Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

PRACTICAL INFORMATION 321

Helpful advice from the tourist assistance counter in Brussels’s Gare du Midi

VISAS AND PASSPORTS

Visitors from countries of the
European Union can travel
freely to Luxembourg and
Belgium provided they have
a valid passport or identity
card. Passport-holders from
the USA, Canada, Australia,
New Zealand and Japan do
not require a visa for visits
of up to 90 days. However,
regulations may change, so

EMBASSIES AND

CONSULATES

Belgium has embassies in

most capital cities of the

world. Queries about visas

and other formalities can be

addressed to these centres

before departure from the

home country, although much

of this information is available

on their official websites.

Luxembourg has embassies or

consulates in most major coun-

tries. Likewise, most nations,

including the UK, the USA,

Canada, Australia and New

Zealand have embassies in

Brussels and Luxembourg.

CUSTOMS

Visitors from EU countries

travelling to and from Belgium

and Luxembourg face almost

no restrictions on the

TRAVELLING WITH

CHILDREN

Belgium and Luxembourg

are both family-oriented

nations, and children are

widely welcomed – provided

that they are reasonably well

behaved. Restaurants and

hotels are accommodating:

Belgian children are taken

to restaurants from an early

age, and soon adopt the gas-

tronomic expertise of their

parents. There are numerous

concessions for families, such

as reduced-price museum

entrance tickets and free

public transport for children

under the age of six (if

accompanied by an adult).

Apart from this, there are

plenty of attractions and

activities to keep children

entertained (see pp316–17).

It is also easy for parents to

get carried away with the

variety of beautiful clothes

and toys available from the

numerous specialist shops

in both countries.

Families at the Plopsaland theme park on the Western Flanders coast

quantities of alcohol and

tobacco they can carry with

them, provided that this is

for their personal use.

Duty-free goods are available

only to those travelling to

countries outside the EU

(such as Canada and the

USA), and local restrictions

apply regarding how much

visitors can bring into their

country of destination.

material, published both in
printed brochures and on the
Internet. The degree to which
such information is available
in English depends to a large
extent on how much holiday
traffic is expected.
Flanders and Wallonia have
separate tourist agencies –
Tourism Flanders and Belgian
Tourist Office: Brussels-
Wallonia. Abroad, they often
have separate offices. Both
deal with Brussels, although
Brussels also has its own
agency. The best place to
begin looking for information
is the Internet. Virtually all
towns in Belgium have dedi-
cated websites in the format
http://www.townname.be and
these generally have links
to their tourist offices. Again,
almost all towns with any
kind of attraction will have a
tourist office, often located in
the main town square, if not
in the town hall itself. Most
offices and visitor centres
have English-speaking staff.
They can provide hotel listings
and may even offer to make
bookings on a visitor’s behalf.
The Luxembourg Tourist
Office also produces a wealth
of visitor information. The
Grand Duchy has tourist
offices in most locations,
which generally follow the
format http://www.townname.lu
on the Internet.

it advisable to check before

departure. It is a legal require-

ment in Belgium to carry

identification at all times.