Belgium

Order the beer the bartender recommends. They are not guessing

Belgium is a small country with a language border running through the middle of it, and that division explains most of what a visitor notices. The Flemish north speaks Dutch, the Walloon south speaks French, Brussels is officially both, and the whole arrangement is held together by a federal system of impressive complexity and a shared enthusiasm for beer and chips.

Bruges is the postcard and it is genuinely beautiful, if now so heavily visited that a day trip can feel like a queue. Ghent is the better version: the same canals and medieval architecture, a large student population, and far fewer coach parties. Antwerp does fashion, diamonds and an excellent food scene.

The food is the real argument for going. Belgium takes chips seriously enough to have a national institution devoted to them, produces the best chocolate in Europe and brews beer with monastic dedication, occasionally literally. A country this small having several hundred distinct beer styles is not an accident.

Annual events and festivals

• Carnival of Binche (Feb-Mar) — UNESCO listed. Costumed Gilles throw oranges at the crowd. Do not throw them back.
• Aalst Carnival (Feb-Mar) — irreverent and satirical to a degree that regularly causes international incidents.
• Brussels Jazz Weekend (May) — free concerts across the city over three days.
• Ommegang, Brussels (Jul) — a historical pageant in the Grand Place, re-enacting a 1549 procession.
• Gentse Feesten (Jul) — ten days of music and theatre that turn Ghent into one enormous street party.
• Tomorrowland (Jul) — the most elaborately staged electronic music festival in the world.
• Belgian National Day (21 Jul) — military parade and fireworks in Brussels.
• Flower Carpet, Brussels (Aug, even years) — the Grand Place covered in a million begonias for four days.
• Beer Weekend, Brussels (Sep) — brewers set up in the Grand Place. Exactly as good as it sounds.
• Christmas Markets (Dec) — Brussels Winter Wonders is the big one, spread across several squares.