Belgium Travel Map and Essential Travel Information

Belgium: Where to go, how to get there, and how to get by

Belgium - Map and Travel Resources

Belgium, one of the three Benelux countries, is a fascinating tourism destination. Belgium is divided into three regions, each with language, culinary and cultural differences. The Flemish Region or Flanders occupies the north, the Walloon Region or Wallonia occupies the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region is central to Belgium.

Belgium - Map Showing Cities and Rail Lines

Map of Belgium © 2003 by James Martin, licensed to About

Belgium Travel Resources

Find information and the major travel cities of Brussels, Brugge, and Ghent, and Antwerp, as well as smaller cities like Dinant and Damme in our Belgium Travel Directory.

Belgium Travel Photography

See our Gallery of Belguim Pictures.

Hotels and Accommodations in Belgium

Belgium has a wide range of accommodations. There are usually hotels near train stations, many budget, a few seedy. You may inspect a hotel before committing to it. There are many hostels in larger cities like Brussels.

The hotels in the Belgium are rated by a system that does not take into account the "charm" of a place. To understand this system, read Hotels and their Star Ratings--What do they Mean?

Languages in Belgium

The language spoken in the northern region of Flanders speak Dutch. People in the southern region, Wallonia, speak French. German is spoken in the East near the German Border. English is widely spoken in main tourist areas.

If you would like to learn a few words of Dutch, there are online resources enabling you to do so. One of them is SpeakDutch.

For French and German resources on the About network, see our article Foreign Languages for the Tourist.

Transportation to and within Belgium

Belgium is served by an extensive rail system as you can see in the map above. The Belgian Railway is called the SNCB and its website is here. Many discounts and passes are offered to the tourist or occasional traveler.

The fast trains in Belgium are the TGV trains. They run on three routes shown in blue on the map. The red Thalys high-speed train links Paris to Amsterdam, Brussels, Cologne and Dusseldorf.

Railpasses: A Benelux Tourrail Pass is good for five days unlimited rail travel throughout Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands within a one month period. Two adults traveling together get a discount. The Benelux Tourail Youth Pass will save money for folks younger than 26. A France-Belgium-Luxembourg-Netherlands Pass is also available.

The Eurostar will take you from London to Brussels.

Brussels Airport is 8 miles northeast of the city center. It should cost you no more than 30 Euros for a taxi, although some tourists report being charged quite a bit more.

There is a train shuttle service from the airport to Brussels North, South and Central stations which runs every 20 minutes and takes about 20 minutes. Buy your ticket before getting on the train to avoid a surcharge.

There is direct bus transportation from the airport to Antwerp, Eindhoven (Sabena) and to Rotterdam (Virgin Express).

There are about 150,000 miles of highways in Belgium. You will need a car to take you to the smaller villages.

Belgium Weather and When to Go

Belgium enjoys a moderate climate. It rains frequently but for short durations in most of Belgium. For an overview of climate throughout the year in some of Belgium's most popular destinations see the interactive map at Belgium Travel Weather.

Etiquette and Culture in Belgium

Visitors to Belgium might be concerned about cultural habits and etiquette, especially when business is part of the plan. Executive Planet has information on the most common situations that might get you in trouble.

For insight into the Belgian identity see: Belgium: Society, Character, and Culture.

Restaurants in Belgium

A restaurant in Belgium is a pretty elegant eating place. If you're looking for something a little more informal, look for a bistro, café, restaurant-café, or brasserie. While food is relatively expensive in Belgium, you can also find broodjeswinkel (sandwich shops), or pannekoekhuije (pancake houses) offering good bargains in food.

Lunch is generally served from 12 to 3pm and dinner from 7 to 10 pm.

A "menu" refers to the special of the day.

See the food section of our Belgium article for what to look for in the way of food and drink.

Service charges are included in hotel, restaurant, shopping bills and taxi fares. Belgians commonly round up the total amount to determine the tip.

Currency in Belgium

The currency in Belgium is the Euro. At the time the Euro was adopted, its value was set at 44.3399 Belgian Francs. [more on the Euro]