network of original British trenches at Sanctuary Wood.
Travel guide: Belgium
Where the bison roam
From the Daily Mail
The horses trotted steadily up the rise. At the ridge we slowed, pulled in the reins, and jostled together in a group, looking down on the pasture land below. The sight that greeted us was amazing. Forty or so North American bison, dark, bulky and grazing contentedly. We might have slipped back 100 years, to the plains of the American West.
In fact, I was on a short break to the Belgian Ardennes. The Ardennes stretch north from France to Germany; the Belgian part is one of the prettiest, with pine-clad hills and villages of turreted chateaux and grey-spired churches. Durbuy is perhaps the prettiest village of all; clustered below wooded hills on a bend in the River Ourthe, with a central square of 17th-century buildings.
The corridors and stairs in the ancient Hotel Vieux Durbuy creaked reassuringly. And at the Jean de Boheme restaurant, named after the 13th-century founder of the town, the menu included a filet pur de boeuf so tender and succulent that it almost fell off the fork. But then Belgian cuisine has made something of a name for itself. Brussels, for example, now has more Michelin-starred restaurants than Paris.
At the nearby village of Neffe, I booked a day ride at the local stables. On a quiet Sunday morning, a small group of us saddled up our horses and rode out towards the neighbouring village of Recogne. And it was here, after two hours in the saddle, that we saw the bison.
These huge beasts once roamed in their millions on the plains of North America, but they were hunted almost to extinction by 1900 as part of the attacks on Native American culture. The bison in the Ardennes belong to Jean d'Hoffschmidt, whose family has lived in the region since the 17th century.
Jean, a softly spoken man of 34, who speaks perfect English, has an obsession with the Wild West. Jean has converted Recogne into a Wild West visitors' centre. Guests can tour the museum, with scenes painstakingly recreated from Native American life.
Outside the visitors' centre, we stopped to pat Coco, the farm's 2,000lb tame bison, and strolled around Recogne's lovely manicured gardens. Then it was time to get back in the saddle.
The only members of our party not impressed by the bison farm were the horses. They bunched together, whinnying, as, riding out, we passed a herd of 300, standing like small black tanks in the fields. But once clear of the farm, we headed into the shadows of the aptly named Sans Souci - 'without a care' - forest, gave them free rein, and cantered home.
Travel guide: Belgium
Maigret's manor
From the Mail on Sunday
With his trilby, raincoat and pipe, Inspector Maigret was the Morse of the Sixties. Millions followed the exploits of the unflappable Parisian policeman on their black-and-white TVs. For the over-40s, his name ranks alongside Holmes, Poirot and Morse as a screen sleuth.
He was the hero of 80 books as well as various TV series all based in Paris. But his creator, author Georges Simenon, was born 100 years ago in the bustling Belgian city of Liege.
So while Paris - hardly needing any more visitors - is largely ignoring the centenary, Liege, barely discovered by tourists, is making the most of it.
You can see why. About the size of Bristol, Liege lies deep in the French-speaking southern part of Belgium, straddling the wide and busy River Meuse.
It is overshadowed in tourist terms by Brussels and Bruges and neither of its claims to fame - a major centre of gun-making and Europe's second-largest river port - are immediately appealing prospects.
So when I was invited to the grand opening of 'Simenon Year' it was a chance to see what Liege has to offer, whether you're a fan of Simenon or not.
The first good news was that it was pretty easy to get there - two hours 40 minutes from London to Brussels by Eurostar, then a ride through the wide-open panoramas of Belgian countryside for another 90 minutes to Liege.
Once there, only an Inspector Clouseau could miss the long trail of clues leading to the great crime writer's time in the city.
There is a Place du Maigret, a Simenon Youth Hostel, a bust of the author in the middle of a major roundabout and now a huge Simenon museum - early writings, film clips and so on - has been erected in Liege's main square just for the centenary.
Thanks to my knowledgeable local guide Andrea, the official walking tour of Simenon's Liege was easier to understand, although her pronunciation of 'baroque' as 'barrack' left me wondering if all the churches used to be army bases.
The two-hour Simenon walk leads to Outremeuse, an island suburb in the Meuse, taking in 'sights' such as the outside of the terrace house where Simenon was born, his school, a chapel where he was a choirboy and the pokey garret known as 'La Caque' where he met his bohemian artist friends.
Travel guide: Belgium
Small is beautiful
There's probably no other European city with quite as many monuments in such a small area as Ghent.
The capital of East Flanders was once as important a cultural and commercial centre as Paris, and the cathedrals, the castle and the old guildhouses along the canals are reminders of Ghent's former eminence.
The most striking sight is the Gravensteen, the diminutive 12th-century fortress on a canal in the historic centre of the city, a real fairytale castle with battlements, turrets, towers and thick walls with arrow slits.
Built in 1177 by Philip of Alsace, the Count of Flanders, it was modelled on Crusader forts in Syria.
The Crusaders built their forts in recently occupied enemy territory, where the natives were none too friendly. Perhaps Philip wasn't too sure about the loyalties of Ghent's population, either.
Just a few hundred yards away is Patershol, a district of winding narrow streets and small, restored, mostly 18th-century houses.
Until the beginning of the last century, Patershol was Ghent's slum district. Now it's been bohemianised, but has retained its medieval street pattern and the small scale of the houses.
These days a cast of faintly artistic-looking residents seem to spend their afternoons in cafes when they could be otherwise gainfully employed.
On the edge of Patershol is Oudburg, a street that epitomises the cultural diversity of the area.
In one short stretch are Turkish, Greek, Indian, Mexican and Spanish restaurants. At night it's a favourite with students.
Travel guide: Belgium
Chips make great meals
People say that Brussels isn't the most interesting city in the world and, to be honest, I don't know if we'd have wanted to stay for longer than a few days. However, it's a really easy, compact city to get lost in for that length of time.
We hadn't read a guidebook, so just headed for the centre on arriving at the station.
That first day we did the usual tourist things. Admired the golden buildings in the Grand Place, which were much more impressive than we'd thought they'd be. Found the famous Manneken Pis and then we walked over to St Catherine's and ended up eating in an OK restaurant back near the Grand Place, down one of those restaurant-crammed streets. Not amazing food, but pretty good compared with what you'd find in a similar tourist trap in England.
We'd picked up a copy of the free Ticket Guide and decided to try the Ancienne Belgique club, which had some DJs scheduled. We were really surprised at what a good night it was and found a similar atmosphere in every club we visited. For a supposedly uninteresting city, Belgium has a great club scene.
Some of the locals gave us a few tips on where to eat and drink, around St Gery, near the Place du Grand Sablon, and up along Avenue Louise - posh but a really atmospheric part of town.
Two general rules. Chips make great meals, and can be bought everywhere, as can hot waffles. Don't leave without visiting Dandoy, a little shop near the Grand Place that sells the Belgian version of gingerbread, speculoos.
Travel guide: Belgium
Bruges, Belgium: Europe's time capsule
Bruges is a beautiful medieval city - one of the best preserved in Europe. A single visit will leave you feeling as if all life's stresses are a thing of the past.
Its 100km of winding canals lined with gabled houses are breathtaking. The city is so peaceful you can hear a pin drop, and the horse-drawn traps and cobbled streets give that impression of being transported back in time. All in all, the perfect location for a romantic holiday.
There are no high-rise flats, no crude billboards, no noisy traffic and - noticeably - no vandalism.
Instead, a sense of pride blankets this untouched city. You can walk for three hours without leaving the cobbled streets and the main means of transport is the bike - but be careful, as the locals seem to ride where they please.
It is home to an odd mixture of people, from the Benedictine nuns to lace-makers and yuppies.
Tourism helps this peaceful city to thrive, and guided tours are one of its biggest industries.
A boat tour along the canal is the best - and most enjoyable - way to see the medieval architecture. An organised walking tour of the centre won't tell you any more than a guidebook can.
Travel guide: Belgium
Culture shock in northern Belgium
From the Mail on Sunday
Pick up any guide book on Belgium and you'll quickly see that the picturesque, perfectly preserved medieval city of Bruges boasts any number of evocative titles - The Venice of the North, Belgium's Amsterdam, Jewel of the Middle Ages.
It now has a new label: European Cultural Capital for 2002.
Until the end of November, there will be some event or another every day of the week, including performances of Swan Lake in a glittering new Concert Hall, exhibitions, baroque concerts in medieval churches, sailing regattas, street theatre, a jazz festival and scores of exhibits aimed specifically at children.
And the organisers have ensured that everything is very reasonably priced - a lot cheaper than a night out at Covent Garden, for example.
Then there's the added bonus of discovering one of Belgium's most beautiful and friendliest cities, where almost everyone not only speaks English but likes the English, too, which is not always the case just over the border in France.
The important thing from the word go, though, is to leave the guide books and travel brochures at home and stick to exploring the backstreets.
Avoid joining the crowds following tours that take you only to rip-off lace boutiques and over-priced chocolate shops, fake pubs or breweries, and lousy restaurants where you get the entirely false impression that all Belgian people seem to eat are moules frites - mussels and chips.
The classic sightseeing tour of Bruges usually takes in either a boat trip round the canals or a trot through the cobbled streets tucked up in a cosy horse and carriage, followed by a 366-step climb up the Belfort Tower for a panoramic view over the city, ending up with a quick tour round the magnificent 15th Century Gothic Hall of the Stadhuis, the Town Hall.
But if you decide to stay over for the night - and there are scores of pleasant, reasonably priced hotels here - then there's a chance to discover many of the city's fascinating but little visited attractions.
Travel guide: Belgium
Culture by the boatload
From the Daily Mail
Bruges is Belgium's biggest tourist attraction. It's a gem of a city, with medieval lanes and streets, meandering waterways, ivy-covered canal houses and wonderfully preserved churches and forts.
This year it is also Europe's cultural capital, so the city is in the midst of a 12-month carnival of exhibitions, music, film, performing arts, literature and many other things called Brugge 2002 (Brugge is the Flemish name for Bruges).
This cultural bacchanal was preceded by a determined effort to renovate anything in the city that wasn't already renovated and spruce up everything else.
With the paint dry and the scaffolding down, Bruges looks as picturesque, romantic and - not to put too fine a point on it - impossibly quaint as it has ever done.
The statues on the old law courts building are freshly gilded; the 400ft-high steeple of the Church of Our Lady has been refurbished.
The old market square - the Markt - has been closed to traffic. Even the ducks and swans on the canals seem to have been freshly groomed.
So Bruges is at its picture-postcard best, but it was always one of the prettiest cities in Northern Europe.
A powerful trading centre up until the 15th century, its merchants built opulent houses and endowed sumptuous public buildings.
Then, at the beginning of the 16th century, the city's waterway to the sea silted up and it went into a sleepy, 300-year decline.
It emerged from its hibernation with the coming of the railway in the 19th century and the founding of Zeebrugge, a new harbour, in the 20th.
Travel guide: Belgium
Chocs away to Bruges
From the Mail on Sunday
Bruges, picturesque and visitor-friendly, has never looked - or tasted - so good. The award of European Capital of Culture for 2002 heralded a year of restoration, giving an extra shine to this beautiful historic city which is also Europe's chocolate capital.
So, with the city all spruced up, now's the time to visit. Make the most of it by following our guide.
Sightseeing
- Horse and carriage ride: Starting on the north side of the Markt, the main square, this half-hour jaunt over the cobbles takes in the sights of the old town. Price: £19 (tipping encouraged) for up to five passengers.
- Canal boat trip: Low, open-top boats leave from several jetties for a halfhour duck's-eye view of beautiful, waterside, step-gabled architecture. £3.35 (children £1.70).
- Cityscape view: Climb the 366 steps of the 13th Century Belfort tower in the Markt for a view over the red roofs of Bruges and, on a clear day, the North Sea. £3.40 (concessions £2). Closed Mondays.
- Minibus: Sightseeing Line minibuses leave Markt hourly for a 50-minute tour. £6.50.
Getting around:
- On foot: To explore the narrow alleys and courtyards, pick up a free map from your hotel or the tourist information offices in the railway station or Burg Square.
- By cycle: Popelier at Mariastraat 26 rents bikes for £6 per day (£4 for a half-day).
Eating:
- Der Karmeliet (0032 50 33 82 59): Very chic and highly acclaimed, with three Michelin stars. Set menus available from £34 to £80. Closed Sunday evening, Monday and Tuesday lunch. Book well in advance.
- Den Dyver (0032 50 33 60 69): Its speciality is cooking with beer. Menu £30. Must book, closed Wednesday and Thursday.
- Marieke Van Brugghe (0032 50 34 33 66): Cosy restaurant with a big menu including delicious, hearty regional dishes such as North Sea fish stew (£16) and Flemish stew - beef cooked in beer served with chips (£12). Open 10am to 10pm daily.
Travel guide: Belgium
The city that rocks
From the Daily Mail
Antwerp may be the world's diamond centre, but it also has a priceless collection of paintings and a sparkling social scene.
'You are now the fallen woman of Antwerp, ho, ho, ho,' said Vera, the guide, with heavy Flemish humour, as I peeled myself off the cobbles after tripping outside the diamond museum. Seeing so much 'ice' close up had obviously floored me. The diamond industry brings Antwerp $19 billion a year - far outranking anywhere in the world - and the Diamond District is a warren of enticing jewellers. On a Saturday afternoon, get to the museum at 1.30pm for a fascinating demonstration of how the priceless gems are cut and polished.
Antwerp is the most underestimated, unsung city in Europe, with as many dazzling facets as a diamond. Grand squares, medieval alleyways, a soaring cathedral, a buzzing old town of intimate bars and restaurants, mean it far outstrips Brussels for interest. And there's a world-class zoo slap bang in the centre of town.
Arriving at Centraal station, I just stood and gazed upwards until my head swam. Had my train pulled into a cathedral, or was this vision of marble and gilt, with its great domed booking hall, really a station?
The historic centre is a mile away, a fine walk past many glassed-in cafe terraces where the robust 'sinjoren' (the nickname for the locals) drink beer and scoff wicked cakes at all hours. (The annual chocolate consumption is a phenomenal 12kg per person a year.)
You'll come to The Meir, a broad pedestrian street flanked by grand 19th-century facades, now the fashion district, filled with designer-shopping galleries. When Donna Karan opened in Belgium, she bypassed Brussels and settled on fashion-conscious Antwerp.
Travel guide: Belgium
War tour to see trenches
Every year, thousands make the trip across the Channel to gain a fuller understanding of a pivotal event in British history: the First World War.
June 28 marks the 90th anniversary of the event that sparked off that bloody conflict: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated.
Nearly a million British soldiers were killed in the conflict that resulted and — even after all this time — people want to find out more.
Talbot House, in Poperinge, Belgium is a good starting point. Run by two army chaplains, soldiers fighting in nearby Ypres used it for recreation and rest. The chapel has retained many original features.
Naturally, the number of veterans returning there is declining. But thousands of others still visit and few are unmoved. Admission is three euros.
You'd have to be at least 101 to have fought in the war — only about 25 UK WWI veterans remain.
But at least they survived. Hundreds of cemeteries across France and Belgium show how young men died long before their time.
Every tombstone represents a personal tragedy. Some mark the graves of soldiers as young as 15 — many lied about their age in order to enlist.
Even after all these years, it's still possible to see the trenches of the front line. Visitors are surprised that British soldiers were close enough to hear the conversations of the German enemy.
And farmers in France and Belgium are still finding human remains and shells, 85 years on.
The war's effect will never be forgotten in places like Ypres, Belgium, which was flattened and had to be rebuilt. Crowds gather nightly at the town's Menin Gate memorial to hear buglers playing the Last Post. Veterans read moving verses including the line: "We will remember them."
Travel guide: Belgium
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| | | | Battlefields of Ypres
Of the dozen UK companies taking tours round battlefield sites, Remembrance is the only one to offer Government-sponsored discounts to relatives making a first visit to the war grave of a fallen soldier (up to 87.5 per cent of the cost, in the case of widows).
Recently, of course, the number of surviving World War One veterans has dwindled, but that's not to say the war-tour business has fallen away.
Quite the reverse, in fact, because instead of old soldiers, the most numerous visitors to the battlefields of Ypres are British schoolchildren.
'Ever since the Great War became part of the National Curriculum, demand from schools has rocketed,' says Mark Horner, boss of Salient Tours.
'Three years ago, I was taking five trips a year to Ypres and the Somme - now it's 30 a year.' As a result, the Flanders countryside is alive all year round with coachloads of British teenagers coming to pay their respects and do their coursework.
But it's not just the youth of tomorrow who are making the journey. There's an increasing number of British adults making independent pilgrimages to Ypres, to find out more about their long-lost relatives.
They come either by Eurotunnel or by Eurostar (change at Lille, take a local train) and whereas for many years there was no one to show them round the surrounding battlefields, today they can take advantage of Salient's turn-up-and-tour service.
It's a trip worth taking. The countryside may be flat as a pancake, but with the help of maps, photos and vivid story-telling, the four-hour (£14) journey is an emotional rollercoaster ride through the horrors and shortlived triumphs of the Flanders conflict.
You hear how soldiers countered chlorine gas by urinating on their socks and holding them over their noses (the ammonia repelled the chlorine).
You find out that the final three-mile push to the village of Passchendaele cost one Allied life per every inch gained, and that the weapons of World War One are still claiming victims.
A Simenon-themed river cruise
Other events include a Simenon-themed river cruise, a son et lumiere show, talks, exhibitions, street theatre and a grand procession on September 21.
Forget Anglo-Saxon restraints - Maigret and Simenon both loved smoking pipes, so that's good enough reason for giant arty pipes to be dotted around the city as wastebins and for the Pipe Club of Liege to mount an exhibition of historic pipes.
But there are some PC limits in Belgium. Smoking is one thing, however, references to the amazing sex life of Simenon are limited to the premiere of a musical about his relationship with American singer Josephine Baker.
For a respectable family man who boasted that he'd slept with 10,000 women (around three a week over an active lifetime) that seems a gap in the evidence which happily-married Maigret would have seized upon.
Yet Liege doesn't avoid any other temptations of the flesh.
In many ways more French than France, the city is renowned for the quality of its restaurants - 370 at the last count - and this year more than 130 of them are taking part in a charmingly dotty scheme to offer dishes supposedly from Madame Maigret's recipe book.
The long-suffering wife of the great inspector is always hovering about in the background of the stories preparing his dinner, but by Belgian gourmet standards her menus are plain homely fare.
At a city-centre restaurant, L'Officine, the waitress looked down her nose at my Maigret menu of beef bourguignon and cheese souffle as if it was pie and chips.
My favourite Liege delicacy is a huge tasty meatball that is almost a meal in itself - and Belgian beer is, of course, among the best in the world.
You could spend a happy couple of days just eating and drinking your way round Liege.
But what is there to do between meals? Well, after two World Wars tramped through it, what's left of the city is hardly Paris but there's still plenty to see within walking distance.
Gothic and Renaissance styles
The principal square in Ghent is the Koornmarkt, the commercial and economic centre of the city since the Middle Ages.
Above is the Belfort, a towering belfry built in 1300 as a symbol of the power of Ghent and its guilds. It has a terrific view of the city from the upper gallery, though they didn't have lifts in the 1300s, so it's a long hike up.
On the banks of the Graslei and Korenlei canals, near the Koornmarkt, are the guildhouses built in Flemish style, with high sloping roofs and intricate gables.
Facades are decorated in Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance styles, and some are now bars and restaurants.
The Graslei and Korenlei were once busy trading routes, but there's little commercial traffic now, apart from tourist barges, and they've been colonised by ducks and swans.
Trees and ivies overflow into the canals, making the aspect almost pastoral.
Ghent also has its own Manneken-Pis, on the facade of a house in the St Veerleplein, a well-preserved, 16th-century square which is said to be older than its twin in Brussels.
Almost the entire historic central area of Ghent has been closed to traffic, which makes it easier to walk around - although you still need to watch out for the trams and bicycles.
However, the lack of cars makes parts of the city, particularly in the large squares, seem somehow devoid of life.
That said, Ghent is a real city and not simply a tourist destination. It has industry - it is Belgium's second biggest port - a university and remains the cultural capital of Flanders.
For visitors, Ghent is a living history lesson. The grand tour of the old centre can last just a couple of hours, but will take in the Middle Ages, the rise of the guilds, the struggle for democracy in the 15th century and the industrial revolution.
All that and the beer's good, too.
Chocs are tops
The best way to get about in Bruges is by the good old-fashioned bicycle. If you've not ridden one for years, forget feeling nervous - the quaint streets and beautiful views will take your mind off the wobbles.
Bruges is not only famous for its breathtaking scenery - if you like chocolate then you're on to a winner.
Lining the cobbled streets and ancient archways of the city are the shops, and every other one boasts a wonderful display of delights.
Most chocolates are so beautifully made it is a shame to try them out. A 250g box packed with all sorts is cheap at about £4.
Even the chocolate shops are posh - one of them won't let you in to browse, you must know what you want!
In another window, an amazing array of colourful marzipan fruits is sensational, and even in May, the Christmas shop is thriving.
Gifts for the kids are more awkward - the locals seem to go in for gruesome witch dolls and skulls. Next to chocolate, the favourite product is lace.
Bruges has proudly accepted the title of Cultural Capital of Europe in 2002.
This means that it has more to offer than attractive sights, magnificent monuments and renowned art collections - it is a city brimming with culture.
The museums are plentiful, and an impressive concert hall has been built on the outskirts of the city to celebrate this prestigious title.
Bruges is not famous for its nightlife, but the Irish pub near the main square is a popular drinking spot.
If that doesn't quench your thirst, try the brewery tour - where you get to sample a free authentic Flemish pint.
P&O Stena Line (www.posl.com/ 0870 600 0600) offers two-nights at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for two people with a car from £180 each. Visit www.brugge.be for Bruges information.
Michaelangelo's Madonna
In the Church of Our Lady, the Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk (Ketelijnestraat), there is an exquisite white marble sculpture, Madonna and Child, by none other than Michelangelo, while at the edge of the romantic Lake of Love is an ornate entrance that leads into the enchanting world of the Beguinage.
This is a 13th Century convent founded by the Beguines, an ancient order for unmarried or abandoned women, and the whitewashed houses that surround a grassy common are today inhabited by 2,000 Benedictine nuns.
At the open-air fish market (Blinde-Ezelstraat), you'll still see fishmongers selling delicious fresh shrimps and steaming bowls of soup filled with cockles and whelks.
This leads into a street known as the Dijver, which is transformed into a colourful flea market each weekend.
At the end of the Dijver is the Groeninge Museum, displaying a remarkable collection of paintings.
Don't miss exploring the grounds at the back of the museum - they hide what is probably the most picturesque spot in all Bruges. A hump-backed stone bridge crosses a narrow canal lined with tiny medieval cottages, where you can spot what is apparently the tiniest window in all Europe.
And the best-kept secret of all in Bruges are the numerous 'Godhuis'. These are hidden courtyards of doll's house-like cottages ringed around fragrant flower gardens, built in the 17th Century for the poor.
Although they are still inhabited today, discreet visitors are welcome. It is easy to walk straight past the deceptive street entrances but the ones to head for are the Godhuis Spanhoge and Rooms Couvent, opposite each other on Katelijnstraat, and the Godhuis on Nieuwe Gentweg, situated just after the rather touristy Diamond Museum.
For some interesting shopping, head for addresses such as Kathleen Storme (Eekhoutstraat 7), an Aladdin's Cave antiques shop housed in an old apothecary shop.
Troc (Korte Zilverstraat 12) offers designer outfits at basement prices, and Het Brugsch Thee Huis (Wollenstraat 12) is a delightfully kitsch boutique filled with hundreds of different teapots
Medieval theme park
Almost unchanged for three centuries, it found a new vocation and renewed prosperity as a sort of living museum of the Middle Ages, becoming a favourite continental destination of English culture-seekers.
Bruges still attracts tourists by the coachload, of course, though they are now as likely to come from Japan as Britain.
During the summer, the city can sometimes seem like a medieval theme park as hordes of tour groups clatter through the cobblestone streets, photographing each other photographing the sights.
There are guided canal tours, old-fashioned trams and horse-drawn carriages with coachmen in jaunty straw boaters.
There are shops selling Flemish lace and others selling cheap fags and booze to over-taxed British visitors.
It could all be quite awful, but somehow Bruges has managed to retain much of its charm.
Perhaps that's because the Belgians keep this tourism thing in perspective.
They sometimes refer to themselves as 'the Spanish of the North', which doesn't quite mean that nothing gets done till manana, but that they're rather more easy-going and relaxed than some of their more driven neighbours.
Certainly there are a lot of open-air cafes around the central Markt, offering a sort of Southern European ambience.
And because the city is largely closed to cars, it seems to run at the speed of the bicycles that wobble through its narrow lanes.
Drinking and choccies
Drinking:
- Bar: De Garre, down an alley off Breidelstraat between the Markt and the Burg, serves up 135 beers.
- Brewery tour: The Half Moon (De Halve Maan) brewery at Walplien 26, established in 1856, runs tours from 11am to 3pm or 4pm depending on demand, with a glass of Straffe Hendrik beer included in the £2.40 ticket.
- Beer shop: De Bier Tempel, Philip Stockstraat 7, sells 350 Belgian beers.
- Steenstraat and Noordzandstraat are the two main shopping streets, west of the Markt. Here you'll find international brands, small boutiques and perfumeries selling scent and cosmetics at a fraction of UK prices.
Chocolates:
- The Chocolate Line (Simon Stevinplein 19): Simply the best in town and you can see them being made through the window at the back of the shop. £5.45 for 250g.
- Sukerbuyc (Katelijnestraat 5): Made on the premises and good quality for the price at £3.50 for 250g.
- Godiva (Zuidzandstraat 36): World-famous, high quality and a whopping 40 per cent cheaper than in the UK, at £6.80 for 250g.
Lace:
- Rococo (Wollestraat 9): A long-established firm packed with pieces in a broad price range from small machine-made doilies for £4.25 to antique hand-crafted christening robes for around £1,500.
Antwerp's art treasures
Nearby is the house of Antwerp's most famous son, the artist Peter Paul Rubens. The exquisitely restored mansion, where he lived from 1615-1640 is now a museum where you'll find his famous Adam And Eve In Paradise, his Self-Portrait and one of Van Dyck.
I'd assumed that as Antwerp is the world's third largest port, visited by 16,000 ships a year, it would be an industrial monstrosity, but the docks lie far beyond the pleasant city stretch of the River Scheldt. Only the throbbing nightlife reminds you it's a port, although when I took the useful tourist trolley sightseeing tour, after trundling around the old town, it headed towards the docks then cut inland along the edge of what is clearly a red-light district to rival Amsterdam.
This is Flanders, where they speak Dutch, which they call Flemish. It's only 30 miles from French-speaking Brussels, but culturally they're a world apart. Everyone I met spoke English fluently and one tram driver told me he'd picked up an Australian accent watching Neighbours daily.
Bruised after my close encounter with the cobbles, I'd taken the Number 8 tram through the Art Deco district to the magnificent Fine Art Museum to see the world-famous Rubens' rooms. 'Old Masters Closed For Two Weeks' said a notice. I was heartbroken, but then something extraordinary happened - the chief of staff, who was passing, felt so sorry for me that he gave me a private tour of the glorious Rubens, van Eyck, Van Dyck, and Vlaminck paintings, and a treasure trove of Italian Old Masters.I will never forget his kindness and the sublime paintings.
We will remember them
Some of the statistics from the First World War are frightening.
On July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme in France, more than 20,000 British soldiers died in two hours. A trip to the Great War Museum in Peronne may help you grasp more than the numbers. It includes cultural history, as well as military.
Open all year, except at Christmas, the admission is e5.20 (£3.50).
Visiting the front line is a poignant reminder of the horrors of gunfire, disease and battle. Millions went missing, never accounted for. Their graves are simply marked "Known to God".
Eurotunnel's booklet Discover Wartime Memories has details of several sites of interest, covering the major European wars. For a free copy, phone 08705 353535 or visit eurotunnel.com.
Spending about five days in France and Belgium should be enough to cover the major sites, where nearly all staff speak English.
- Prices with Eurotunnel start from £106 from Folkestone to Calais, France.
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| | | | A growling explosion
'Two hundred tons of live artillery shells are found in the mud each year,' says Mark Horner, pointing at unexploded mortars by the side of the field.
'Over the years, the explosives become so unstable that the slightest movement can set them off. Hundreds of people have been killed since the war ended - usually souvenir hunters who don't know what they're doing.'
So frequently do shells resurface that local farmers leave them by the roadside for the Belgian army to take away. Twice a day, the things are blown up at a special site nearby, at 11.45am and 3.45pm.
'You can pretty much set your watch by it,' says our guide - and sure enough, at the appointed hour, a growling explosion sends birds scattering and schoolchildren looking up from their clipboards.
It seems as if the guns of World War I can never be silenced permanently.
Remembrance Travel (http://www.remembrancetravel.com tel: 01622 716 729). Tour arm of the British Legion, offering discretionary discount to close relatives of fallen soldiers.
Tours to Ypres and also the Somme, Gallipoli, and all World War Two battlefields, including North Africa, Italy and Burma (40 countries in all).
Salient Tours (0032 475 910 223) twice-daily tours of Ypres battlefields, leaving from Menin Gate at 10am (21 Euros, four hours) and 2.30pm (15 Euros, two and a half hours). Also school parties, accommodation included (http://www.salienttours.com tel: 01994 484717).
Bartletts Battlefield Journeys (http://www.battlefields.co.uk tel: 01507 523128). World War One specialist tours, for small groups.
Holt's Tours (http://www.battletours.co.uk tel: 01304 612248). Worldwide battlefield tours, including the Falklands. Four-day tour of Ypres and Vimy Ridge. Also themed WWI tours, looking at tanks, medics and supplies.
Where are they? If you have a relative who was killed on active service overseas, and you want to find out where they are buried, contact the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (01628 634221). You can also do a search on the Commission's website, at http://www.cwgc.org
Narrow cobbled streets
So I spent a day exploring the grand Prince Bishop's Palace, the totally unbarrack-like St Paul's Cathedral, and the medieval footpaths weaving among the hilly gardens and vineyards beneath the citadel on the north bank of the Meuse.
Among the half-timbered houses and narrow cobbled streets in the old quarter are plenty of museums and galleries, and only some of them mention Simenon.
I suspect, however, that one of Liege's main attractions to visitors will be its massive range of shops.
The grid of streets in the Le Carre district are particularly interesting. Look out for handmade chocolate, expensive leather goods and fine glassware.
As a fan of any sort of detective fiction, I enjoyed my visit to Simenon's Liege, but wonder how popular it will be with British travellers more familiar with The Bill and Starsky And Hutch than dear old Inspector Maigret.
After all, it's four decades since the Maigret performances of Rupert Davies - voted Belgium's favourite actor in 1961 - so captured the nation and moved Simenon to say: 'At last I have found the perfect Maigret.'
Attempts to revive Maigret in the Eighties with Richard Harris and in the Nineties with Michael Gambon were never as successful. Before I left Britain I tried buying Maigret in three bookshops. No one had heard of him.
Hopefully that will change. Amid a fanfare of publicity, Penguin is to release centenary editions of 12 Maigret novels and a Simenon biography this year.
The National Film Theatre plans a Simenon month in July 2003. Now all it needs is for the BBC to delve into the archives and repeat the original Maigret adventures.
TRAVEL DETAILS:
Eurostar (www.eurostar.com tel: 08705 186 186) runs eight trains a day to Brussels.
For destinations beyond the Eurostar network contact Rail Europe, visit www.raileurope.co.uk or tel: 08705 848 848.
For more information contact the Belgian Tourist Office, Brussels & Wallonia: www.belgiumtheplaceto.be, tel: 020 7531 0390
Sausage, pate and cheese
And why not take home some Belgian gastronomic specialities - sausages, pâtes and cheeses - from the tempting delicatessen Diksmuids Boterhuis (Geldmuntstraat 23).
The prettiest restaurants in Bruges are undoubtedly the dozens that encircle the majestic Markt Square and, although sitting out on their lively street terraces might be tempting, the food and the prices aren't the best.
Again, it is a good idea to wander down the backstreets, where you'll come upon charming bistros like Malesherbes (Stoofstraat 3, tel: 33 69 24), serving a delicate seafood tart followed by a hearty coq au vin, the arty Kunstbistro (Eekhoutstraat 24, tel 34 15 44), whose menu changes every day depending on what the chef buys in the market, or the sophisticated dining room of Brasserie Raymond ( Eiermarkt 5, tel: 33 78 48), where you can feast off fresh local oysters and the famous Belgian dish, waterzooi, a creamy chicken stew.
And although the great majority of tourists disappear in their coaches at the end of the day, don't for a moment think that Bruges is as sleepy as it looks after dark.
If it's beer you're interested in, head for the minuscule bar De Garre (De Garre 1), which serves 150 different brews and is open from midday to midnight but, be warned, it is tucked away down the narrowest alleyway imaginable just off Briedelstraat, the street that links the Markt Square with the Burg Square.
Easier to find is t'Brugs Beertje (Kemelstraat 5), what is known as a traditional 'brown cafe' because of its nicotine-stained ceiling, a welcoming bar with both a great atmosphere and this time more than 300 Belgian beers to choose from.
Next door but one is the t'Dreupelhuisje (Kemelstraat 9), selling the other Belgian speciality, shots of lethal jenever gin, which tastes delicious but risks leaving you with a serious hangover the next morning.
And to end the evening's entertainment, choose between blues music and late-night tapas at the funky Vino Vino Bar (Grauwerkerstraat 9), or a final cocktail at the Nocturne Bar (Knipersstraat 23).
This last is presided over by a wonderfully eccentric character, Bob Dunn, a British bar owner who has ended up here in Bruges after running watering-holes in Goodge Street, London, Crete and Brazil, and claims both to be the inventor of 3,500 different cocktails and a friend of Jeffrey Archer.
Just don't expect to get back to your hotel until the early hours.
Birdsong and trees
Bruges is small, so you can walk around the old medieval town, where all the major guidebook attractions are, in just a few hours.
And by venturing five or 10 minutes away from the touristy bits, you can find yourself on the edge of the city, surrounded by birdsong and trees, away from much of the snap-happy crowd.
One of the most beguiling spots away from the centre is the Minnewater (which translates as the 'Lake of Love'), a romantic prospect of water, small houses and greenery that manages to look like an impressionist painting.
Though it's on the tourist trail, it still exudes an otherworldly peacefulness: even the clip-clop of day-trippers in their horse-drawn carriages adds to the setting, rather than detracts.
The Minnewater is home to many of the city's swans. According to legend, during the Middle Ages the inhabitants of Bruges absent-mindedly beheaded a certain Pieter Lanchals, who was the representative in the city of the Emperor of Austria.
The Emperor was decidedly unimpressed and demanded as compensation that the citizens protect the swans in the Minnewater - which they do to this day.
The present bunch of swans, however, seem quite able to take care of themselves.
Plump and demanding, they view humans as food dispensing machines and will snap at your coat pockets - or your fingers, if they're handy - in their quest for handouts.
If you don't want to be mugged by a 4ft bird, take some bread with you.
It's probably fair to say that you can 'do' Bruges in about 48 hours. As a weekend break, it's perfect.
With a little bit of imagination, it can become like a trip back to the Middle Ages.
TRAVEL DETAILS:
How to get there: Hoverspeed operates two return sailings daily between Dover and Ostend. For reservations, contact Hoverspeed: http://www.hoverspeed.com tel: 08705 240241.
Eurosave Travel Club and Hoverspeed Holidays offer packages staying at the Bruges Novotel Zuid including Channel crossing. For reservations, contact Eurosave Travel Club: http://www.hoverspeedholidays.com tel: 01304 222500.
When to go: Any time - Bruges is atmospheric in the winter and pretty in the summer.
How long does it take? Twenty minutes by car from Ostend. The Channel crossing takes two hours from Dover.
Must-see: The Memling Museum (Mariastraat 38), dedicated to the 15th-century painter Hans Memling.
Museums
Museums:
- Memling Museum: Filled with the stunning works of 15th Century artist Hans Memling. Entrance: £5.50.
- Groeninge Museum: Collection spanning six centuries of Flemish painting including a dazzling display of medieval art. Entrance: £5.50.
- Gruutehuse Museum: An impressive 15th Century palace now displaying tapestries, furniture and ornaments as well as a grisly collection of stocks, shackles and a guillotine. Entrance: £4.
- All museums are closed on Mondays (except Easter Monday and Whit Monday).
- A £10 multi-pass, obtainable from museums, allows you into five museums of your choice. A £10 museum and bicycle hire combination ticket, again available from museums, includes three museums, a bike for the day and a drink.
Free treasures:
- Michelangelo's Madonna And Child: One of the few of his sculptures outside Italy, stops sightseers in their tracks with its beauty. Find the marble statue down to the right as you enter the Church of Our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouw). Closed noon to 2pm and Sunday mornings.
- Wander through the grounds and church of the Beginjhof, a peaceful and pretty enclave, for centuries a community for independent unmarried women.
- Look at archaeological remains of ancient Bruges uncovered in the basement of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Burg Square. Ask the receptionist to turn on the lights for you.
Getting there:
- By train: Bruges is one hour by train from Brussels station, with two departures an hour. The platforms are a short walk from the Eurostar terminus in Brussels Midi station. Eurostar Plus (08705 186 186, http://www.eurostar.com) offers return fares from £64 per person.
- Tour operators: Kirker Holidays (020 7231 3333, http://www.kirkerholidays.com) offers two nights at De Orangerie or De Tuilerieen from £310, or Montanus from £264.
- Prices are per person and are based on two sharing and include breakfast and return train fares via Brussels.
- Time Off (http://www.timeoff.co.uk tel: 0870 584 6363) offers packages flying from nine regional airports to Brussels with onward travel to Bruges by train.
Taste for the good life
The hub of the city is the 16th-century main square, the Grote Markt, a vast piazza edged with six and seven-storey guildhouses, their stepped gables topped with gilded figures. Below, pairs of enormous horses pull great double-decker trams and tourists pose before the statue of Brabo, the legendary Roman soldier who chopped the hand off a giant threatening the city and threw it into the Scheldt - the Flemish name Antwerpen means 'hand-throw'.
All around, sets of wall-mounted bells - carillons - peal out every quarter hour. A moment's walk away through the cobbled triangle of the ancient glove market is the soaring Gothic cathedral of Our Lady, with more great Rubens paintings to gasp at.
Eating and drinking is taken very seriously in Antwerp. I was having dinner with Val, a long-time resident, at the candle-lit bistro 't Kwiezientje - vast plates of monkfish in a leek broth - as she explained the people of Antwerp to me. 'Under that correct, law-abiding surface lurks an abandoned free-spirit. They love to eat and drink - ask them to dinner and they expect to stay till 3am. Here the bars are open all night.'
Mooching round the old town next day, I came across the most perfect little square and in it an exquisite baroque church - nothing like your usual Flemish Gothic spires. Called St Charles Borromeo, it too was filled with Old Masters.
Then I submitted to a craving for mussels - winter is their season - and went into the inviting-looking De Peerdestal restaurant by the church - it means the stable. As I sat down, the waiter handed me a spoonful of tiny shrimps in sauce. I asked for his recommendations. 'How about a nice horsemeat fillet steak?' Recovering my equilibrium (I am a vegetarian and a horse-lover) I asked him for the menu, which could have been written in Sanskrit.
Who would guess that pardevlees is horse fillet, kip is chicken, slaatjes are salads and garnelen shrimps. I settled for mussels in white wine and they came - 1.3kg of them in a container the size of a washing-up bowl - with a mound of the finest chips I've ever eaten. The mussels cost £10 and were great value - I couldn't eat again for 24 hours.
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| | | | The lowdown-
GETTING THERE - I took the Eurostar, which left Ashford station at 7.15am and arrived in Brussels at 10.02am, when I got on a local train and arrived in Antwerp at 11am. Call Rail Europe on 0990 848848 for details. The Belgian Travel Service has a wide range of travel options and hotels. Call 01992 456156 for details.
GETTING AROUND - Travel is easy. Twenty per cent of the city is pedestrianised and all the attractions are within walking distance. There is a short underground line (handy on arrival at Central station with luggage.) Go down to its 'Diamant' station and buy a cheap ten-journey pass, valid on all transport.
EATING AND DRINKING - The big mussel promotion each winter ensures vast portions, cooked in white wine, garlic butter, or just steamed open. For meat eaters, there's the famous beef in beer stew, karbonaden. Rabbit with prunes, eels in green sauce and chocolate in most desserts. Beer is treated with as much respect as wine in France - there are 600 different types - often blended like wine and aged in a cask. Ask for a 't bolleke, a quarter-litre in a bowl-shaped glass on a stem.
NIGHTLIFE - Bars in the old town stay open till the small hours. Nightlife ranges from elegant piano bars to the downright raunchy. Everyone should go to the bar De Vagrant in Reyndersstraat, which serves every flavour of jenever, the local spirit, drunk from brimming glasses you dip your face down into. More than two would be a mistake. In the same street, De Groote Witte Arend serves up classical music with its double-fermented, Burgundy-strength beer.
SHOPPING - Well, diamonds, of course, but chocolate is the number one take-home item. At Iris Chocolaterie in the main Grote Markt everything comes in gold boxes tied with ribbon. Fine pewter beer mugs are a great collectable - Van der Wee in the Groenplaats is a specialist.
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| | Destination Guide : Belgium |
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| | | Rich history and culture |  | Why go on holiday to Belgium?
Belgium boasts a history and culture as rich and fascinating as any in Europe. The galleries in the major cities are superb. The architecture is fabulous. And then there is the fantastic food and beer.
The north is flat and the south dominated by the beautiful Ardennes.
How much does it cost?
You can get to Brussels on Eurostar for under £100. For accommodation, count on at least £40 a night. Two-day city breaks start at about £150 if you shop around.
When should I go?
A temperate climate means no extremes. The warmest time is between April and September when temperatures range from 13C to 22C (56F to 72F), but that doesn't mean you shouldn't expect rain.
On the first Thursday in July there's the Ommegang pageant, a huge parade of nobles dressed in historic costumes. Belgium's colourful National Day is July 21, which also marks the start of the month-long Brussels Fair.
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| | | Battlefields and Art Nouveau |  | What should I do when I'm there?
Brussels, the capital, has great museums and the marvellous Grand Place at its centre. Antwerp boasts Art Nouveau and neo-Renaissance architecture and the Royal Museum of Fine Art.
Bruges is one of Europe's most stunning medieval cities, and is a good access point for the Flanders battlefields. By contrast The Ardennes offers valleys, forests and tranquil villages.
What about outdoor activities?
If the big outdoors is your thing then head down to The Ardennes. There's skiing in winter and kayaking, hiking or mountain biking in the summer. There are also plenty of prehistoric limestone caves to explore.
But isn't Belgium supposed to be boring?
The most famous of all Belgians is the cartoon boy-reporter Tintin. Facts like this boost the country's perceived obscurity, but don't believe it.
Belgium is a small country with homely and modest people. Just because they don't shout about it doesn't mean their country is not packed with riches.
What else is worth seeing?
The town of Ypres is home to the Menin Gate, where the names of 55,000 lost British and Commonwealth World War I troops are inscribed. Tongeren, near Liege, is Belgium's oldest town and has a great collection of Gallo-Roman remains. Ghent's Museum voor Schone Kunsten houses works by Flemish Primitives and goremeister Hieronymous Bosch.
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| | | Beer lovers unite | | Where's good for nightlife?
Nowadays, Antwerp is considered to be one of the party capitals of Europe, with around 4,000 bars, pubs and clubs, including the internationally-known Zillion.
You'll also find a lively mixture of culture and entertainment in Brussels and Bruges, and there's usually something to suit everybody.
What's the food like?
Fabulous. Belgium is ranked second only to France as the place to eat in Europe.
Seafood and meat are the basis of the Franco/German influenced cuisine.
Belgium claims to be the home of the chip - frites are available everywhere, and the mussels are always good. If you like your beer you'll never want to leave.
What should I buy?
Lace is a big speciality - but be warned, if you want handmade lace from Belgium you must say so, otherwise it'll be handmade in China or Taiwan, or machine-made in France. Unsurprisingly, the genuine article costs more too.
Chocolate is, of course, another famous export - prices vary enormously according to quality. Up to 800 beers are brewed in Belgium.
What is there for children to do?
All the main cities have museums which will appeal to kids plus parks and playgrounds.
Antwerp offers Pirateneiland (Pirate Island, an indoor fun park), and a zoo.
In Bruges, you could take the kids to Boudewijnpark (a theme park which includes a dolphinarium), on a canal trip, or a sweet-making demonstration.
In Brussels there's the Toy Museum and the Scientastic Museum, which features interactive science-related exhibits plus the Bruparck entertainment complex.
Tourist office
Tourism Flanders Brussels, 31 Pepper Street, London E14 9RW. Tel. 020 7867 0311.
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| | Fact File : Belgium |
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| | | Belgium | | Did you know?
Comic strips (bandes dessinees) are a highly-regarded art form in Belgium
Language
Flemish, French and German. English widely spoken.
Visas
None required for EU residents.
Getting there
Belgium has two international airports: Zaventum just outside the capital Brussels and Deurne near Antwerp. Both have regular flights to London and Liverpool
Flying time from London
One hour 10 minutes.
Getting around
Cheap and easy. Highly efficient rail and bus services. Car and bicycle hire is also easy. Trams in Brussels and Antwerp.
Currency
Euro.
Costs
A pint of beer from £1 (although varies widely according to the beer), moderate restaurant meal £15, roll of film £3, four-mile taxi ride around £6, litre of petrol 70p, but costs do vary.
Weather
A temperate climate, so no extremes. Warmest between April and September when temperatures from 13C-22C (56F-72F), but that doesn't mean you shouldn't expect rain. Winter temperatures from -1C-5C (34F-42F).
Time difference
Two hours ahead of GMT in summer, one hour ahead in winter.
International dialling code from the UK
00 32
Voltage
220V, 50Hz
Opening hours
Shops normally open from 8.30/9am-noon/12.30pm, 2pm-6pm. Monday-Saturday (some shops don't close for lunch). Some shops in Brussels open on Sunday, while some around the Grand Place don't open on Monday. Banks in Brussels don't normally close for lunch and are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, and on Saturday mornings
Health - Before you go
The UK has reciprocal healthcare arrangements with Austria but you'll need to take an EHIC card (from post offices here).
Health - When you are there
Most doctors speak English. Chemists are usually open 8.30am-7pm, and sometimes on Saturday. A notice in the shop window will detail the nearest 24-hour chemist.
Warnings
Beware high medical costs.
Emergency
Police, 901 (906 in Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Charleroi, Ghent or Mechelin). British Embassy, 28 Rue Joseph II, Brussels. Tel: 02 217 9000.
Customs
Consuming lots of chips, beer and chocolate.
Pets
Good news - you can take your cat or dog to and from Belgium and the UK under the pilot Pet Travel Scheme, but documentation takes some time to set up. See your vet for details.
Tipping
Service is included on restaurant bills, but it is also customary to leave a small tip.
Tourist office
31 Pepper Street, London E14 9RW. Tel: 020 7867 0311.
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| | Available rental properties in Belgium |
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Why Rent With Us
