Holidays to Belgium

Holidays in Belgium - the perfect holiday to Europe. Belgium's sluggish surface hides cultural cachet and a passion for pleasure.

If Belgium's spotlight on the European stage is a little dim, it's only because its people are rarely boastful. This slow-burning country has more history, art, food and architecture packed into its tiny self than many of its bigger, louder neighbours.

A rich and bubbling vat of beer, chocolate, oil paint and bureaucrats, Belgium gives off the heady pong of the bourgeoisie. But stir the pot a little and you'll find an 'artificial state' roughly made up of two parts Germanic Flemings to one part Celtic-Latin Walloons.

There's a reason radio DJs in Belgium love the Beatles' 1969 classic Here Comes the Sun . The weather here is fickle, and when the sun comes out everyone celebrates. To avoid major dampness coupled with biting cold, plan a visit for May to September (ie late spring to early autumn). The disadvantages of this time include considerable crowds and, depending on where exactly you go, a scarcity of accommodation - Bruges is the most problematic in both these areas. Brussels, on the other hand, is actually quieter during summer (mid-July to mid-September), and some hotels cut prices.