Belgium: Useful
information about country.
fiogf49gjkf0d A federal country, with three official languages and an intense regional rivalry, Belgium has a cultural diversity that belies its rather dull reputation among travellers. Its population of around ten million is divided between Flemish-speakers (about sixty percent) and French-speaking Walloons (forty percent), with a few pockets of German-speakers in the east. Prosperity has shifted back and forth between the two communities over the centuries, and relations remain acrimonious. The constitution was redrawn in 1980 on a federal basis, with three separate entities: the Flemish North, Walloon South, and Brussels, which is officially bilingual (although its population is eighty percent French-speaking).
The north and south of
Belgium
are visually very different. Marking the meeting of the two,
Brussels
, the capital, is a culturally varied city at the heart of the European Union. The
north
, made up of the provinces of West and East Flanders, Antwerp, Limburg and much of Brabant, is mainly flat, with a landscape and architecture not unlike Holland.
Antwerp
is the second city, a bustling old port with doses of high art, redolent of its sixteenth-century golden age. Further south and west are the great historic cities,
Bruges
and
Ghent
, with a stunning concentration of Flemish art and architecture. Another enjoyable inland Flanders town is the cathedral city of
Mechelen
, halfway between Brussels and Antwerp. The southern reaches of
Brabant
are French-speaking, and merge into the Walloon province of
Hainaut
- rich agricultural country, scarred by pockets of industry and boasting the historic city of
Tournai
. East of here lies Belgium's most scenically rewarding region, the
Ardennes
, an area of deep, wooded valleys, high elevations and dark caverns.
The Ardennes reach across the border into the northern part of the
Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
, a verdant landscape of rushing rivers and high hills topped with crumbling castles.
Diekirch
,
Vianden
and
Echternach
are perhaps the three best centres for touring the countryside, and
Luxembourg City
itself is at least worth a stop, although its population of around 80,000 is tiny by capital-city standards.
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Belgium TOP CITIES :
Brussels
Brugge
Antwerp
Antwerpen
Gent
Bruxelles
Ghent
Leuven
Liege
Diegem
Spa
Aalst
Charleroi
Genk
Ieper
Mechelen
Oostende
Ostend
Wavre
Zaventem
Ansereme
Anterpen
Bastogne Luxemburg
Blankenberge
Boncelles
Bouillon
Brimbergen
Bruges
Diksmuide
Dilbeek
Drogenbos
Durbuy
Edegem
Eupen
Gembloux
Genk Li
Genval
Hasselt
Herstal
Huy
Knokke Zoute
Kortenberg
Kortrijk
Kortrijk West Vlaanderen
Lanaken
Libramont
Limelette
Michelen
Mons Belgique
Namur
All cities ...
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