BELGIUM

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal monarchy in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU’s headquarters as well as those of several other major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium brings to mind images of exquisite lace, fine porcelain and melt in your mouth chocolates. Shouldering a legacy rich with culture, art and history, Belgium today is not just the seasoned traveler’s delight, but also a leading commercial and political centre of the European Union as also the headquarters of NATO. It is a country of romantic beaches along the north, rocky highlands down south and rolling green countryside in between. Whether it is Brussels, the capital city of Belgium that beckons you with it’s blend of old and new, or industrialized Antwerp the diamond centre of the world with it’s Gothic churches and quaint cobbled streets or a visit to a lace factory in Brugges – this and more, will make you want that visit to last forever. The land of van Eyck and Rubens is as ravishing now as the masterful brush strokes that captured and immortalized it centuries ago.

Capital : Brussels

Best Time of Visit :

Mid-April to mid-October is the best time to pay Belgium a visit with a slew of summer festivals that entices tourists from the world over.

Min Days Required : 6 days

Places of Interest : 

  1. Brussels
  2. Antwerp
  3. Bruges

Climate :

  1. June to August is the summer season in Belgium, with autumn showing up from September onwards. Winters come next in line when the year reaches its end in December, finally giving way to the spring season from March-May. The peak tourist season in the country are the months of July and August, when the weather is at its hottest.
  2. The climate varies slightly from region to region. On the coastline, it is humid and mild in general, moderated all year round by the maritime influences of the North Sea. The Ardennes highlands, on the other hand, swing from hot during the summer to snowy winters with heavy rains during April and November.
  3. May to September is really the best season, warm and pleasant, with average temperatures ranging from about 18 º C in May to roughly 21 ºC in August.

Currency :  Euro

Things to carry :

  1. Don’t board the plane to Brussels without a good set of raingear and sweater for every member of the party.
  2. Sudden showers can break up a sunny spell, and fog disrupts visibility too.
  3. A good pair of walking shoes would come in handy especially if you were interested in exploring the beautiful countryside or even taking a walk into the cobbled stoned city squares of Antwerp or Brussels.

How to get there :

Air :

  1. Brussels’ main airport is Brussels AirporT, (locally still commonly referred to as Brussels National or Zaventem) (IATA code: BRU). Several major carriers operate out of the airport, including the local Brussels Airlines.
  2. Several budget airlines, including Ryanair and Wizzair fly to Brussels South Charleroi Airport  (IATA code CRL), connect to cities such as Barcelona, Belgrade, Budapest, Dublin, Edinburgh, Manchester, Rome and Warsaw. This airport is south of Brussels and one-hour drive away from Brussels Midi/Zuid Station at the city center.

Rail :

  1. Brussels has three main train stations: Midi-Zuid, to the south of the city core, Central-Central, which is right next to the city center, andNord-Noord, to the north of the city center (at Place Rogier).