This blogpost is dedicated to our beloved province, Limburg! I wrote this especially for our foreign friends who want to come and visit Belgium. Many people know Belgium from big cities like Brussels, Antwerp, Gent and Brugges but, being proud of where we live, I decided Limburg needs a little lovin’ too! So please, endulge yourself and read here our top 5 tips (by locals!) of what to see & do in Limburg.
But first, I feel I need to explain a little bit of geography… Because Belgium,… it’s not always easy to understand!
Sooooo… Belgium is a country (d’uh) – hidden away between The Netherlands in the North, France in the South, and Germany in the east. Also Luxembourg borders with Belgium. So far. So good.
But then the trouble begins: all though we are one country there’s a division between Flanders (in the North), Wallonia (in the South) and the German speaking part in the East (“Oostkantons”). In Flanders we speak Dutch, in Wallonia we speak French and in the east we speak German. Yes. Most of us speak these three languages.
Also, besides this divsion, the country is (as are most countries) divided into 10 provinces (+ Brussels capital area). The province I’ll be talking about in this blogpost is ‘Limburg’, the easternmost of the five Dutch-speaking provinces. Are you still with me?
Good. So, let’s go! Oh, and just to be sure we’re on the same page: I won’t be talking about the touristic sight seeing stuff you’ll find on “Visit Limburg“. You can find all the details on that website! I’ll be talking about real insider information, off the beaten track, by real locals: US!
Have a drink at “Van Veldeke”, Hasselt
Hendrik Van Veldeke was a famous writer, born in Hasselt. His statue sits up tall on a cosy square at the edge of the city centre. The best part is: he is surrounded by several café’s! During spring / early summer this is the best part of town because it the last part where the sun shines before it goes down. On sunny days you can find us there!
Visit Pukkelpop festival, Hasselt
This famous festival takes place in August and is an awesome festival. Because so many locals clubs help out voluntarily many people know each other and it feels like one big family. There’s also a lot of choice in music ánd great food & drinks. So no reason not to go there! It’s also the place where Bert & I had our first “real” date. We don’t want to miss a chance to relive that moment each year!
5 must do things in Limburg – Pukkelpop
Go for a walk.
The sights you’ll see may remind you of Northern France, and even Tuscany. You wouldn’t expect it but it’s true! Being a province with a lot of fruit gardens, in springtime the whole province looks like one big blossom party. Flowers everyhwere! The rolling slopes remind you of the easy way of living you can find in Tuscany. Go and see it for yourself. You can find many walks on this website.
Discover the authenticity of the “Bottelarij”, Wellen
We love this place to pieces! This ancient piece of history used to be a brewery. The name “Bottelarij” means: the place where they bottled the beer. It still looks & feels like the old days. A non-profit organisation now resides there and they offer homemade drinks & food. Easy living, in an easy village!
And also… Herberg Tante Julia in Stevoort!
With the same authenticity as de Bottelarij, you can find Tante Julia in Stevoort. Also a small café annex restaurant with incredibly much charisma. It used to be a drugstore and you can still feel the vibe it used to have.
These are our TOP FIVE places that you should have visited when you are in the neighbourhood, apart from of course the most popular ones like Bokrijk, Hasselt City Centre, the mines in Genk, and so on. If you’d like some more insider information, just drop us a message and we’ll help you out!
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DUTCH VERSION
Yeah, no Duth version here. You can all read the English one 😉
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FUN FACTS!
✔ to eat & to drink: that’s what we do the most, home and away.
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Hi, we are Bert & Treesje, two travel enthusiasts who want to share their life & travel with you. We are just starting out so we can really use your support! Hit the subscribe button, send us your comments and help us becoming the travel vloggers we want to be. We mainly travel in Europe and want to be your guide to finding the special places, hidden away for the masses. We have a very particular view on life but to find out how we think life should be, you’ll need to get to know us! We are based in Belgium. Should you be interested in traveling here, send us a message!
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