During the Ascension weekend in May 2025, Jeroen and I visited the Meise Botanic Garden. World famous in Belgium, but I had never been.
Tag: United States
Osaka wins, Brussels is 42nd: 2025 Yanolja Attractiveness Index for tourism
In 2025, Osaka in Japan has claimed the top spot in the Yanolja Attractiveness Index, overtaking Kyoto, also in Japan, (#3) and surpassing long-established tourism powerhouses such as Paris in France (#2), New York in the United States (#4), and Seoul in South Korea (#5).
5 million passengers flew from and to Brussels Airport in summer 2025
In August 2025, the second month of the summer holiday, Brussels Airport in Zaventem, Belgium welcomed 2.5 million passengers, an increase of 3% compared to August 2024. Because of the end of the school holidays, the number of arriving passengers was very high, the airport manager says in a press release.
ANTWERP SUMMER 2025 | 2.9 million day-trippers and 552,161 overnight stays
The City of Antwerp reported on 2 September a successful 2025 summer season, with events such as Bollekesfeest, Antwerp Pride and concerts by international artists including Ed Sheeran drawing significantly more international visitors to the city.
End of the line for Grand Bazar: Antwerp’s and Belgium’s shopping centres face new reality
The Grand Bazar shopping centre on Antwerp’s Groenplaats is set to disappear entirely to make way for the expansion of the Hilton Hotel, both Het Laatste Nieuws and Gazet van Antwerpen report. The once-busy mall will be largely dismantled, with only the ground-floor retail units remaining. These shops will no longer be accessed from within…
Antwerp 5th on 2025 Happy City Index
The 18th edition (since 2008) of Antwerp Pride takes place from Wednesday 6 to Sunday 10 August 2025 in Antwerp. This year’s theme is “Do not just march! Listen. Understand. Commit”. Prides are a mix of celebration – parties – and activism and advocacy. For the 2025 edition, the organising committee focuses on belonging. Belonging…
REVIEW | ‘Jules Verne 200: An Immersive Journey’ in Brussels
A new exhibition, opened in Brussels in June 2025, invites visitors to explore the mind and legacy of Jules Verne through a large-scale immersive experience. ‘Titled Jules Verne 200: The Immersive Journey‘, the exhibition marks a major production by IDEAL (Layers of Reality), combining immersive spaces, 360-degree projections, virtual reality, and metaverse elements.
Star Alliance wins World’s Best Airline Alliance at 2025 Skytrax Awards
On 7 June 2025, Star Alliance was once again voted the World’s Best Airline Alliance for the fourth consecutive year at the 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards, taking its total tally of the title to 13 times out of 18 when the category was first introduced in 2005.
Introducing the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
We haven’t travelled to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg since 2018 and 2019, but in January 2025 we returned to get a taste of the Alstom Coradia Stream HC which the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) runs under the name Série 2400. The Coradia Stream HC was a candidate to become NMBS…
Brussels Airlines expects strong summer 2025 with boosted capacity
Brussels Airlines is ready for a busy summer holiday season. The airline will operate a fleet of 50 aircraft, compared to 44 aircraft in summer 2024. Nearly 2 million passengers are expected to travel with Brussels Airlines, and several initiatives are implemented to ensure a smooth holiday for everyone.