Try a vacation rental in the Kingdom of Belgium, a small and most populous country of northwest Europe. You’ll soon find you’ve chosen a cultural mixing-pot, for Belgium combines both the Romantic and Teutonic in its languages. To the east, you will find a small population who speak German (Belgium has a border with Germany, as well as with France and other countries, not to forget the North Sea). To the south lie the five chiefly French-speaking provinces, whose people are known as Walloons. Hercule Poirot - Agatha Christie’s great detective - is a famous, if fictional, Walloon. To the north and northeast you will find the Flemings, whose language - Flemish - is similar to the language of the Netherlands. Do you prefer one area to another for your holiday rentals in Belgium?
Belgium is rich with culture; the Renaissance in the 1500s saw Belgium contribute much music and painting. This is the land of the Elder Bruegel, of van Eyck and Magritte; of Franck, the composer; of the dramatist, Maeterlinck; of castles, churches, municipal halls, palaces, and beautiful small towns on winding rivers. The history is far from idyllic, however, for battles were fought here in both World Wars, and this is where the Battle of Waterloo took place.
Brussels is a centre for tourism and the arts. The Free University, officially bilingual in French and Dutch, vies with the various academies - medicine, science, Dutch and French literature and language - to make Brussels a seat of great learning. Broaden your mind with a vacation home rental in this great city. Visit the Palace of Fine Arts. The Philharmonic is based here - not only that, this is the site for most art exhibitions, as well as film, theatre, and the written word. And if you feel glutted with high culture, then clear your mind with a stroll through the Soignes Forest and the Cambre Woods. These splendid groves of beech lie close to the city centre. And the Heysel stadium lies a little north of central Brussels.
But Belgium is rich with great cities and towns, so if you’ve time for more than Brussels, then try Flanders, with its diverse schools of painting, or sample the progressive modern music of Antwerp, Ghent and Liege. If all this leaves you in need of sustenance try a carbonnade, that great beef stew cooked in fine Belgian beer - and presumably washed down with more of the same. And enjoy some of the world’s best chocolate - during your holiday, in the comfort of your holiday rental, perhaps. Or bring some home with you. Better buy plenty, for it won’t stay untouched long.
You’ll have flavours and memories to savour if you make Belgium your choice for holiday or vacation rentals.
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