Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

PRACTICAL INFORAMATION 329

Newspaper

stand

DIRECTORY

INTERNET

Belgacom

http://www.belgacom.be

Luxembourg City

http://www.hotspot.lu

NEWSPAPERS AND
MAGAZINES

Newspapers as well
as magazines in the
English language are
available in most of the
main cities in Belgium
and Luxembourg.
Brussels has its own
excellent weekly
listings guide called
Brussels Unlimited. The
monthly Bulletin magazine
carries articles covering the
rest of Belgium. Belgian press
is split along the language-
divide. The main French-
language papers in this area
are Le Soir, La Libre Belgique
and La Dernière Heure
(strong on sports coverage).
The main Flemish and Dutch
papers are De Standaard, Het
Laatste Nieuws and De
Morgen. The Grenz-Echo
serves the German-speaking
community in the east of the
country. In Luxembourg,
there are the Luxemburger
Wort and Tageblatt.

newsagents, tobacconists,
postcard shops and hotels.
Mail boxes, often still bearing
the Thurn and Taxis post-
horn, are red in Belgium,
while in Luxembourg, they
are painted yellow.

INTERNET SERVICES

Belgium and Luxembourg

have kept ahead of the game

with the Internet, and the

network, efficiency and avail-

ability of connections are

improving all the time. Most

major hotels, and even many

smaller ones have Wi-Fi.

Sometimes guests have to pay

for time-limited usage, but

often it is provided as part of

the hotel service, accessed by

codes supplied by the hotel

reception. If an Internet link

is essential, visitors can ask

for it while making the hotel

booking. Some bars and cafés

also have Wi-Fi. Belgacom has

a (subscription) hotspot

system for Wi-Fi Internet users

on the move in Belgium;

Luxembourg City has a free

one. Many towns and cities

also have dedicated Internet

cafés, but coverage is patchy.

The Internet is being increas-

ingly used in the travel industry

for booking and ticketing

flights and ferry crossings, for

researching and booking

hotels, and for finding out

about holiday destinations.

This world of electronic

communications is bound to

expand even further in future.

Radio Télévision Belge de

la langue Française (RTBF),

while the Flemish-language

version is the Vlaamse Radio-

en Televisieomroep (VRT).

Luxembourg is the base for

the far-reaching Radio-

Télé-Luxembourg

(RTL), a descendant

of the original Radio

Luxembourg which

was founded in 1933.

Visitors to Belgium

and Luxembourg may

barely become aware of

such national distinctions

how ever, because most

hotel televisions are

supplied by cable, with

dozens of channels that

come not only from local

sources, but also, in a variety

of languages, from the neigh-

bouring countries, including

France, the UK, Germany and

the Netherlands.

People at a free Internet-access computer station

The entrance to a post office, with signs in French and Dutch

TELEVISION

Belgium has two primary
broadcasting worlds: French
and Dutch. Both have their
own state-funded arms. The
French-language one is the