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Where is Belgium?
Belgium
Belgium, or the kingdom of Belgium to be exact, is a special and underrated place, in my very humbled and biased opinion. This small country has a deep history and an interesting linguistic background, plus lots of castles and nature spots to explore. I did my masters here and still currently live in this surprising little country. What else do I like about it you ask? Well, for starters there are lots of fries, chocolate, and beer...
Sharing borders with the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Belgium provides you with everything from a sandy coat-line where you can catch a beautiful sunset to hills in the south to appease the hiking lovers. There is a large international airport which can connect you easily to the capital, Brussels. From Brussels, Europe is at your fingertips; with high-speed trains that can take you directly to Amsterdam, Paris, London, Marseille, and multiple destinations in Germany.
Leuven
Ghent
Brugge
Brussels
Antwerp
Liège
Getting around Belgium
Coming to Belgium and wondering the best way to see the sights? You are in luck because most most of Belgium is accessible by public transport. You can take the train, bus, tram, metro, or bike to get to all of the places that I recommend. Since I've lived here, I haven't owned a car, and I don't see that changing in the near future.
By train
The train company here is called SNCB or NMBS. The easiest way to buy tickets is via the app, in my opinion, but you can also buy tickets at the blue machines at the station. There is an English version of the app and an English button on the machines, so they are easy to use, even if you've never used it before. There are a variety of train tickets you can use that will help you save money. To learn about how the system works and how to save money, check out my blog post on the subject.
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Attention: the red Thalys trains are fast, international trains that go from Brussels to the Netherlands, Germany, and France. The tickets for this type of train should be bought as soon as possible as the prices fluctuate. The prices are always the same for the local trains. These tickets can be bought on the Thalys or SNCB International apps.
By Bus
Local city buses are separated by region. In Flanders the company is called De Lijn, in Walonia it is TEC, in Brussels it is STIB, and the German speaking region....
Normally local bus tickets are valid for 1 hour after activation.
For long distance buses make sure to buy those tickets in advance via the bus' website or Omio.
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Tram and Metro
Not all cities have metros or trams. Leuven for example only has a bus system, where Brussels has buses, metros, and trams. There is a tram that runs along the entire coast line and that is run by De Lijn, so if you plan on taking public transport around the cities, google maps will be your friend (side note: there is an app for practically everything these days).
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