Visiting Belgium? More like three Belgium's, actually. One is the new Belgium, a hot-spot for20-30 somethings from all over the world who flock to Brussels, live in cheap hotels, hang out at the cafes, eat chocolate, drink beer, and enjoy the nightlife,with no linguistic, racial or otherwise dividing lines. The other Belgiumis in the Flanders - with the dated architecture,magnificent cathedrals, tree-lined canals and the scenic outdoors in Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent, where the people speak Dutch. This is the Belgium you see in the tourist brochures. And then there's the third Belgium in French speaking Bastogne -a blood-soaked reminder of Europe's hubris. The entire zone is dotted with memorials, museums and cemeteries filled with thousands of American and Allied graves, marking the bloodiest battles of WWII. One of Belgium's most visited destinations is the site of the battle of Waterloo, just outside Brussels - where Napoleon was defeated.
Brussels being the anointed capital of the EU and its Parliament, naturally gets a lot of attention and money. Bruges, however, is the tourist capital of Belgium, and all the other towns - each just a short hop by train, have their own specific attractions. Durbay is the smallest city in the world, Lige is often compared to Rome, Spa gave its name to all the spas in the world, and Bastogne was ground zero for the Battle of the Bulge.
The Grand Place is Brussel's city center - a beautiful square with dated baroque and gothic backdrops, terrace cafes. The Royal Palace, Town Hall and the EU Parliament are all sites worth visiting. So is Manneken Pis - a statue of a little boy peeing in a fountain who has a wardrobe of over 760 tiny outfits donated by visiting heads of state. Also, not to be missed is the Atomium - a structure representing the molecule's nine atoms, magnified 165 billion times. Mini-Europe is a park with tiny recreations of Europe's most famous attractions.
The Ardennes Cemetery holds row upon row of graves of American servicemen - 5328 graves, to be precise. Most of them died in the Battle of the Bulge. Don't forget to visit the Museum of the Battle of the Bulge. Another 7992 American servicemen rest in the Cemetery Henri-Chapelle. In addition to the other War Memorials lighted here, you might also want to visit Waterloo outside Brussels - where Napolean Bonaparte famously lost his empire.
