Overtourism was an issue in 2024 and still is in 2025. An increasing number of cities, grappling with the less appealing aspects of mass tourism, are implementing measures to curb the influx of visitors. One strategy is not to go to these hotspots, but to find alternatives. And if we all do that, those alternatives…
Tag: Bordeaux
London St Pancras Highspeed and Getlink aspire to to triple train services to France, Belgium and the Netherlands and add services to Germany and Switzerland
High-speed rail travel from London in the United Kingdom to mainland Europe is poised for a major expansion, with plans to introduce direct routes to Germany, Switzerland, and beyond. London St Pancras Highspeed (LSPH), the company overseeing St Pancras International and the high-speed rail link to Folkestone, has partnered with Getlink, the French operator of…
Back On Track Belgium sees recognition for night trains in new Government Agreement but questions practicalities
Sleeper train travel advocacy group Back On Track Belgium has mixed feelings regarding the new Government Agreement in Belgium. The Kingdom has now a government after some eight months since the June 2024 elections. Such a long formation period is nowadays not unusual in Belgium and in Europe.
Spain – Andorra – Catalonia – Occitania – Andalusia 2023
In 2023 I ‘rediscovered’ the for Belgians traditional holiday destinations of France and Spain. And in France, I mostly stayed in what was traditionally more Latin or Iberian than the France which we associate with Paris, Bordeaux, Nice, Brittany, Normandy or the Champagne. In 2023, I explored areas with a more or less fiercely independent…
More Belgians want to go on holiday by train, but in practice not that many do
More Belgians want to travel by train coming summer holiday. ABTO, the Association of Belgian Tour Operators, says 7% indicate of surveyed holidaygoers in Belgium stated that they will travel by train this summer. In 2019, that was only 4%.
Antwerp number 1 of 40 most exciting cities to visit in 2024
For the British newspaper of record The Sunday Times, Antwerp in Belgium is the number one exciting city to visit in 2024.
SNCF and NMBS / SNCB to link Paris to Brussels with ‘slow’ classic train in about 3 hours from December 2024
France‘s national train operator SNCF Voyageurs has submitted an application to the French transport authority to start driving between Brussels and Paris with Belgian rolling stock from December 2024, Treinreiziger.nl reports.
Ljubljana named European Best Destination 2022, Leuven 5th
Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, has been named European Best Destination 2022. Leuven in Belgium finished 5th in this popularity contest.
Leuven nominated for European Best Destination
Leuven (or Louvain) is the only place in Belgium nominated for the ‘European Best Destination‘ poll.
AREAS OF ANTWERP | Scheldekaaien or Scheldt Quays
At the end of October 2020, the Governments of Belgium – yes, plural – announced a second lockdown as a coronavirus countermeasure. To be fair, the lockdown is not a full confinement. But we were and are allowed to go outside. So even if the nature of measures change, the lockdown provides an excuse to…