Belgium and Luxembourg (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

334 SURVIVAL GUIDE

TRAMS

In addition to bus services,

Brussels, Ghent and Antwerp

have trams. Running on dedi-

cated lines that are usually

(although not always) free of

road traffic, they have the

advantage of following a reli-

able published schedule, and

move swiftly through the city

streets even at rush hour. Maps

of the network and ticket

offices make planning a jour-

ney fairly easy. As with buses,

all stops are request stops;

equally, the bell-button must

be pressed for disembarking.

Getting around the Cities

Civic pride is woven into the fabric of
all municipalities in Luxembourg and
Belgium, and good public access is high
on the agenda. The cities and towns
have grown organically as places where
people live, work and play, and most
still have the human scale that reflects their medieval
origins. This means that walking remains one of the
best ways to get around the town centres. There are
also good means of public transport, or reasonably-
priced, centrally-located car parks for those who drive.

WALKING

Town planners have generally
shown great consideration for
pedestrians, with broad pave-
ments and plenty of street
crossings. Traffic is meant to
stop for walkers at zebra-
crossings, but this may not
always happen. Some cross-
ings also have traffic signals,
and drivers will follow them,
not a pedestrian’s wish to
cross: it is best to wait for the
green man to light up. Sturdy
walking shoes are needed to
cope with the many cobbled
streets in Belgium.

BUSES

City buses are run by the
same companies as provincial
buses: De Lijn in Flanders and
TEC in Wallonia. The excep-
tion is Brussels, where all
public transport (buses, trams,
and metro) are operated by
the Société des Transports
Intercommunaux de Bruxelles
(STIB, or MIVB in Dutch). All
bus stops should be treated as
request stops, and drivers

need to be signalled to when

a person wants to board. In

Luxembourg City, buses are

the main form of public trans-

port, centring upon Place E

Hamilius in the Old Town, and

linking with the train station

Some cities, notably Bruges,

Brussels and Luxembourg City,

offer sightseeing tours by bus,

with recorded commentaries.

In both nations, this is a

hop-off, hop-on service, and

tickets are valid for 24 hours.

METRO

The city of Brussels has a

Metro (underground) system,

which provides quick trans-

port around the centre and to

the suburbs in all directions.

Stations are marked by signs

with a blue “M” on a white

background. Scheduled serv-

ices run from 6am to mid-

night (with shorter hours at

weekends or on public holi-

days). Brussels and Antwerp

both also have a system

called PreMetro, where the

tram network travels through

extensive underground tun-

nels in the city centre.

TICKETS AND MAPS

In cities with trams or a metro

system as well as buses, tick-

ets are normally valid for a

continuous onward journey,

with changes, regardless of

the means of conveyance. In

Brussels, STIB tickets for bus,

tram and metro can be bought

from ticket offices and newsa-

gents. More economical multi-

journey cards, or one-day

cards, are also available.

Elsewhere, bus and tram tick-

ets for individual journeys are

bought from the driver. The

onboard machine can be used

to validate a ticket at the start

of a journey, and at each sub-

sequent change. Larger towns

and cities publish maps of the

bus, tram and metro routes,

which are available for free at

ticket and tourist offices.

TAXIS

All major towns have taxi

services. Cabs are ordinary

saloon cars with illuminated

taxi signs on the roof. They

Metro station

street sign

Pedestrianized street in the Old Town centre of Luxembourg City

City tram moving down Rue Royale

towards the Brussels city centre