Belgium is unfortunately one of those countries that is predominately and continuously overlooked. It’s one of those in between places that people either pass through, or stop off in briefly on a tour of the WW1 trenches. It’s like the airport lounge of Europe, where everyone goes through but rarely stops for long. The thing is, is that there is so much more to Belgium than just this. Mostly, when people hear about Belgium the main thing that springs to mind is that its capital is Brussels.

From a tourist’s point of view Brussels isn’t the most thriving holiday resort, in spite of its’ new Eurostar links making it speedy and easy to get to. It is very much like a less attractive blend of Paris and Amsterdam.  It has the unfortunate reputation among natives as being a little bit seedy and among tourists as a little bit boring, so naturally it is not everyone’s number one choice of destination. It’s more of a business city than a holiday destination, it being the home of the European Parliament.

 


 But don’t let that put you off, it just means there’s more of Belgium for you to keep to yourself and selfishly enjoy the culture. Although Belgium is relatively low key, everyone has heard of the obvious associations such as Belgian chocolate and mayonnaise and chips. Perhaps the lesser known aspect of their culture is the production of Belgian lace, for which it is famous. If you’re like me and slightly less cultured, the main place you probably heard about Belgian lace was via Friends in the one where Rachel and Ross make up the story about their wedding. Note Rachel’s fictitious veil was supposedly made “by blind Belgian nuns”. In fact, there is an abundance of lace shops in Bruges, the Belgian equivalent of Oxford in relation to London, and one of Europe’s lesser known, but most beautiful cities.

To quote, the film In Bruges “where’s Bruges”, “in Belgium”, “why would I want to go there?” Why would you not? It’s glorious; it’s an old medieval town and supposedly one of Europe’s most romantic locations, perhaps second to Paris. I can definitely see why; the city is interspersed with quaint canals hung with ivy, beautiful old churches and through every street there runs horse and carriage rides, (although romantic on paper, can actually be a tad annoying when trying to cross the road). The main thing with Bruges is that like the rest of Belgium, although more tourists orientated than Brussels, it is still relatively low on everyone’s radars, which means that it’s not swarming with tourists. Some of the best places to go in Bruges are some of the best hidden. Obviously in the centre is the Belfry which you can climb and see some spectacular views of Bruges, which although a little expensive (around €8) is said to be well worth it. As well as this, there are some better hidden places not as high on the radar, such as The Church of St Basilica of The Holy Blood. This church is said to hold a vial with the blood of Jesus Christ; not only is it an intriguing attraction, whether you are religious or not, but the church itself is a hidden gem. Completely stunning and so incredibly intricate the church is covered in murals and paintings and hung with gold plate. The blood is on display during the day in a closely guarded glass case and they have a continual service where visitors can walk up to the case to pray over the vial. 



 


 As well as the church, in the same square is the famous statue ‘Lovers’ complete with small bronze frog, which supposedly when kissed by the 100,000th visitor transforms into a handsome man who will follow you around carrying your bags, so naturally you have to kiss the frog. The best bit is that this legend is not very well known to tourists. One of Bruges’ other claims to fame is that it is the only other country and city outside of Italy which holds a statue by Michelangelo. Not  the easiest thing to find, it’s definitely worth the quest to find the ‘Madonna and Child’ statue. Here’s a clue, it’s not outside...

 





 Bruges is definitely a beautiful city, well worth a visit. Unlike Brussels, Bruges holds a lot of things to visit and see. I’m not anti-Brussels; it is a lovely city, although having seen Paris I tend to find myself unfairly comparing other European cities. As cities go, there is not an overwhelming amount of tourist attractions apart from Manneken Pis, and if you are only there to see ‘the things you should,’ then these can be done in pretty much a day and the only place for this really worth going is Grand Place. Grand Place is the main square in Brussels and contains the majority of the cities’ most spectacular buildings. It the only main tourist attraction, unlike Paris there are very few tourist enticing places, which perhaps explains why a great many people have repeatedly told me that Brussels is boring. Sure it’s not the most wild of places, it has a shortage of those ‘quaint little coffee shops’ that Paris has, which you know are only there for the tourists, and the real Parisians never attend. Instead it has understated landmarks such as the golden statue in Grand Place, which when stroked is supposed to give you luck. Even its’ most famous statue, Manneken Pis, although recognised, is still difficult to place for some people. That is not to say that the Belgian locals don’t have fun with their most famous landmark, dressing up the statue around seasonal holidays, such as giving him a Santa hat during Christmas and making him produce Belgian beer (for which they are well known) on national holidays. Brussels is not a bad place, it’s very relaxed and all things said and done it is a lovely place for a quiet weekend city break. With not much to rush about see it is fine to take things at a slower pace, the city is a brilliant place to take it easy. There is an abundance of quaint cobbled streets to lose yourself in, plenty of coffee shops and my favourite place in the whole of Brussels, Parc du Cinquantenaire. I won’t harp on about it too much, but in the summer it is a truly lovely place to go, with families and youths quietly enjoying the surrounding greenery well into the night, to the impressive backdrop of the Cinquantenaire Museum. Both way Brussels, Bruges and Belgium are well worth a visit.

In many senses I can see how many people have managed to overlook Belgium. The countryside is very close to the French countryside. It is mostly comprised of large flat farmer’s fields, and vineyards and small villages and towns made up of quaint red brickwork. France, Belgium and The Netherlands all share this very similar terrain, all closely resembling one another. In fact, speeding through the landscape of mainland Europe on the Eurostar I was only able to realise I was in Belgium  by a lovely text from my network provider welcoming me to Belgium and then promptly trying to rob me as a result of roaming charges. Perhaps it’s the position Belgium inhabits in mainland Europe, People, just don’t seem to know much about the country. Although the ignorance of its’ past is a negative, it isn’t necessarily entirely a bad thing; as it isn’t high on the radar of travellers, which means that there’s more of a chance to see the culture, without some annoying British or American tourist’s head craning in your line of vision.