SPORTING AND ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS 317STEAM TRAINS
AND TRAM RIDES
Railway engines and tracks
have been preserved in many
places in Luxembourg and
Belgium, and visitors can now
enjoy gentle rides into quiet
corners of the countryside and
into the past. Maldegem’s
Stoomcentrum (see p137) runs
historic steam and diesel trains.
Likewise, Mariembourg is the
starting point for train trips on
the Chemin de Fer des Trois
Vallées (see p210). Visitors can
also head off down the tracks
under their own steam with a
railbike (see p314). The Musée
du Transport Urbain Bruxellois
(see p85) has rides in a historic
tram complete with a hooter-
blowing conductor, all the way
to Tervuren and the Musée
Royale de l’Afrique Centrale,
which children also enjoy. The
industrial museum of Fond-
de-Gras (see p248), in southern
Luxembourg, operates steam
trains along normal-gauge
and narrow-gauge rails.
CANAL BOATS
Bruges and Ghent are great
places in which to take chil-
dren on a canal boat trip.
This offers a completely dif-
ferent view of the cities, as
visitors glide gently along in
the company of ducks and
moorhens, passing under
bridges and encountering new
aromas. The ever-changing
scenery is captivating, for
adults and children alike.
THEME PARKSBoudewijn Seapark
A. De Baeckestraat 12, Bruges.
Tel (050) 383838.
http://www.boudewijnseapark.be
Plopsaland
De Pannelaan 68.
Tel (058) 420202.
Plopsa Coo 4, 4970 Coo-Stavelot.
Tel (080) 684265.
http://www.plopsa.beZOOS AND AQUARIUMSAntwerp Zoo
Kongingin Astridplein 26,
Antwerp. Tel (03) 2024540.
http://www.zooantwerpen.beMonde Sauvage Safari
Fange de Deigné 3, Aywaille.
Tel (04) 3609070. http://www.
mondesauvage.beNational Sealife
Marine Park
Koning Albert I Laan 116,
Blankenberge. Tel (050) 424300.
http://www.sealifeeurope.comSerpentarium
Zeedijk 147, Blankenberge.
Tel (050) 423162.
http://www.serpentarium.beMUSEUMS AND
GALLERIESScientastic Museum
Bourse Metro Station, Level -1,
Boulevard Anspach, 1000 BRU.
Tel (02) 7321336.
http://www.scientastic.beDIRECTORY
BELFRIES AND TOWERSOffering the chance to see
towns and cities from a new
angle, Belgium’s many belfries
are more than just historic
monuments. Narrow spiral
staircases climb to the para-
pet, from where there are
fine, and sometimes scary,
views over the rooftops
and of the ant-like activities
below. Visitors may hear the
carillon tinkle out a tune, or
be deafened by the colossal
racket of a big bell as the
clock strikes the hour.CAVESThe Ardennes region is riddled
with caves, which fascinate
children. The most famous of
these, at Han-sur-Lesse (see
p211), can be explored on
foot and by boat. There are
many others, each with theirCHIPS AND WAFFLESIn Belgium, deep-fried food is
the basis of traditional snacks.
The outdoor frietkoten offer
cornets of crispy, double-fried
chips with some mayonnaise
to dunk them into. There are
also sweetened waffles from
streetside vendors – the tradi-
tional snack of fairs and festi-
vals and of summer holidays
on the coast. This is the kind
of cultural treat that children
the world over really relish.CASTLES
AND WARSetting alive the
imagination with
tales of sieges and
derring-do are the
region’s many cas-
tles (see p30–31).
Bouillon is the most
impressive medieval
castle, while Beersel
(see p164), Jehay
(see p220) and
Lavaux-Ste-Anne
(see p211) could be
the backdrops for
fairytales. With its
thick walls, turrets
and crenellations,
Gravensteen (see
p134) in Ghent
also looks the part; it even
has an exhibition of instru-
ments of torture. Children will
also enjoy tunnelling around
the casemates of Luxembourg
City. On a more sombre note,
older children may find the
museum of the former
concentration camp at Fort
Breendonk (see p156) impres-
sively chilling. Equally, many
older children are moved
and amazed by the museums,
monuments and exhibits
marking World War I (see
pp126–7), especially the
museum called In Flanders
Fields at Ieper (see pp124).own magical landscapes of
glittering stalactites and still
pools (see pp208–209).An old steam powered train at Fond-des-Gras