Villo!, Brussels’ self-service bike hire scheme, recently counted the 5 millionth ride since its launch in 2009. In five years’ time, Villo! managed to convince 32,000 people to take a subscription for reguar use of its bikes. These subscribers, along with a great number of occasional users, have...

To cater to those who find a regular Duvel (33cl) too much and too heavy (8.5% alcohol), Belgian brewer Duvel Moortgat has created a mini version of their popular Duvel beer which contains 18cl. “A unique format that is not available anywhere else on the market,” says the family business. Duvel...

What do you do? For the last 11 years I’ve managed my own hair salon, Carsigia, in the Battel district of Mechelen. My husband, Frank, also works at the salon: He cuts hair primarily for men, while I take care of the women. Good client interaction is of utmost importance to us: We do not want to be...

The overall security threat level in Brussels and Brussels Airport between March 25 and April 5 will rise from level 2 (medium) to level 3 (high), announced OCAD, the body that keeps tabs on the terrorist threat in Belgium. OCAD assures that there is no evidence for a possible attack, but the...

Heritage projects in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent have won the prestigious cultural heritage prizes from Europa Nostra, a European network of 250 heritage associations and foundations. Its award for conservation went to the Horta Museum in the Brussels district of Saint-Gilles, which occupies the...

A record number of people applied for posts at the federal government last year, according to figures released this week. A total of 172,420 people applied to work for the Belgian government, or 60,000 more than the previous year. The majority of candidates were under 35 years old. The number of...

More than 2,000 megawatts of solar power was produced yesterday around noon in Belgium, a new peak in the country’s solar energy output. 2,000 megawatts, the equivalent of the amount of energy produced by two large nuclear power plants, accounts for over 20 percent of the electricity needed to meet...

Nowhere in Europe are there as many company cars on the roads as in Belgium. There are about 786,000 company cars riding around in Belgium, or one in five. The three most popular vehicles chosen by employees with the benefit are the Renault Mégane, the BMW 3-series and the Fiat 500. There are just...

The missing link in René Magritte’s unique surrealism is now on show for the first time. The Lost Magrittes is a collection of 26 works that disappeared during the Belgian painter’s lifetime. The lost pieces include 11 canvases destroyed in the London blitz of 1940. Over the past seven years the...

On your bike, get set, pedal! Tired of sitting in a cramped car or tram as you watch cyclists serenely cruise by? Or perhaps you’ve been reading up on all the reasons why two wheels are better than four? Then it’s time to step out of your Brussels automobile and onto a bike! Whether your an expat...