When President Emmanuel Macron announced a major renaissance of night trains in 2020, the ambition was clear: by 2030 France should operate a dense network of ten modern night train routes, reconnecting cities domestically and across Europe. Five years later, the vision has collided with fiscal reality, Nico Callens of Duurzaam Mobiel writes.
European Sleeper pushes Brussels–Cologne–Zurich–Milan night train to 9 September 2026
The Dutch–Belgian cooperative European Sleeper has postponed the launch of its new Brussels–Cologne–Zurich–Milan night train to 9 September 2026, instead of the previously announced 18 June 2026. Ticket sales will open on 17 March 2026. The company states that the delay is primarily due to extensive infrastructure works in Germany and Switzerland, combined with the…
REVIEW | Delta Sky Club Lounge at Atlanta Airport Concourse F
Easter 2025. I’m visiting my uncle and aunt in Leland, North Carolina. It’s my first trip of two to the United States in 2025. I haven’t seen them live since February 2020 just before the first lockdown and I haven’t travelled to this area since 2019. I’m flying with SAS and Delta. The itinerary: Brussels…
Brussels Airlines invests in improved on-board product for all passengers
Brussels Airlines will enhance the passenger experience in its different booking classes, both on short-haul and long-haul flights, a press release says. The biggest investment goes to Premium Economy on long-haul flights, with improved tableware and more meal options and an improved service flow, but other booking classes will see improvements too.
ANTWERP | Rubens House appoints two design teams
The Rubens House museum in Antwerp is taking a significant step in the museum’s ambitious renovation. Following an international architectural competition, architects Origin & Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven were appointed to restore the artist’s residence, the gardener’s cottage, the Kolveniershof, and the adjacent renovation.
BELGIUM | Safer in theory, harsher in reality: polarisation and violence mark 2025 for LGBTQIA+ people
Belgium remains one of Europe’s front-runners when it comes to legal protection for LGBTQIA+ people. Yet 2025 exposed a widening gap between progressive legislation and everyday reality, one can read in ILGA-Europe‘s Annual Review. Civil society organisations report a continued rise in homophobic and transphobic violence, declining acceptance among young people, and growing polarisation in…
REVIEW | Swissotel Tallinn
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected by rail? Yes, but not in the most straightforward or userfriendly way possible. The Rail Baltica project should remedy this. Unsurprisingly though, this megaproject faces political and budgetary hurdles. It…
Deutsche Bahn ICE 1110 and 1111 to connect Cologne Main Station and Ostend on weekends from 6 June to end of summer 2026
Deutsche Bahn loves Belgium, it seems. It will run ICE services from Cologne in Germany to Ostend on summer weekends, starting Saturday 6 June 2026. The journey will take 3h26. Domestic use of the train seems possible, but is eyewateringly expensive.
Belgian travel to the United States continued to decline throughout 2025
Travel demand from Belgium to the United States weakened markedly in 2025, confirming a structural downturn rather than a short-lived fluctuation. Official arrival data from the U.S. International Trade Administration indicate that in 11 of the 12 months, fewer Belgians entered the United States than during the same periods in 2024.
BRUSSELS AIRPORT | 24.4 million passengers in 2025, 3.3% more than in 2024, cargo grows by 8.5% with 795,000 tonnes of freight
24.4 million passengers travelled through Brussels Airport in Zaventem in 2025, an increase of 3.3% compared to 2024, the press release says.