Cool place - Relaxed tourism. Review on Belgium, General

When I first asked my belgian friend about tourism, He said, ''Paris is just an hour by Thalys, Amsterdam is just 3 hours by train, Koln is just 3 hours - You can visit these places and come back to Belgium to sleep at night''. Well, he was not serious then and just conveyed the strategic location as a joke.

I had the privilege of working there for 8 months and I managed to have my share of tourism there. Following are some experiences.

The first thing that struck me is the people being so open and friendly. Very similar to India, They too are made up of different cultures speaking different dialect and bound by the passion for the nation.

The main advantage of travelling in belgium is the ease to get around. Ofcourse, if you decide to drive yourself, you may face irritating traffic near the cities. Overall, the traffic is decent. I love the Trains. Belgian rail is managed much better than Underground in London, Amtraks in US, and ofcourse heavenly bliss when you think of indian railways (which will irritate you from the moment you land at the departing station to the point you are successfully out of station upon arrival).

Belgium has lovely places to visit:

Brussels:

1. Pubs and Beers

Top class Beers (Belgian speciality), the Fries with Mayonnaise and friendly and quiet bars encourage you to indulge in beers.

1. Transport

There is a Bus or Tram or Metro (MIVB/STIB) stop withing 200 metres from anywhere in brussels. With a maximum of 2 changes, you can go to any place you want inside brussels. The map is friendly and unlike Paris, Number of lines are limited and very straightforward (Probably owing to smaller cize of the city)

1. Art

Hajaar super museums. You will find Rembrandt, Membling, Van Dycke, Van gough and lot many wonderful works of art in belgian museum. The Royal Museum opposite to Royal palace is a nice place to start with. The Moderne Kunst (Modern art) got on my nerves (I generally hate modern art)

1. Waterways and Parks

Every commune in Brussels takes pride in their parks. Parc de Cinqantire (Jubelpark), Royal Parc, Place de la cambre, Josaphat, Woluwe park I can go on and on. Excellent place to relax and be with the nature.

1. Other attractions.

Heysel (Mini Europe, Kinepolis, Atomium), Tram museum, Autoworld, Museum of Royal arts and History (Jubelpark), Comics, Scientastic, Grand pla (Sorry this should be in the beginning), Chinese Pavillon, Manekkan Piss (I hate this one over hype).

Flanders:

The northern part with Flemish speaking folks. They have 2 good beaches (Blankenberge and Oostende) lots of concerts happen in oostende (likes of Bonjovi, Backstreet Boys etc). You should not miss the tram ride from oostende to blankenberge. It is about 40 min and runs along the coast all the time. Gent is a nice city, quiet and good jenivers. Brugge is the happening place for tourists, Boudewijn park, walk tours, happening place. Diamond cutting places in Antwerp are a revelation in its own. The zoo in antwerp is great.

Wallonia:

This area is endowed by fantastic scenery and natural beauties. The ardennes is great for trekking, skiing (in winter) hiking. Places to see here are Dinant (Castle, Caves, Canoing), Jemelle (Caves, Expositie), Liege (Museums, Waffles, Val-saint-lambert crystal manufacturing), Namur (River, Castles), Transcinne (Euro Space Agency - Not up to the mark compared to NASA tour in houston but definetely worth the visit).

Hey! I can go on and on. This country has so many to offer and many of the obscure and will surprise you. It may not have the Eiffel Tower, Empire State building or Madame Tussads but definetely more quieter, far less crowded, Offer value for money and cleanses soul.