Europe: Plan your Journey to Europe

Belgium

Belgium is a small country (11,730 square Miles, the size of Maryland) with a population of 10 million. It has been a constitutional monarchy since 1830. There are three languages (Dutch, French and German). However, English is widely spoken. The three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels) have self-government in many spheres. Belgium has retained its old-world charm in the preservation of its ancient buildings and historical traditions.More Information on Belgium.

Full country name: Kingdom of Belgium
Area: 30,510 sq km
Population: 10.3 million
Capital City: Brussels
People: 55% Flemish, 33% Walloons (French Latin) and about 10% foreigners
Language: Dutch, French
Religion: 75% Roman Catholic
Government: federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch
Head of State: King Albert II
Head of Government: Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt

History of Belgium

Beginning in 57 BC, Julius Caesar extended the power of Rome into the region of Europe that is now Belgium. The people he encountered there were the Belgae, one of the various Celtic tribes of early Gaul, and the Romans dubbed their new province Gallia Belgica. In the fourth century AD, with Rome in decline, control of Gaul was ceded to the Franks, a Germanic tribe that the weakened empire employed as mercenaries. As the Franks flourished, they decided to dispense with their Roman employers...More on Belgium History.

Overview of Belgium's Economy

GDP:US$299.7 billion
GDP per capita: US$29,000
Annual Growth: 2.8%
Inflation: 2.2%
Major Industries: Services, agriculture, chemicals, engineering, metal products, car manufacturing, iron and steel, textiles and food
Major Trading Partners: EU (esp. Germany, France, Netherlands, UK), USA
Member of EU: Yes

Political System of Belgium

Belgium's political institutions are complex, but the majority of political power is organised with the two main communities: the Flemings, and their political parties; and the Walloons, and their parties...More on Political System of Belgium.

Envoirnment and Climate of Belgium

Squeezed between the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, Belgium is one of Europe's tiddlers. The north is flat, the south dominated by the picturesque Ardennes, and the North Sea coastline monopolised by resorts, bar a few patches of windswept dunes. Lower Belgium is criss-crossed by a network of canals.


Population and People:The population of Belgium is 10,258,000. Nearly 61 % live in the Flanders region. The overall population density...Belgium's Population.

Religion:In Belgium Roman Catholicism is the majority religion, accounting for between 75% and 80% of the population...More.

Culture: Belgium packs quite a cultural punch; world-class art, picture-perfect castles, sumptuous chocolate everywhere and more varieties of beer than plant and wildlife species combined...More about Culture of Belgium.


Facts for the Traveler

Visas: There are no entry requirements or restrictions on EU nationals visiting Belgium and Luxembourg. Citizens of Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and the USA do not need visas to visit either country as tourists for up to three months. Except for people from a few other European countries (such as Switzerland and Norway), everyone else must have a visa. Three-month tourist visas are issued by Belgian or Luxembourg embassies or consulates. They can take a while to be processed, so leave enough time before departure to apply. Fees vary depending on your nationality..
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +1 (Central European Time)
Dialling Code: 32
Electricity: 230V ,50Hz
Weights and measures: Metric

Also Read:Money and Cost Required | List of Public Holidays in Belgium | Useful Travel Information about Belgium | Facts About Belgium

When to Go

You're unlikely to encounter extremes in weather during an average Belgian year. April to September is the warmest time, but be prepared for grey skies and soggy streets no matter what time of year you go. Visitors may be forgiven for assuming umbrellas and raincoats are part of the Belgian national dress.

Also Read: Getting Around Belgium | Belgium: Getting There and Away

What to See in Belgium

Major Tourist Attractions in Belgium
- Brussels: The city of choice for Eurocrats, Brussels is sumptuous, historic and luxuriously cosy...
- Antwerp: The richly historic city of Antwerp is Belgium's most underrated tourist destination...
- Bruges: Home to Europe's best-preserved medieval buildings, Bruges is Belgium's most visited town...
- The Ardennes: Home to deep river valleys and high forests, Belgium's southeast corner is often overlooked by travellers hopping...

Other Tourist Attractions in Belgium
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What is Belgium Famous for?

Belgium is famous for chocolate and beer. Belgium also is famous for its rich cultural heritage including its capital Brussels with its famous architecture, palaces, its pubs, old shopping malls and its lifestyle. But there are some more places worth a visit. The second largest city of Antwerp (located to the north of Brussels) is a famous harbour town with a diamond stock exchange...Belgium is Famours For...

Events in Belgium

Brussels' most festive months are July and August. On the first Thursday in July there's the Ommegang pageant, a huge parade of nobles dressed in historic costumes. Belgium's colourful National Day is July 21, which also marks the start of the month-long Brussels Fair. Throughout the year there are jazz fesitvals, religious processions, local fairs, film festivals and classical music extavaganzas. Carnival is a big do - people shake off the winter blues with outrageous celebrations ranging from balls to masked parades. In Ypres, the Kattenfestival (Festival of the Cats) involves imitation cats being hurled from the town's belfry!


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Cluj-Napoca : Romania Cluj-Napoca (Hungarian: Kolozsvar; German: Klausenburg; Latin: Claudiopolis), the seat of Cluj county, is one of the most important academic, cultural and industrial centers in Romania. Regarded as the historic capital of Transylvania, the city is located in northwestern Romania, and is approximately 480 km (200 miles) northwest of Bucharest in the Somesul Mic [...]
Cultural Activity in Europe Europe has a long tradition of excellence in literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and dance. In the late 20th century Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, and Moscow were particularly famous as cultural centers, but many other cities also supported important museums, musical and theatrical groups, and other cultural institutions. Most European countries had [...]
Religion of Europe In the early 2000s the great majority of Europeans were Christians. The largest single religious group, Roman Catholics, lived mainly in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, southern Germany, and Poland. Another large group was composed of followers of Protestant faiths, concentrated in countries of northern and central Europe such as England, Scotland, [...]
Languages of Europe Europeans speak a wide variety of languages. The principal linguistic groups are the Slavic, which includes Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Polish, Slovenian, Macedonian, and Serbo-Croatian; the Germanic, which includes English, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Icelandic; and the Romance, which includes Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. These languages have [...]
Demography of Europe The distribution of the European population has not been stable over long periods, but has shifted, both through differential birth and death rates and by migration. At the beginning of the Christian era, the most densely populated part of Europe bordered the Mediterranean Sea. At the beginning of the 21st century Europe had [...]
Ethnologyof Europe Europe includes a large number of ethnic groupsââ¬âpersons associated by a common culture, especially language. European nations are generally composed of one dominant group, such as the Germans of Germany and the French of France. Several countries, particularly in south central Europe, have large minorities, and most countries contain smaller groups, such as the [...]
People of Europe Indo-European languages (see The Indo-European Family of Languages, table) predominate in Europe; others spoken include Basque, Maltese, and the languages classified as Finno-Ugric, Samoyedic, Bulgaric, and Turkic. Roman Catholicism is the chief religion of S and W Europe and the southern part of central Europe; Protestantism is dominant in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, [...]
Biodiversity of Europe Having lived side-by-side with agricultural and industrial civilisations for millennia, Europe’s animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of man. With the exception of Scandinavia and northern Russia, few areas of untouched wilderness are today to be found in Europe, except for different natural parks. The main natural vegetation [...]
Physical features of Europe In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connected peninsulas. The two largest of these are “mainland” Europe and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulasââ¬âIberia, Italy and the Balkansââ¬âemerge from the southern margin of the mainland into the Mediterranean Sea, which separates [...]
Regions of Europe Europe can be divided into five geographic regions: Scandinavia (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark); the British Isles (United Kingdom and Ireland); W Europe (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Monaco); S Europe (Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Italy, Malta, San Marino, and Vatican City); Central Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, [...]

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