Matador's Ultimate Guide to Belgium

So much more than waffles ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Dinant, BELGIUM]( Matador's Ultimate Guide to Belgium Hi all, Located between travel heavy hitters France, the Netherlands, and Germany, Belgium can often be overlooked. The Chocolate Capital of the World brought us Wi-Fi, fries, spas, waffles and, of course, chocolate, which proves Belgium's footprint is much bigger than you would expect from such a small country. And while you should visit Brussels and have a beer, visit a chocolaterie, chuckle at local comic strip street art, and see the Manneken Pis statue, don't forget to take it slow in other smaller fairy-tale-like towns from Dinant to Bruges. When planning your next tour-de-Europe, don't skip Belgium. You'd be missing out on a delightfully unassuming country that you'll find yourself wishing you had booked more time in. [Check out our guide]( to see our favorite places to see and things to do in Belgium. [EXPLORE BELGIUM]( [GuideGeek]( Get Inspired [Durbuy]( 7 Dreamy Cities That Put Belgium on the Must-Visit List Belgium’s many beautiful cities — with their historical architecture, grand marketplaces, and Venice-like canals — might not be as well known as their next-door neighbors, but they have a rightful place on any Eurotrip itinerary. Instead of making a quick stop to Brussels before heading out to another well-known capital, take the time to explore the nooks and crannies of the small, multilingual, and multicultural nation at the heart of Western Europe — it’s filled with unexpected beauty that you won’t regret making a detour for. [READ MORE]( [Brussels]( Does Duolingo Actually Work? I Went To Belgium After a 90-Day Lesson Streak To Find Out How far in advance of a trip should travelers start studying Duolingo, and how well does Duolingo work when the destination you’re traveling to is different from the destination that was used as a reference point for your language course? [READ MORE]( [eating a waffle]( The Art of Eating Waffles Like a Local in Belgium It’s not all about shoving a deliciously warm waffle in your face. While there may not be an exact set of rules, it’s clear when visiting Brussels that there’s a specific way to experience the “real deal.” [READ MORE]( [make a chocolate]( The 7 Most Fun (and Delicious) Things To Do in Brussels, Belgium Among Europe’s big cities, Brussels doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Yet Belgium’s capital has prime architecture, public parks, and 19 municipalities, each with its own distinct vibe. These include trendy Ixelles, artsy Saint-Gilles, and the city center with its Grand-Place on the main square, surrounded by opulent buildings. Add to that a unique artistic sense, excellent cuisine, and multilingual conversation — French, Dutch, and German are all official languages, and English is widely spoken — and you have a lot to explore in one short weekend. Here are some ideas to get you started. [READ MORE]( Nature + Adventure [train undersea tunnel]( Ride the Train Between London and Brussels in the World’s Longest Undersea Tunnel Since 1994, the Channel Tunnel (also known as the Eurotunnel or the Chunnel) has allowed high-speed trains to connect cities in England and continental Europe directly. This feat of technology means that you can get from London to Amsterdam in just four hours, or even from London to the beautiful capital of the European Union, Brussels, in record time — and record comfort. [READ MORE]( [Comic Strip Street Art]( How To Take in Brussels' Famous Comic Strip Art In Brussels, comic strips are not limited to newspaper pages. The city is home to many comic strip illustrators — among them Peyo, creator of The Smurfs, and Hergé, creator of The Adventures of Tintin. Here in Belgium’s bilingual capital, their characters have all but jumped off the page. Throughout the city, you’ll find massive comic murals on the sides of buildings, as well as in galleries and museums, and you can take much of it in over the course of a long weekend. [READ MORE]( [Bruges, Belgium]( 40 European Small Towns That Are Straight Out of a Storybook In these small towns in Europe, from England to Romania, you’ll find well-preserved architecture dating back hundreds of years, and a pace of life that yanks you back through time. Although no destination is immune to the impact of tourism, these towns have so far been spared and still retain their postcard-esque aesthetic. Here are 40 European small towns that are straight out of a storybook. [READ MORE]( Food + Culture [beer shoe]( This Belgian Bar Is Demanding Your Shoe as Ransom so You Don't Steal Their Beer Glasses A man walks into a bar in Belgium, and the bartender says, “Put your shoe in this basket.” It sounds like the start of a joke, but at least one bar in Belgium has started demanding that customers hand over one of their shoes whenever they order the house beer because tourists keep stealing their glasses. [READ MORE]( [Belgian passport]( It's Official: Belgium Now Has the World's Most Fun Passport Norway has the world’s fanciest passport and Singapore and Japan have the world’s strongest passports, but the most fun travel document out there is definitely the new Belgian passport. Launched on January 27, 2022, and available to Belgium’s citizens as early as February 7, the new Belgian passport is updated to be more secure than its previous iteration, introduced in 2008. But beyond its safety features, it’s the illustrations inside that make the new Belgian passport possibly the coolest in the world. [READ MORE]( [eating chocolate]( The Real Difference Between Swiss and Belgian Chocolate, Explained When it comes to chocolate, few countries are as well known as Switzerland and Belgium. Chocolates with the countries’ names attached are generally associated with quality despite the obvious fact that neither country grows its own cocoa. The reason why all comes down to manufacturing history (and the marketing budgets of powerful companies). [READ MORE]( [Bozar]( In Brussels, Bozar Restaurant Gives Belgian Cuisine the Michelin Treatment Brussels currently plays host to 21 Michelin-starred restaurants: 18 with one star and three with two stars. One of those restaurants, Bozar, specializes in French-Belgian cuisine and is particularly famous for preparing proteins ranging from salmon and pork to pate and pigeon en croute, meaning baked in a beautiful golden brown pastry crust. [READ MORE]( Epic Stays Take the headache out of planning and check out our staff picks for places to stay [Infinity Pool]( [Epic Stays TikTok]( FOLLOW US AND FIND YOUR NEXT #TRAVELSTOKE [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Linkedin]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [TikTok]( [Pinterest]( [Custom]( [Update your email frequency and topic preferences here](. Or [unsubscribe from our newsletter.]( We'll be here when you need us! Copyright © 2023 Matador Network, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Matador Network, PO Box 7775, Suite 40021, San Francisco, CA 94120, United States