Belgium’s oldest, it has giant sections of the unique second century partitions, an insightful Gallo-Roman museum and big antiques market hosted each Sunday the place you possibly can go trying to find treasure.

My love affair with Belgium has been occurring for twenty years now and every exploration reveals some new quirk or appeal, so put aside your assumptions and go to. I assure whenever you return from Belgium, you’ll report the three ‘Bs’ which describe it are the truth is: blithe, bucolic and a splash of brio.   

Getting there 

Eurostar run 9 direct trains from London to Brussels every day. When buying your ticket make sure you choose the “Any Belgian Station” possibility, which grants a free single onward journey to some other Belgian metropolis. A return ticket prices round £172 with financial savings to be made the additional you guide upfront. 

The place to remain 

These on a price range get banging music-themed rooms for his or her buck at Rock Lobster Metropolis Lodge (doubles from €110) run by music journalist Bart Steenhaut in Antwerp. In case you’re celebrating, splurge on the historic Pillows Grand Resort Reylof (doubles from €156), a sublime Louis XV-style townhouse smack within the centre of Ghent, whereas additional south, Martin’s Dream Resort (doubles from €97) in Mons is about inside a Nineteenth-century abbey and mixes stained-glass with fashionable thrives.

When to go 

Christmas markets strike up on the finish of November – Liege is Belgium’s oldest, and the one on Brussels’ Marche aux Poissons is the largest. Or dance away the brand new yr blues when the bacchanal carnival season kicks off in Ronse (January 6–8) and Aalst (February 11–13). 

Additional data 

Go to Flanders; Go to Wallonia; Northern Belgium: The Bradt Journey Information (£15.99)