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Belgium Travel Information – Quick
Facts
Before You Go
Belgium Entry Requirements for US Citizens: Passport
required. Visa not required for stays up to 90 days in any
6-months.Embassy of Belgium,
3330 Garfield Street NW, Washington DC. 20008. (202) 895-6767,
or consulates in Chicago, LAX, or NYC.
Belgium Entry Requirements for UK and EU Citizens: Passport
or Identity card required.
Health: Medical facilities widely available. US medical
insurance not always valid outside USA. Supplemental medical insurance
with specific overseas coverage has proven very useful. UK
visitors should ensure they have a completed E111 (free of
charge) from their local post office or social security office
in the UK before their departure to Belgium. This covers only
a part of the cost of emergency medical care. It does not
cover medical repatriation, on-going medical treatment or
treatment of a non-urgent nature.
Crime & Security: Relatively low crime rate. Beware
pickpockets & purse snatchers, especially on metro (subway)
& at tourist attractions. Theft of & from vehicles most common
crime. Victims themselves must report to police in district
where crime occurred, as 3rd party notification of crime not
accepted. As police have high recovery rate for stolen property,
victims encouraged to report all crimes. Everyone must carry
some form of official identification at all times displayed
upon request to any police official. Passport usually suffices.
Police almost always satisfied with photocopy of photo page
of passport.
Money: The Euro Check Universal
Currency Converter for current exchange rate information.
Banks open Mon - Fri. 9 a.m. - 3.30 or 4 p.m. Closed Sates,
Suns & Holidays. ATMs available in all major cities. Banks
open Mondays - Fridays, 9:00am until 3:30pm or 4:00pm & closed
on Sats, Suns & Holidays. Sometimes banks close during lunch-hour
Weather: Jan. avg. low 40F, July.avg high 73F.
Advice & Tips for Belgium:
Road Safety: Conditions in English from touring assistance
at (070) 344-777 (free within Belgium) or Police (02) 642-6666.
Rules for right-of-way differ from USA, & drivers should understand
these rules. Max speed 120 kms, (72 miles) per hour but posted
only at borders & on roads leaving major airports. Belgian
roads are generally in good condition and at night are well
lit (including the whole motorway network). But traffic is
fast and often congested, and Belgium’s accident rate is high
– mainly at weekends – with many accidents due to speeding.
The Belgian Government is trying to improve road safety, but
results take time. Drivers should also be aware of the 'priority
of the right' rule, which often catches visitors out; this
applies to drivers joining major roads from minor roads. Ignorance
will not prevent a significant fine for speeding, leading
to vehicle being impounded if driver unable to pay a fine
on the spot. Police conduct breath analysis checks for alcohol
use, particularly at night & during major holidays. Blood/alcohol
criteria lower than in UK and US.
Electricity & Voltage: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs
are of 2-pin round type. To use US purchased electric powered
equipment, bring converter and adapter.
National Holidays: JJan 01; April 13; May 01 & 21;
June 01; July 21; Aug 15; Nov 01 & 11; Dec 25.
Airports
Brussels National Airport, Zavatem
25-35 mins/7 miles from downtown.
By Taxi: Between airport & city centre. Fare approx
40.00 Euros Available 24 hrs. Discount round-trip rate available.
By Car: Approached from R0 Ring Road. 25-35 mins.
By Train: To/from Midi, Central & Nord Stations every
20 mins from Central at 5.39 am. 20 mins. Airport station
level O.
By Bus:De Lijn busses to/from Brussels Nord Station.
BEF 75. 35 mins. Sabena bus from/to Antwerp; 50 minutes. .
Direct Bustransportation from airport to Antwerp,
Eindhoven (Sabena) & to Rotterdam (Virgin Express) 25-35 mins/7
miles from downtown.
Eurostar: train between London & Brussels takes 3
hrs. Leaves from South Station in Brussels & arrives at London
Waterloo Station. 10 trains a day - Stops at Ashford/England
Info Tel #:
022 753 2111
Smoking? Areas of bars restaurants etc - most on Level
4.
Arrival Hall Information desks, Money Exchange, Post
Office, Duty Free Shops, Car Rental, Cafes/Restaurants, Beauty
Shop, Business Centre, Religious Services, Train Information
& Reservation, Travel Agency, ATM & luggage lockers.
Food &: Shops: Most on Level 4. Pilots Club for
full meals.
Luggage Trolleys: Free.
Regions and Cities
Belgium is small in size, multicultural & multilingual.
Flanders in North is low-lying flatland criss-crossed by canals
with ancient cities - Antwerp, Bruges & Ghent. Wallonia in
South offers rolling hills, Ardennes Forest & Liege, Namur
& Tournai.
Brussels one of the world's
great cosmopolitan cities. Home of both NATO & Commission & Council of Ministers
of European Union. Brussels is bustling city full of politicians
& bureaucrats.
Sightseeing
Most tourist attractions & museums open on Suns & closed
on Mons with exception of Bruges where museums closed on Tues
or Weds & in Tournai where closed on Tuess. Small entrance
fee for most museums. Special entrance packages available
in main cities.
Antwerp: : Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Leopold de Waelplaats
1-9 Rubens' House, Wapper 9 Plantin-Moretus Museum & Municipal
Print Room, Vrijdagmarket Butchers' Guild Hall, Vleeshouwersstraat
38-40 Mayer Van den Bergh Museum, Lange Gasthuisstraat 19
Rockox House, Keizerstraat 10
Bastogne
Bastogne Historical Center, Colline du Mardasson
Bruges
Beguine's House, Begijnhof
Groeninge Museum, Dijver 12
Gruuthuse Museum, Dijver 17
Kantcentrum (Lace Centre), Peperstraat 3
Memling Museum, Mariastraat 38
Brussels
Museum of Modern Art, Place Royale/Koningsplein
1-2,
Atomium>& Mini
Europe, Boulevard du Centenaire/Eeuwfeest
Royal Museum of Central
Africa,13 Leuvensesteenweg, Tervuereen
Centre for Comic Strip Art, Rue de Sables -Zandstraat, 20
Horta Museum, Rue Americaine/Amerikaansestraat
25
Museum of Ancient Art, Rue de la Regence/Regentshapsstraat
3
Museum of Royal Institute for Natural Sciences Rue Vautier 29
Royal Museum of the Army & Military History
Air Section, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark 3
Royal Museum of Art & History, Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark
10
Ghent
Castle of the Counts, Sint-Veerleplein
Fine Arts Museum, Nicolaas de Liemaeckereplein, 3
Museum of Contemporary Art, Nicolaas de Liemaeckereplein, 3
Liege
Curtius Museum, Quai de Maastrivht, 13
Ansembourge Museum, Féronstrée, 114
Arms Museum, Quai de Maastrivht, 8
Glass Museum, Quai de Maastrivht, 18
Baptismal Font, St-Barthélemy Church
Modern Art Museum, Parc de la Boverie
Tournai
Museum of Tapestry & Cloth Arts, Hotel Gorin, Place
Reine Astrid, 9
Museum of Fine Arts, Enclos St. Martin
Museum of History & Decorative Arts, Rue Saint-Martin, 50
Museum of Folklore, Rue des Sions, 13
Entertainment & Night Life
Brusselshas a very active and varied nightlife as you would
expect for a city hosting so many European Community bureaucrats.
Min. age for drinking 18 and for gambling 21 years.
Theatre: Théâtre National and Théâtre Royal des Galeries.
Avant-garde theatres- Théâtre Cinq-Quarante and Théâtre de
Poche.
Nightlife :numerous discotheques and many nighttime
cafés centred on 2 main areas: uptown Porte Louise area and
downtown between Place Roger & Place de la Bourse. Nightclubs
include famous Le Crazy, Chez Paul, Maxim and Le Grand Escalier.
Jazz clubs: Brussels Jazz Club and Bloomdido Jazz
Café.
Outside Brussels:
Antwerp, Leuven, Mons, Ghent, Kortrijk and Namur all have
similar (though less extensive) nightlife facilities. Liège
noted for Walloon opera and several theatrical troops; Ghent
for ‘illuminations’. Namur has large casino complex. Belgian
Tourist Office should be consulted for folk music or drama
festivals elsewhere – most famous of which is Festival
of Flanders.
Casinos in Blankenburg, Chaudfontaine, Dinant, Knokke-Heist,
Middlekerk, Namur, Ostend and Spa. Minimum age for gambling
21 years.
Eating Out
General: Tip usually added to bills. Most restaurants
have waiter service, although self-service cafés quite numerous.
Restaurant bills always include drinks, unless they have been
taken at bar separately.
Traditional: Cuisine similar to French. Brussels famous
for 'French Fries'. Each region has own special dish. Butter,
cream & wine generously used in cooking.
Drinks: Minimum drinking age 18 years. Local beers
very good. Most popular are Lambic, made from wheat and barley,
& Trappist. Majority of cafés serve spirits. Beers &
wines freely obtainable everywhere & no noticeable licensing
hours.
Shopping in Belgium
Special: Lace from Bruges, Brussels & Mechelen
(Malines); Belgian chocolates, pewter, tapestries, plus ceramics
and hand-beaten copperware from Dinant; crystal from Val Saint
Lambert; diamonds and jewellery from Antwerp; woodcarvings
from Spa and bandes dessinées (comic-strip books) by a number
of talented cartoon artists from Brussels.
Main shopping centres Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, Ostend,
Namur, Mons, Liège, Ghent and Mechelen. Shopping hours: 9
a.m.- 6 p.m. Mon -Sat (Fri 9 a.m -9 p.m.in main cities).
Brussels: main shopping streets - Avenue Louise for
luxury boutiques; Galeries St.-Hubert for quality goods; Rue
Neuve shopping mall with department stores & variety of
shops; & Galerie du Sablon plus area for antiques. Hours
from 10 am to 6 pm Mon - Sat. Major stores stay open
until 8 or 9 pm on Friday.
Value Added Tax always included in prices. Tax refunds
available for minimum purchase of BF 5,001 per invoice.
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