Start your adventure with a shopping spree at L’Esplanade, Louvain-la-Neuve’s must-visit shopping centre. With shops ranging from fashion to technology, there’s something for everyone. Shops such as Zara, H&M and FNAC await you for a complete shopping experience.

After shopping, it’s time for a visit to the Hergé Museum shop. The Hergé Museum (but that’s for another time!) dedicated to the creator of Tintin is a real treasure trove for comic book fans. The shop, which was the focus of our escape, offers a variety of related items, perfect for unique and original Christmas gifts.

After your visit to the world of Tintin, take a beauty break at VIP Coiffure. This hairdressing salon, located in the heart of Louvain-la-Neuve between the Museum and the Esplanade, offers high-quality services to get you ready for the Christmas festivities. Whether you need a cut, colour or blow-dry, you’ll be in safe hands. What’s more, the owner, Calogero, will welcome Brussels-Express customers with a cup of coffee (but shhh, don’t tell anyone else!).

Round off your afternoon with a trip to the festive atmosphere of the Louvain-la-Neige Christmas Market. Situated between the Grand-Place and the Place de l’Université, this market features chalets filled with craft products, delicious treats and entertainment for all the family. Stroll around the stalls, sample local specialities and let yourself be enchanted by the magic of Christmas.

This programme guarantees you a pleasant and festive afternoon, just 25 kilometres south of Brussels. Keep an eye on your watch so you don’t miss a spot!

Suggested timetable:

• 14:00 – 15:30: Shopping at the Esplanade
• 15:45 – 16:30: Visit to the Hergé Museum shop
• 16:45 – 17:30: Get your hair cut at the VIP Hairdresser’s
• 17:45 – 19:00: Stroll around the Christmas Market

Enjoy your visit and have a Merry Christmas! 🎄✨

The post A Magical Afternoon in Louvain-la-Neuve before Christmas: Shopping, Culture, Hairdressing and Christmas Market appeared first on Brussels Express.

Its belfry is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. With a total height of 60 meters, it is the only remnant of a collegiate church razed to the ground in 1811. It dominates the two valleys of the Sambre and Biesmelle rivers and the view from its summit is wonderful! You will truly appreciate its meticulous restoration works for a visit always appreciated. Prolong your visit to the narrow streets of the Hanging Gardens and the medieval city. You will discover works of contemporary art all over the city.

The hanging gardens are located on the southern bank of the historic center of the upper town of Thuin, perfectly oriented and exposed to sun exposure on the slope and right bank of the Biesmelle, a tributary of the Sambre. Several narrow cobblestoned streets such as the Posty Arlequin and the Grand Mont run along part of these gardens. You will find about 210 gardens spread over several levels between the various sandstone fortification walls. They can be seen through open gates. A vineyard was replanted in 2001 , the vineyard produces a natural sweet wine called: Le Clos des Zouaves.

The visit of the gardens is free of charge along a route marked out with eleven explanatory panels.

The town is one of the hubs of the waterway transport industry, since many barge owners are from this area and choose this place to stay when the time comes to retire to the boatmen’s quarter. Walking or cycling on the towpath is very pleasant from Thuin to the Abbey of Aulne.

The ruins of the Abbey of Aulne, – a Cistercian monks monastery  dating  back to 1147- are also  located on the ground of Gozee’s entity. Take the time to visit, discover Aulne, go on a boat trips, play mini golf and enjoy the numerous terraces on the banks of the Sambre where you can taste the local beer “l’ADA” @bebeer

• And many other things to discover in the four corners of the entity of Thuin: the Wood “ du Grand Bon Dieu”, the tram museum, Leers Fosteau and its castle whith a museum of pharmacy, Ragnies, one of the most beautiful villages in Wallonia with its Biercée Distillery, etc.

• The village of Biercée known for its cherries party, with its beautiful kiosk and its hundred-year-old lime tree.

• They are Two craft brewery in the village of Thuillies :
• « Le Fou du Roy » with The beer «  La Galipette »

• “La Rogère” with the beer “La Beerat” and « Saqwé »

The post Beautiful visits in Wallonia: To the discovery of Thuin, located in the province of Hainaut appeared first on Brussels Express.

Dinant is located in the heart of the province of Namur, halfway between Givet and the capital of Wallonia Namur crossed by the river Meuse, the city and its villages have a population of some 13,000 inhabitants. The nature, patrimony, curiosities, and gastronomy make the city one of the most popular destinations in Wallonia.

Birthplace of Adolphe Sax (inventor of the saxophone) or of Père Pire (Nobel Peace Prize in 1958), it reveals its many assets to the people who stop there.

The sport people will enjoy of the park of Dinant-adventure, with the famous descent of the Lesse river or the marked walks for pedestrians and cyclists (more than 300 kms are possible!).

During a cruise on the Meuse, you can admire – and even visit – the citadel, the Collegiate Church, or the Bayard Rock.

Don’t hesitate either to walk (also accessible to People with reduced mobility) through the different streets of the town center; without forgetting to take advantage of the charms of the new  riverside to take a drink or to taste one of the local specialties (including the famous “couque de Dinant”).

Other sites to be discovered in the town center or in the neighboring villages:

– the cave « La merveilleuse »

– the Mosan orchards and apiaries

– the ruins of Crèvecoeur

– The Vineyard “Bon Baron”

– The brewery « La Caracole

– the salted meats of the “Pont d’Amour”

You will find more information on the tourism office website: www.valleedelameuse-tourisme.be.

#boat #channel #tourism #tugboat #beautifuldestination #waterway #watercraft #vehiclegram #travelstagram #bebeer #Dinant #BrusselsExpress #wallonia

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Brussels has always had negative internal migration, which means that more Brussels residents leave the capital to live in Flanders or Wallonia than vice versa. In the course of 2016, 24,000 inhabitants left Brussels to settle in Flanders, an increase of 55% compared to 1997, according to the latest report of the Ibsa (Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis).

The inhabitants of Brussels who settle in another region go mainly to the bordering communes. However, the movement is widening towards more and more distant zones. One of the explanations is the increase in the cost of housing in the municipalities that are closest to Brussels.

People leaving are aged between 30 and 44 with children under ten years old. Among them, there are more and more non-European citizens that entered the European Union after the year 2000.

The number of inhabitants leaving Flanders for Brussels is also increasing. In this case, they are mostly young people. The number of Walloons, instead, is more stable.

The post More and more people from Brussels are living in Flanders appeared first on Brussels Express.

The income taken into account is the net taxable amount, calculated from the personal income tax returns. The breakdown of the figures between the three Regions shows that Flanders has the highest average income per capita, which is 7% higher than the national average. The inhabitants of the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region have incomes respectively 6 and 22% below average.

As for the provinces, Brabant is in the first place. In the north, residents have an average income of 21,462 euros, and in the south of 21,035. Other Flemish provinces follow while Namur is the second Walloon province with 17,893 euros. The Brussels-Capital Region closes in the last place.

As for the municipalities, those of Sint-Martens-Latem, Keerbergen, and Oud-Heverlee are the top three, with the average revenues ranging from 26,590 to 30,748 euros. Lasne is the only Walloon entity to be in the top 10, in the fourth position with 26,395 euros. The two municipalities with the lowest average income are in Brussels: Saint-Josse-ten-Noodde (9,297 euros) and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (10,406 euros).

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Angèle will sing five of her songs including a duet with her brother, Romeo Elvis. 

The guest list is composed of Alain Souchon, Caballero & JeanJass, Aloise Sauvage, Jeanne Added, MC Solaar and Tamino!

The event is open to the public. It will also be broadcasted live on La Une on September 27 from 21:00.

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Robert Garcet (1912-2001), from the Mons area of Hainaut, began his apprenticeship in stonemasonry in Eben-Emael in 1930. He became a full-time stonemason and worked his way up to become proprietor of the stone quarry. He also dug up fossils. His fascination with the origins of mankind and his observations of the things he dug up caused him to develop new theories about humanity’s roots. Many, however, considered him a joker. Furthermore, Robert was an amateur palaeontologist and a self-declared pacifist and anarchist.

He bought a part of an old flint quarry from his employer in 1950. This was when his plan for his life’s work, taking account of the Bible and his own philosophy founded upon pacifism, took on a more concrete form. All the dimensions and ratios in his universe of fantasy and harmony are derived from his personal theory of numbers, based on the Bible. The artist chose the name Eben-Ezer because this is the place in the Bible where the prophet Samuel erected a stone as a symbol of rediscovered peace around 1000 BC. Each concrete statue on the four corner towers represents one of the cherubs who foreshadow the Apocalypse: the Bull, the Human as a Sphinx, the Lion and the Eagle.

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