Dutch heritage railway operator Het Stoomgenootschap will organise its first train journey in Belgium in March 2027, using a historic Belgian diesel locomotive that recently returned to service. The trip will be hauled by locomotive 5519, the only preserved Belgian museum locomotive authorised to operate independently on the country’s regular Infrabel railway network.
Tag: Leiden
ANTWERP | Zuidpark wins European Green Cities Award 2025
In January 2026 in Essen, Germany, the Green Cities Europe Award 2025 was presented to Zuidpark or South Park. The Antwerp project beat out seven other countries.
Leuven wins silver at European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Awards
The city of Leuven (Louvain) in Flemish Brabant, Flanders, Belgium received a silver award at the fifth European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Awards, held in Brussels on Tuesday 21 April 2026. The awards, organised by the European Commission, recognise cities, municipalities, and regions that excel in promoting inclusion, diversity, and combating discrimination.
COPENHAGEN | Rundetårn or Round Tower
I turned 44 in June. I have this tradition – when possible – of not being in Belgium for my birthday. From Sweden in 2013 to the Châteaux of the Loire Valley in 2014, Lake Orta in 2015, Rome in 2016, London in 2018, North Carolina and Virginia in 2019, England in 2022, and Rotterdam…
NETHERLANDS | Leiden in South Holland
May 2025. I have a few days off so I decide to take a train to Leiden (Leyden, Leyde) in the Dutch province of South Holland to visit the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, or the National Museum of Antiquities. Steve, my former Latin and Ancient Greek teacher in my teen years, says it’s quite good. As…
REVIEW | Rijksmuseum van Oudheden or National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden
May 2025. I have a few days off so I decide to take a train to Leiden (Leyden, Leyde) in the Dutch province of South Holland to visit the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, or the National Museum of Antiquities. Steve, my former Latin and Ancient Greek teacher in my teen years, says it’s quite good. As…
OVERTOURISM | Alternatives for Venice, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Santorini, Paris, Dubrovnik, London and Rome?
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…
GoVolta wants to run trains from Amsterdam to Bruges
Dutch railway company GoVolta has submitted applications for three new international train services from January 2027. The new rail operator has submitted applications to the Autoriteit Consument & Markt (ACM), the authority for consumer and market in the Netherlands for trains to Bruges in Belgium and Hamburg and Frankfurt in Germany.
‘Art Room from the Rubens House’ to Museo del Prado in Madrid
Cornelis van der Geest‘s ‘Art Room from the Rubens House‘ collection has arrived at the Museo del Prado in Madrid. From the Museum Aan de Stroom (MAS), where the work could be admired for several months in the masterpieces exhibition ‘Rare & Indispensable‘, the painting left for two years to one of the most prestigious…
Dinner Train comes to Belgium
Dinner Train is expanding from the Netherlands to Belgium. The concept is simple, really, while you dine, Dinner Train travels on the rails. The first ride in Belgium is in Saint Nicholas (Sint-Niklaas, Saint-Nicolas), on Friday 1 March 2024.