Belgium - Belgia

Belgium is located in Western Europe on the North Sea in between France and The Netherlands, also borders on Germany and Luxembourg.

Characteristic

Geography

The highest point of Belgium is Signal de Botrange mountain located in the eastern Hautes Fagnes massif, 694 m above sea level.

Climate

Belgium has a warm maritime climate, characterized by high cloudiness, precipitation and fog (up to 200 days a year).

Flora and fauna

The natural vegetation of the country consists of moors and peat bogs as well as willow, beech, alder and oak-birch forests.

History

Culture and art

Policy

Economy

The modern, privately driven economy of Belgium owes its success to its central location in Europe, a well-developed transport network and the diversification of industry and trade. Industry is mainly concentrated in the more densely populated Flemish North. Due to its poor natural resources, Belgium is forced to import large amounts of raw materials and export a wide range of industrial products, making the country's economy particularly dependent on world market prices.

Society

Traditions

Preparations

Travel time selection

The best time to visit Belgium and Luxembourg is summer. The south and west are also warmer than the Northeast and the Ardennes. Winter is quite cold and snowy, especially in Luxembourg.

Visas

For a stay of up to 90 days - which is certainly enough to visit this small country - no visas are required. Just remember to always have your passport and ID card with you.

Customs regulations

You can bring some goods "for personal use" into the country - that is, 200 cigarettes and the same number of cigars, 1 kilogram of tobacco, 10 liters of spirit, 20 liters of stronger wine and 90 liters of weaker wine (including up to 60 liters of sparkling wine). All this can be spiced up with 110 liters of beer. However, to be able to bring all these "benefits" to Belgian soil, you must be at least 17 years old.

Phrase book

Drive

By plane

The largest airport in Belgium is located in Brussels [1], about 11 km from Brussels and supports direct connections from Warsaw. You can get to the city from the airport by train (€ 5.10, departures every 15 minutes, travel time to the center 25 minutes) or by bus number 12/21 (€ 3), or by train you can go directly to Gent and Leuven.

A taxi to the center of Brussels costs around € 30.

The other 2 airports serving passenger traffic are Charleroi [2] (sometimes referred to as Brussels South) about 50 km from Brussels and Antwerp-Deurne. Charleroi Airport is mainly used by low cost carriers (including Ryanair to Wroclaw, WizzAir to Katowice and Of Warsaw), and Deurne primarily accepts business flights.

When choosing a plane to Belgium, it is also worth considering a flight to Amsterdamand then access by train.

By rail

Belgium has one of the densest rail networks in the world.

By car

The motorway network in Belgium is one of the densest in Europe. The highways are free and fully lit.

By bus

By ship

Regions

The three autonomous regions of Belgium:

Brussels Capital Region

Flemish Region

Walloon region

Three communities:

French (Communauté Française),

Flemish (Vlaamse Gemeenschap),

German (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft).

Four language regions:

French-speaking region (French),

Dutch-speaking region (Flemish),

bilingual region of Brussels,

German-speaking region.

Provinces of Belgium:

Flemish Region:

Antwerp (n. Antwerp, St. Antwerp)

Flemish Brabant (nid. Vlaams Brabant, st. Leuven)

East Flanders (n. Oost-Vlaanderen, St. Ghent)

West Flanders (n. West-Vlaanderen, st. Bruges)

Limburg (n. Limburg, St. Hasselt)

Walloon Region:

Walloon Brabant (fr. Brabant-Walloon, st. Wavre)

Hainaut (fr. Hainaut, St. Mons)

Liège (French Liège, German Lüttich, st. Liège)

Luxembourg (fr. Luxembourg, st. Arlon)

Namur (fr. Namur, st. Namur)

Cities

According to 2011 data, there were over 600 cities in Belgium. The city of Antwerp alone had a population of over half a million; 8 cities with a population of 100,000 ÷ 500,000, 20 cities with a population of 50,000 ÷ 100,000, 70 cities with a population of 25,000 ÷ 50,000. and the rest of the cities below 25,000 residents. For comparison, almost 70 [when?] In Belgium there were: 5 cities with a population of over 100,000, 7 cities with a population of 50,000 ÷ 100,000, 40 cities with a population of 20,000 ÷ 50,000. and 83 cities with a population of 10-20 thousand.

• Brussels
• Antwerp
• Liége
• Bruges
• Ghent
• Charleroi
• Leuven
• Namur
• Genk
• Ostend
• Mons
• Kortrijk
• Mechelen

Interesting places

Objects from the UNESCO World Heritage List

• Four elevators on the Central Channel and its surroundings, La Louvière and Le Roeulx (province Hainaut)
• Beginners' houses Flanders
• The main city residences designed by Victor Horta in Brussels
• Cathedral of Notre-Dame Tournai
• La Grand-Place in Brussels
• City watchtowers in Flanders, Wallonia and north France (shared with France)
• Neolithic flint mines in Spiennes (Mons)
• Historic center Bruges
• Historic complex: house, workshops and museum of the Plantin and Moretus families in Antwerp

Transport

Very well developed. Belgium has the most roads per 1 km² (altogether around 146,000 km) and a dense motorway network. The railway network is also very dense (approx. 3,500 km) and in excellent condition.

Trip

Tongue

Officially, Belgium has 3 official languages: Flemish (Dutch), French and German. The majority of the population (about 60%) speaks Flemish (Dutch) - the largest part in the north of the country, about 39% French (south of Belgium) and only 1% German (near the border to Germany).

The second language is English throughout the country. It is best to start the conversation in English. Don't try to speak French in Flanders and Dutch in Wallonia. Speaking "bad" language can be considered offensive in both regions, or it can be ignored, or at worst you will get hostile or even blasphemous responses.

Shopping

Shopping in Belgium is easy to do between 10:00 and 18:00, and even longer on Fridays. Usually all credit cards are accepted, however in many cases payment can only be made in cash or by Belgian debit card. Since Poland belongs to the European Union, it is no longer possible for Polish tourists to apply for a VAT refund on goods purchased in EU countries.

Gastronomy

Belgian cuisine is quite varied; a local specialty on the coast are shrimp croquettes, w Mechelen dishes made of asparagus taste best, and v Ghent and the surrounding area, we will eat the best chicken stew (waterzooi). In turn, the resident Liège can serve you a wonderful Liégoise salad with beans and bacon. However, you can buy great cheese everywhere, and although Belgium offers a multitude of varieties and varieties of this delicacy, Belgian beer is much more famous in the world and its unprecedented variety of flavors and species. The most popular of them are: Konnick, Carolus, Gouden, Gueuze, Tarwebier.

Accommodation

Sparingly

• Vrienden op de Fiets (= Friends on bikes) 220 addresses for tourists who travel by bike or on foot through Belgium, [3]

Moderate

• City Flats, [4]. serviced apartments in Brussels, Leuven, Antwerp. Apartments start as low as € 79 per night. The friendly staff will ensure you a wonderful stay.

Exclusively

Science

work

Security

The level of security in Belgium is high. Excluding Brussels, where the problem of security and crime has been increasing for years.

Health

contact

Telephone

Internet

post

Tourist information

Diplomatic representations

Diplomatic missions accredited in Belgium

Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Brussels

Rue Stevin 139, 1000 Brussels

Phone: 32 27 80 45 00

Fax: 32 27 36 18 81

Web page: https://bruksela.msz.gov.pl/pl/

E-mail: [email protected]

Diplomatic representations accredited in Poland

Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium in Warsaw

ul. Senatorska 34

00-095 Warsaw

Telephone: 48 22 551 28 00

Fax: 48 22 551 28 88

Web page: https://poland.diplomatie.belgium.be/pl

E-mail: [email protected]

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