Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

WESTERN FLANDERS

(see pp104–139)

WESTERN WALLONIA

(see pp176–91)

Belgium and Luxembourg at a Glance

Essentially, Belgium is divided into two

halves – Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north

and French-speaking Wallonia in the south.

Situated wholly within Flanders is the coun-

try’s capital Brussels, a separate administrative

region with a large French-speaking popula-

tion. Landlocked but independent, the Grand

Duchy of Luxembourg is Belgium’s south-

eastern neighbour. Most big Belgian cities are

located in Flanders and the northern part of

Wallonia. The hilly landscape of the Ardennes

covers much of the southern and eastern parts

of Wallonia as well as Luxembourg. Here the

landscape is more sparsely populated, and

cherished for its unspoilt natural beauty.

50 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

Tournai (see pp180–84)

is the oldest cathedral-

city in Belgium. It is

justly famous for

the splendid Gothic

and Romanesque

Cathédrale Notre-

Dame, originally the

seat of the city’s first

bishop, St Eleutherius,

in the 5th century.

Brussels (see pp52–97) has a glorious

centrepiece in its Grand Place, which

is fronted by its ornate Flemish-

Renaissance guildhouses.

Oostende (see p122), clustered around

a busy marina and fishing port, is the

largest resort-town on the Belgian coast.

Home of the maverick late-19th-century

artist James Ensor, it also has a notable

museum of modern art.

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BRUSSELS

(see pp52–97)

Picturesque townhouses clustering around the narrow canal-side streets of Bruges’s historic centre