Brussels – Chocolate capital, Belgium by EverJean

Brusselicious

One of the most exciting culinary events of 2012 Brusselicious promises to be the food festival of the year. The city of Brussels is hosting a yearlong event to mark its exceptional food with the main events being held throughout the summer months. Brussels is famous for its Chocolate, pastries, Beer and food and the event promises to be truly spectacular. Before we dive into the details consider that Belgium is the most famous chocolatier country in the world and has an exceptional record for producing the world’s best and most unusual beers – from traditional wheat beer to fruit beer. This year though the capital is pulling out all the stops with food sculptures, live cooking demonstrations, a PiQniQ summer festival, a sumptuous banquet with hundreds of marquees in early September and a chocolate extravaganza as we approach the winter months. If you’re planning a trip you’ll definitely need a serious diet when you come back but this promises to be an incredible culinary experience.

Copenhagen Cooking

While Nordic cuisine isn’t to everyone’s taste the annual Copenhagen Cooking festival, held from t 24th of August to the 2nd of September, is always an incredible affair and brings the city alive with wonderful food. It focuses on Nordic cuisine and pays homage to both traditional and modern cooking practices. The gourmet restaurants put on incredible meals throughout the festival at heavily reduced rates while you can see a variety of show coking and live demonstrations throughout the city. There’s a lot of fish unsurprisingly but you’ll be amazed at what is on offer. Along the Nørrebrogade you can find the spectacular “Taste the World” street kitchen with hundreds of exotic and less exotic offerings. Alternatively you can visit the “Eat 10” food fair with its vast selection of produce and plenty fo displays and lessons on offer. Copenhagen is a beautiful city in its own right and well worth visiting; with the food being the icing on the cake!

Italy’s Slow Food Festival

The Slow Food movement has gained massive international traction in the last few decades and started in Italy when, in 1980, Carlos Petrini led a huge campaign against McDonald’s opening at the Spanish Steps in Rome. The crusade resulted in a worldwide campaign and birthed the slow food festival around the world. However, nowhere is this festival more entrenched than in its birthplace Italy and throughout the country you can find summer slow food events. One of the best destinations to experience the festival is undoubtedly Maglie in Puglia. Their 4 day slow food festival is the perfect chance to sample Italian cuisine at its finest with a whole square dedicated to wine and countless stalls serving the very best in local and not so local produce. The evening and day time meals on offer throughout the festival are simply incredible. Throughout the region you can find an incredible array of food festivals at this time of year and if you can take a longer break we’d heartily recommend a tour of all the best food festivals in the region; from the Mola di Bari’s octopus festival to the Sagra della Frisa e del Pesce Fritto see food festival in Gallipoli.

France’s Feria du Riz

The Feria du Riz festival (The festival of Rice) is a very strange French festival as it has a very Spanish feel. While the majority of traveller’s will head to France’s local food festivals and enjoy the wine festivals approaching towards the end of the summer months for something unique and different you should really consider Feria du Riz in Arles. The festival is held in mid-September but the weather is still warm making it a great time to enjoy this part of France. The rice festival celebrates the local harvest and offers an incredible mix of seafood, French food, Spanish food and, of course, plenty of the local red Carmague rice. It’s a food festival at heart but there’s a whole world of entertainment from parades, music and street theatre to bull runs and horses. The hundreds of stalls selling a strange mix of food is incredible and the tapas and seafood concoctions are out of this world. The festival is also incredibly lively and there are lots of late night events making this a raucous and fun event through and through.

David is a writer for Holiday Insurance Web, offering travel insurance products.

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Atomium, Brussels, Belgium by Angus

The historic city of Brussels has a fascinating history and is home to several iconic landmarks. Belgium’s capital is perhaps best known these days as one of the homes of the European Parliament, but it’s important to remember there is so much more to the city than that. And because of its convenient location it can be easily reached by tourists from the United Kingdom, France, Scandinavia and Germany.

One of the more quirky landmarks in Brussels is the Atomium, a highly distinctive structure that’s located in the city’s Heysel Park. It stands at 102 metres high, and consists of nine inter-connected steel spheres. Originally created for the 1958 World’s Fair, more commonly known as Expo ’58, several of the spheres are accessible to the public by escalators, and the views across the city are truly spectacular.

Quirky, Charming, Spectacular

Close to the centre of Brussels at the intersection of Rue de l’Étuve/Stoofstraatand Rue du Chêne/Eikstraat, you’ll find one of the world’s most famous statues. The Mannekin Pis has become a cultural symbol of the city, and dates back to the 17th century. The urinating boy is often dressed in some sort of relevant costume, and it has become something of a must-visit for tourists from all over the world.

Grand Place, Brussels, Belgium by Vase Petrovski

Measuring more than 110 metres in length, the Grand Place is a huge square in the centre of the city. It’s home to the Town Hall and several important cultural buildings, and presents a wonderful photo opportunity for visitors to Brussels. Because of its location in the very heart of the metropolis, the Grand Place is often used as a meeting point for visitors, as well as a collection area for large groups of tourists.

As well as the many historic buildings that are found in Brussels, there are several more modern landmarks which are well worth a visit. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart, for example, was opened in 1935, and is a masterpiece of art deco architecture. Sitting at the top of Koekelberg Hill, it’s in a wonderful location and should be on the itinerary of every traveller who comes to Brussels.

David Showell lives and works in southern England, and has visited many European cities. He always likes to hire a car when he’s in Europe.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by isamiga76

The historic center of Charleroi is divided into Upper and Lower Town. The center of the Upper Town is formed by the square of Charles II., where you can see the most important monument of Charleroi. That is the Town Hall and the Bell tower called Belfry of Charleroi, which is together with other fifty-five Belgian and Northern France Belfries inscribed on a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Very interesting is also St. Christopher Basilica standing at the opposite side.

Lower City is situated around the square of Albert I., which is the commercial center of Charleroi. The city is also known for a number of interesting museums, which you can not miss on your visit. Head to the Museum of Glass, Museum of Photography and the Archaeological Museum. Museum of Fine Arts and Jules Destré Museum are waiting for you in the building of Town Hall, dating from the 30′s of the 20th century.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by daniel.herding

Maritime theme park
The first exhibition called Maritime theme park is located in buildings of the former fish market. This exhibition is interactive and can be divided into several parts: Bruges and the sea, military-Zeebrugge harbor, fishermen earlier and now, the International port Zeebrugge or Pirate Paradise. Here you can take a closer look at the Zeebrugge port – its history and present, or at a hard life of fishermen and through the film into the depths of the sea.

Lightship West-Hinder II
The second exposure of Seafront Zeebrugge is Lightship West-Hinder II. It is the ship, which until recently served as navigation and was moored at a position at sea to mark the coast near the town of Nieuwpoort. You can walk through it, touch and learn more about the role of beacon ships.

The Russian submarine Foxtrot
The third exhibition is The Russian submarine Foxtrot. Submarines of this type were used until 1994. During your visit you will learn, how is the life in such submarine when it is filled up with 75 crew members.

Seafront Zeebrugge theme park is open every day from 10am to 6pm and in July and August to 7pm. Keep in mind that the tour of all three parts of the Seafront Zeebrugge takes about two hours. You can buy tickets up to one hour before closing time. Children up to one meter in height, accompanied by parents, have free entry. Children to 12 years pay €8.50, and adults €10.50. Special rates apply for the groups and Seafront Zeebrugge offers many other additional programs for schools and companies. The nearest tram stop is Zeebrugge Kerk. Parking is free right at Seafront Zeebrugge.

For further information, visit the official site of Seafront Zeebrugge.

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