Belgium travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Brussels is a surreal linguistic city between the Dutch-speaking Flemish and the French-speaking Walloons, many transactions occur in neither language. But people just speak English. Its modest character made Brussels the perfect compromise for postwar rivals choosing a headquarters for the European Union and NATO, while all the diplomats and a swirl 
of immigrants from North and Central Africa give it 
an intense international, cosmopolitan flavor rare for such a small city. The picture displays the Atomiumis, built in 1956 for the World’s Fair, an homage to the future. It recently reopened after a complete renovation.

The Atomium’s interior, which includes these atomlike seating pods.

The Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art was designed by Art Nouveau master Victor Horta.

The Grand Place—Brussels’s major tourist destination—was burned down by the French in 1695, but was rebuilt within five years. Brussels has parks and forests, of course, but one place I especially like is both outside and inside. The Galeries Saint-Hubert were the first glass-covered shopping arcades in Europe. There are cafes in the galleries where you can sit outside and watch people go by, but you’re not in the rain. One modern and peaceful world …

Brussels is the capital of Belgium, as well as home of the European Union headquarters. There is a great deal more to the city than politics though, with other historic cities such as Antwerp and Bruges being only a short drive or train journey away. Located at the foot of the Atomium, Mini-Europe is the only park where you can have a whistle-stop tour around Europe in a few short hours. This is a fun introduction to Europe, miniature famous landmarks from countries throughout Europe – canals of Amsterdam, Big Ben in London, the Eiffel Tower, windmills of Spain, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, and more. Plus, jumbo ferries that go, trains zooming around, steer your own radio controlled boat through the miniature waterways of Europe.

A park in which you can find all the important monuments of Europe scaled down 25 times their original size. It was some kind of commemorative park for the EU. At a glance, they might look like thermocouple models, but closer look will reveal all the minute details being brought out in the model as in the original. They are made by sticking together small thermocole bricks. A time taking process. This truly brings out the architectural beauty of the original.

Mini-Europe is above all an “invitation to travel”. The chimes of Big Ben, the gondolas in front of the Doge’s Palace, the Grand-Place in Brussels, the Acropolis … an animated tour with visual and sound effects of 350 miniature models and attractions that you won’t find anywhere else. The miniature trees and plants in the park make everything appear realistic in scale. Cheer on the matador at the Corrida (bullfight) in Seville, watch the launch of Ariane V, the eruption of Vesuvius, the fall of the Berlin Wall, follow the Thalys from Paris to the other end of France and marvel at many other working models, for both young and old. Also visit the exhibition “Spirit of Europe” where you’ll get to know the EU in a fun way. Mini-Europe… not to be missed during your visit to Bruss. The miniature model park of Mini Europe allows you to sample the charms specific to each European country.

All the monuments have been recreated down to the smallest detail. Most models are made on a scale of 1:25, but exceptions are made for representations of larger objects – such as Mount Vesuvius, built on the scale of 1:1000. Big Ben is 4 m high. With its height of 13 m, the Eiffel tower projects above a 3-storey building ! And yet all the buildings are on a scale of 1 to 25. The town hall of Brussels is decorated with 294 hand-carved statues. All against a backdrop of miniature gardens with an area of 2.5 hectares.

On Saturdays during the summer months, the organizers present fireworks to accompanying music. Please visit the Mini-Europe website to find out more about this and other special events. Mini-Europe also incorporates the European Space of interactive multimedia games for children and a European Union information office. Although open daily, the park closes each year from January to March as new cities and monuments are put onto the mini map. Fun for young and old. Admission: EUR8.5 to EUR20 depending on the package purchased. This summer, the venue welcomes new EU member Slovenia, with Ljubljana’s three bridges. Watch out for Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary to be added later on this year.

If you saw the film Mission Impossible, you’ve already seen Europe’s “Chunnel” passenger train in action. In that movie, Tom Cruise fended off a helicopter from the Eurostar’s roof until the chopper blew up inside the English Channel Tunnel.

Most Eurostar trips are less dramatic. More than two dozen high-speed electric trains (based on French TGV designs) connect London with Lille, Paris, Brussels, Avignon, the French Alps, and the Disneyland Paris resort at speeds of up to 300 km/h or 186 mph.

Travel time can be as little as 2 hours 35 minutes between London and Paris, or 2 hours 20 minutes on the London-Brussels route. (Trains that stop at Ashford, Lille, and other stations take a few minutes longer.)Eurostar services depart London Waterloo International station and arrive to the heart of Brussels in only two hours and 20 minutes, or to the heart of Paris in just two hours and 25 minutes!

Trains are running at frequent intervals during the day, making it possible to leave London in the morning, have lunch in Paris, and be back to London the same day.Each single train has the following facilities:

* Bar Buffet – Two non-smoking bar buffet are located on each Eurostar train, in coaches 6 and 13. Payments are accepted by credit cards, and in cash using the €uro as well as UK Pound Sterling (£) and U$ American dollars.
* Baby Changing Rooms – Located at the end of coaches one and eighteen.
* Wheelchair passengers – Two designated areas in coaches nine and ten.
* Children’s Packs – Offered by Eurostar, complimentary children’s packs for all children under seven years of age.
A Business Premier (First Class) ticket entitles you to the following:

* Dedicated check-in desks, with 10 minutes chek-in in London, Paris and Brussels
* Dedicated Business Premier coaches
* Exclusive Business loung access in London, Paris and Brussels
* ‘Express Breakfast’ option
* Full non smoking air-conditioning coaches
* Complimentary meal, including wine and non-alcoholic drinks, served at the passenger’s seat appropriate to the time of the day
* Complimentary newspapers and magazines
* Spacious reclining seats with generous legroom

A Leisure Select (First Class) ticket entitles you to the following:

* 30 minutes check-in in London, Paris and Brussels
* Dedicated Leisure Select coaches
* Full non smoking air-conditioning coaches
* Complimentary meal, including wine and non-alcoholic drinks, served at the passenger’s seat appropriate to the time of the day
* Complimentary newspapers and magazines
* Spacious reclining seats with generous legroom

A Standard (Second Class) ticket entitles you to the following:

* Fully non smoking air conditioned coaches
* Comfortable seats each with either an individual slide-out table, or a fixed table shared with adjacent passengers
* Access to the two bar buffets offering a wide choice of drinks, snacks and light meals

Built in 1958 for the the Brussels World’s Fair (Expo ‘58), it is103 metre(335-foot) tall monument represents a cell of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times, with vertical body diagonal, with tubes along the 12 edges of the cube and from all 8 vertices to the centre. The Atomium is the visiualization of microscopic molecular structures on a great enlarged scale,which is located next to Heysel metro station in Brussels.

Nine spheres ,made of steel,18 metres in diameter connect via tubes with escalators as long as 35 m. A panoramic view of Brussels is seen from the top sphere. Other spheres have exhibitions. Three upper spheres are closed to the public for safety reasons.
Designed to be the star attraction of the ephemeral World Exhibition of 1958, this 103 metre high building has continued to shine for four decades, although its brilliance gradually faded with the effects of age and corrosion. But the quality and the precision of the work saved it from demolition, an ambitious renovation project has become rality. The aim was to completely renew the casing of the spheres and to replace the aluminium skin with insulating sandwich panels in mirror polished stainless steel on the outside and galvanised steel on the inside. The facelift also entailed the restoration of the structure, the replacement of all the windows, the lighting and the electricity systems.

After more than a year of renovation work the Atomium has a new face and give visitors a brand new aesthetic experience by taking them on a very special journey through its spheres.Today, the inside of the building glows with an unparalleled sparkle. The one-directional visit through each of the six spheres open to visitors makes the most of the possibilities offered by modern animation techniques. To echo this rejuvenation, the setting of the entire site is currently being developed with in particular the construction of an entrance pavilion at the heart of a pedestrian area. A fascinating and triumphant architectural prowess of the 50s that has once again opened its doors to the general public, the challenge of the Atomium is to retain its vitality. The vitality that endears it to the public.