Belgium

We are not sure how many travellers put Belgium on their ‘to do’ list, but we think it should definitely be included. Belgium is known for its medieval towns and its Renaissance architecture, and once you experience some of the towns you can see why it should become a popular destination.

Due to time constraints we were only able to do the war fields around Ypres, and a couple of days in Bruges, but even the small taste we had of this beautiful country was enough to consider putting this on our list next time we travel to Europe.

We travelled from Paris to Brussels by train, and then hired a car when we arrived in Brussels, and drove ourselves to Ypres. It was not at all difficult and the hire car company was just a short walk from Brussels train station.

Travel Tips

• Currency – the Euro was introduced in 2002 as the currency of Belgium.
• Visas – it is always best to check visa requirements for your own country. This link takes you to a comprehensive visa checklist and also provides other important information for the traveller.
• The train system throughout Belgium is easy to manage and very straightforward. We used Thalys, which is a French-Belgium high speed train. For the extra cost it is well worth travelling First Class. Paris to Brussels is only 1.5 hours, which is pretty impressive when you look at the distance on a map.
• We used Hertz to rent our car, and booked them on line before we left home. Make sure you take out full comprehensive insurance with no excess. Driving in another country can be tricky, so you don’t want to be paying for someone else’s poor driving.

Travel Alerts

• Check out the Belgium Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for relevant travel alerts.

Travel Adventures

• If you do consider visiting Belgium, make sure you include a couple of destinations. We know a lot of visitors specifically wish to visit the war fields, but there is so much more to this lovely country which we think warrants some research.