Holiday lettings in Belgium

As said before, the country of Belgium is divided into three distinct regions. The Flemish Region, also known as Flanders, takes up the northern part of the country and is predominantly Dutch-speaking. The Flemish Region is divided into five districts, which are as follows: West Flanders, which borders the North Sea, East Flanders, Flemish, within which is the separate region known as the Brussels Capital Region, Antwerp and Limburg. The Walloon Region, also known as Wallonia, is the primarily French-speaking part of Belgium and covers a little over half of the country’s landmass and one third of the population. The German-speaking minority of Brussels is located in the east of Wallonia, and has its own government for culture-related issues. Brussels, officially known as the Brussels-Capital Region, is part of both the French and the Flemish communities of Belgium. The area has a population of 1.8 million.

Despite being most famous for its administrative role in the European Union, Belgium has a rich cultural heritage waiting to be discovered. With a number of fascinating and historic cities, packed with breathtaking architecture in an array of styles, from medieval churches to Art Nouveau city halls, the possibilities for sightseeing are almost endless. Amongst the country’s most popular sought-out tourism destinations, you’ll find historic gems such as Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Leuven. Described as a fairy-tale medieval town, Bruges is packed with old-world architecture, beautiful and tranquil canals and picturesque bridges. Ghent is a peaceful university city with a population of a quarter of a million and an atmosphere that is a crossover between cosmopolitan lifestyle and the quaint charm of a provincial town. If busy city life is more your cup of tea, then Brussels might just be the perfect place in Belgium for you to visit.

Owing to its diverse cultures, Brussels boasts an array of different cuisines with inspiration pulled from all corners of Europe. Amongst these cuisines, the Flemish is considered to be particularly noteworthy - fusing the fine and elegant flavours of French delicacies with the robust sturdiness of northern European fare. Even within Flanders, visitors will find a wide selection of dishes specific to a particular area, such as the Ghentese ‘waterzooi’, a deliciously creamy fish or chicken soup made with a base of egg yolks, cream and thickened vegetable broth, the superbly sweet ‘Couque de Dinant’, a hard biscuit from the city of Dinant, made exclusively from honey and wheat flour in equal measure, and the tarte au riz, a very flat pie with a filling based on rice pudding, which is native to the Walloon city of Verviers. For a country of its size, Belgium also boasts an impressive range of beers of different styles, with more distinct types of beer per capita than anywhere else in the world.

Getting around in Belgium should be easy and streamlined, with the country boasting a comprehensive network of well-developed road, air, rail and water transportation systems. Belgium’s rail network alone comprises almost 3,000 kilometres of electrified tracks. Within the country there are almost 120,000 kilometres of roads, including almost 1,800 kilometres of motorways, 14,000 kilometres of main roads and 103,000 kilometres of other paved roads. In terms of waterways, Belgium has a network of 2,000 kilometers of canals, most of which are in regular use. Amongst the busiest waterways is the Albert Canal, which connects the city of Antwerp to Liège, the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal, which links the port of Ghent to the Westerschelde and the Boudewijn Canal, which connects Bruges to the North Sea. Belgium also has a total of 43 airports, although only 5 of these are available for passenger airlines.