Downtown Brussels has always had its share of fine gourmet food stores, but in the second half of the 20th century, as inhabitants fled the centre, the number of stores dwindled. Now, as the resident population rises again, the surviving stores are joined by a slew of new places. These stores are...

Lokeren, near Ghent in East Flanders, is the first city in Belgium to get an illuminated pedestrian crossing. A trial project will soon be underway on Heilig Hartlaan, where there are both a primary and secondary school. While zebra crossings using fluorescent paint or with spotlights are not new,...

Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel crashed against the wall of a bridge during the Tour of Lombardy at the weekend and somersaulted over the side into the ravine beneath. The dramatic crash shocked spectators, commentators and officials at the race in the north of Italy. The 20-year old cyclist with...

Off the beaten track, the capital of Limburg is often overlooked by both foreign visitors and Belgians. And yet a visit to this bustling little city is beyond rewarding. VISIT In the 19th century, Hasselt was the biggest producer of jenever, that wonderful spirit made from juniper berries. While it...

A group of young people from Brussels, Mechelen and Grimbergen came to Blankenberge this weekend, in an initiative to stop a repeat of the previous weekend's violence. Working with prevention teams from Blankenberge and in cooperation with the police, they walked along the beach to ensure that...

Schools are continuing to ask parents for a long list of supplies – even though this practice is illegal – at a time, due to Covid-19, when even more families are struggling to make ends meet. The back-to-school list, including anything from textbooks to toilet paper and normally stipulating ‘...

A couple living in a tiny prefab house on land they own in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert have gathered 2,500 signatories on a petition after they were ordered to destroy their home by next month. Maxime Bonaert and Sabine Daibes paid €30,000 to construct the 16m² split-level wood house - "a fraction of the...

Belgium has issued almost a quarter of a million fines to drivers of foreign-registered vehicles since the start of this year, new figures reveal. A better exchange of vehicle registration data among EU member states has made it easier to track down foreign drivers who commit offences on Belgian...

This month is your last chance to visit Gaasbeek Castle before it closes for three years of renovation work. This is the final phase of an 11-year project to prepare the Gaasbeek estate for the future. Gaasbeek Castle dates back to the 13th century but owes its present form to an extensive make-...

One hundred years ago this week, the opening ceremony of the seventh Olympic Games took place in Antwerp. It was the only time Belgium hosted the Games, but it was auspicious internationally, too: It was the first Olympics to follow the First World War. Four years earlier, in 1916, the Games had...