On 2 April, I went to Amsterdam in the Netherlands with the EuroCity Direct to interview Ype Driessen of Fotostrips.nl on his first textual novel ‘Vanilla‘. I decided to combine it with a cultural activity.
Tag: Netherlands
BELGIUM | Overtourism already an issue… in 1926
Complaints about overcrowding, disruptive visitors and pressure on cities may feel like a distinctly modern problem, associated with places such as Venice in Italy, Barcelona in Spain or Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Yet Belgium experienced remarkably similar tensions a century ago, when a surge in foreign visitors sparked widespread unease among local residents.
Flanders welcomed over 15 million visitors in 2025
Flanders is becoming increasingly popular as a tourist destination. In 2025, an estimated 15.4 million people visited the region, marking a 3% increase compared to 2024, according to provisional figures from Visit Flanders (Toerisme Vlaanderen). The number of overnight stays also rose to 36.3 million.
Trenitalia / FS Group advances Paris hub to power European high-speed expansion, looking at Belgium and the Netherlands for the future
Italian state-backed Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (FS or FS Group) is accelerating its expansion into Europe’s high-speed rail market, confirming plans for a major maintenance hub in the Paris region that will underpin its growing operations in France and support future services to London in the United Kingdom.
WORLDPRIDE AMSTERDAM 2026 | Pride Express links Ghent, Brussels and Antwerp to Amsterdam on 1 and 2 August 2026
Last year‘s Pride Express was successful enough, so organiser Jurgen Dedeckere has another go. His dedicated Pride Express train will link Belgium with WorldPride Amsterdam on Saturday 1 August 2026, offering passengers a combined transport and entertainment experience between Ghent, Brussels, Antwerp, and Amsterdam. The return trip is scheduled for Saturday night, bringing you home…
TALLINN | Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour Estonian Maritime Museum
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…
Thailand happy with Belgian visitor numbers and welcomes Tomorrowland
Belgium continues to strengthen its position as a key European source market for Thailand, TravMagazine reports. In 2025, no fewer than 122,347 Belgian travellers visited Thailand, representing a year-on-year increase of 13.24%.
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…
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.
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.