Belgium‘s museumPASSmusées or Museum Pass looks back ont 2023 and forward to 2024. In 2023, museumPASSmusées included over 235 participating museums all over Belgium. In Flanders, the Brussels-Capital Region and Wallonia.
Tag: East Flanders
Riding the Kersttram or Christmas Tram in Antwerp
As they did in 2022, heritage tramway organisations in Flanders scheduled tram rides in the Advent to Christmas 2023. In Antwerp, this is done by VlaTAM, the Vlaamse Tram- en Autobusmuseum or Flemish Tram And Bus Museum. It’s called Kersttram or Christmas Tram.
City of Antwerp annexes Borsbeek, which becomes the tenth district on 1 January 2025
On Monday 18 December 2023, the municipal councils of both the City of Antwerp and the Town of Borsbeek approved the merge. Borsbeek will become the tenth district of Antwerp. Antwerp is unique in Flanders in that it has a two-tier system of municipal government with a city council and district councils.
ANTWERP | 2.2 million day tourists and 398K overnight stays in the summer of 2023
The City of Antwerp looks back on a festive summer with good numbers. “The Antwerp tourism sector can look back on a busy summer, with good visitor numbers thanks to the many fun events in the city. The changeable weather did not prevent many tourists from visiting the city and most tourism subsectors therefore recorded…
FREE STATE OF ANTWERP | The City could have run the parking lot
“Antwerpen is stad en de rest is parking.” A popular phrase saying “Antwerp is city and the rest is parking area” originated in the 1970s or 1980s when Antwerp experienced some cityscape changing urban development. But what if Antwerp actually did run the that parking lot? In 1830, a French plan invented the Free State…
Plans for a steam train heritage service between Brussels and Mechelen shelved
“If all goes well, Train World will operate steam train between Brussels and Mechelen (Malines), reports Gazet van Antwerpen. The service could start in 2020″, we wrote in 2019. Quod non. Minister for Mobility George Gilkinet (Ecolo) declared in Parliament it’s not happening because it’s too complicated.
LIMBURG | Bokrijk, an open-air museum of folk buildings heritage
On sunny October 2022 Tuesday, Jeroen and I visited Bokrijk, an open-air folk heritage museum near Genk in the province of Limburg. The Netherlands have the Nederlands Openluchtmuseum in Arnhem, Sweden has Skansen in Stockholm and Belgium has Bokrijk.
Belgians make 4.5 million day trips to Antwerp every year
Day trips remain an important pillar of tourism in Antwerp, research by Westtoer shows. It mapped out day tourism in Belgium between 2021 and 2022. During that period, Antwerp received 4.5 million day trips by compatriots, representing a turnover of 195 million euros in the Antwerp economy.
FLANDERS | Castles of the Scheldt
Chances are you know the Châteaux de la Loire or Châteaux of the Loire Valley. A portmanteau term for the royal and other castles in the Loire Valley in France. Flanders has now launched the Castles of the Scheldt. Seven of them are highlighted.
REVIEW | Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof in Ghent
My Friend Gillis invited Sam and me to celebrate his birthday over a dinner in Ghent. As we would like to be able to drink a bit, we decided to stay the night in Ghent. For our stay we selected the Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof, one of the best hotels in Ghent. It also…