Belgium is a small country with a double face. To understand it truly, one must come to know two worlds: Flanders in the north and Wallonia in the south, with bilingual Brussels as the hinge between them. This division is not a source of weakness but of richness: two languages, two traditions, two landscapes, united within a single federal state. Only by discovering both does one grasp how varied this country really is.
A federal state with several identities
Since the constitutional reforms of the late twentieth century, Belgium has been a federal state made up of regions and communities. There are three regions: the Flemish Region, the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. In addition there are three language communities: the Dutch-speaking, the French-speaking and the German-speaking. This layered structure reflects the wish to let each community keep its own language, culture and administration.
Flanders: the Dutch-speaking north
Flanders is flat, densely populated and laced with canals, historic towns and art cities of world stature. Here people speak Dutch, and the cities carry a past of trade, craft and painting.
- Antwerp — the port city of Rubens, world capital of the diamond trade, with a magnificent cathedral and a vibrant fashion scene.
- Ghent — a lively student city with a medieval core, home to the famous Ghent Altarpiece by the Van Eyck brothers.
- Bruges — its fully preserved medieval centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; its canals earned it the nickname Venice of the North.
- Leuven — the oldest university city in the Low Countries, with a splendid late-Gothic town hall.
Flanders is also the land of the beguinages, walled communities where devout women once lived; thirteen of them are on the UNESCO list. Their silent inner gardens breathe the atmosphere of centuries past.
Wallonia: the French-speaking south
Wallonia is greener, hillier and more sparsely populated. Here people speak French, and the landscape rolls towards the forests and rivers of the Ardennes, a region beloved of hikers, kayakers and lovers of castles and caves.
- Liège — a warm, lively city on the Meuse, with a rich industrial and musical history.
- Namur — the capital of Wallonia, dominated by an imposing citadel above the confluence of the Meuse and the Sambre.
- Mons — a cultural city whose Baroque belfry is on the UNESCO list.
- Charleroi — a former industrial city reinventing itself around culture and street art.
- Tournai — one of the oldest cities in Belgium, with an exceptional Romanesque-Gothic cathedral.
Wallonia is also home to one of the most spectacular festivals in the country: the Carnival of Binche, where the enigmatic Gilles, wearing ostrich-feather hats and wax masks, dance through the streets. This centuries-old carnival was recognised by UNESCO as a masterpiece of intangible heritage.
Brussels and the German-speaking Community
At the heart of the country lies Brussels, officially bilingual (French and Dutch) and at the same time the capital of Europe. Here the two great cultures meet, enriched by a cosmopolitan international community.
Less well known is the small German-speaking Community in the east, around the town of Eupen and the Eastern Cantons. This territory, joined to Belgium after the First World War, forms the third official language community and shows how diverse this small country truly is.
Why you should get to know both
Flanders and Wallonia differ in language, cuisine, temperament and landscape, but together they tell the whole story of Belgium. Whoever visits only the art cities of the north misses the vast forests and warm hospitality of the south; whoever roams only the Ardennes misses the masterpieces of Van Eyck and the beguinages. It is precisely in this contrast that the charm of Belgium lies: a country that proves differences need not be walls, but bridges between two equally fascinating worlds.