April 2025. For the first time since 1968, trams ride on the streets of Liège (Luik, Lüttich). Belgium has now five cities with trams: Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi and now Liège. And, of course there’s the Coast Tram or Kusttram in West Flanders, with 67 km the longest tram line in the world. Danny and…
Tag: Wallonia
BELGIUM | Meise Botanic Garden
During the Ascension weekend in May 2025, Jeroen and I visited the Meise Botanic Garden. World famous in Belgium, but I had never been.
Leuven and East Brabant named European Capital of Culture 2030
Leuven (Louvain) and the East Brabant reference region have been named European Capital of Culture 2030 by the European jury. The announcement was made at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels, where Leuven’s bid, presented under the banner LOV2030 – Leuven & Beyond, triumphed over its Belgian rivals Namur (Namen) in Wallonia and Sint-Jans-Molenbeek…
BELGIUM | Flight shame? Airports break records during 2025 summer season
On Monday 28 July 2025 , Brussels Airport recorded its highest number of passengers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Around 48,000 people boarded a flight, while 44,000 arrived, De Morgen reported. The surge in travellers was attributed to the end of Tomorrowland, the traditional changeover weekend, and the final days of…
How Belgium has changed in the last 25 years
Today is the National Holiday of Belgium. On 21 July 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha took the constitutional oath to become King of the Belgians. The 21st century is now 25 years old. In January 2025, the newspaper De Morgen looked at how the country has changed in a quarter century. Quite a…
Mons Pride 2025 on Saturday 31 May
Another weekend, another pride in Belgium. After Brussels on Saturday 17 May, Namur (Namen) on Saturday 24 May, it’s now the turn of Mons (Bergen) in the province of Hainaut (Hainault with L if you want to honour Philippa of Hainault, Queen of England).
BELGIUM | Le Chemin de Fer du Bocq heritage railway reopens on 14 June 2025
“Reprise des circulations régulières dès le 14 juin.” Resumption of regular traffic from 14 June. With this short sentence, Christian from Le Chemin de Fer du Bocq (CFB) communicates this heritage railway in the province of Namur finally reopens after some much-needed engineering works.
NAMUR PRIDE 2025 | Pride Day, Solidarity March and community celebration
Namur Pride or Fiertés namuroises returns this year on Saturday 24 May 2025, with the main festivities taking place in the heart of the capital city of Wallonia at Place Maurice Servais, located at the foot of the cable car. The event site opens to the public at 12:00 PM, launching a full day of…
Belgium sees modest tourism growth in 2024, led by Flanders and Brussels
Belgium’s tourism industry showed signs of solid recovery and stability in 2024, with a total of nearly 45 million overnight stays recorded across the country.
BRUSSELS PRIDE 2025 | Saturday 17 May Pride March parade starts at Mont des Arts / Kunstberg at 2:30 PM
The highlight of highlights for prides is the pride parade or Pride March. This year, the Brussels Pride parade is on 17 May. And 17 May is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. IDAHOT or IDAHOBIT. This year, the theme ‘Unite, time to protect our rights‘ will call for a society where everyone’s fundamental…