Travellers usefull tips
Things to know about Belgium
Capital: Brussels
Official languages: Dutch (mainly in the north, in Flanders), French (popular in the south of Wallonia), German (in the east of Wallonia). In Brussels, people also speak French and Dutch.
Currency: Euro (€). €1 consists of 100 euro cents. Circulated banknotes are in denominations of € 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents. Currency sigh – €.
Time zone: UTC (GMT) +1
Calls from Belgium to other countries: along with mobile communication, you can call anywhere in the world using public phone boxes. You can find three types of public phone boxes, which differ by its type of payment:
* by phone cards
* by coins
* by credit cards
Calls will be the most expensive on weekdays from 8:00am to 12:00am. Calls are cheaper on weekdays and weekends from 6:00pm to 8:00am. To make a call from Belgium to other countries, you should dial: 00 – country code – dialling code – phone number.
Calls to Belgium from other countries: +32 (dialling code) х-ххх-ххх
Calls within Belgium: 0 – dialling code – phone number
Mobile operators of Belgium: BASE NV/SA (BASE; Orange; BEL 20; 206-20), Belgacom Mobile (B Proximus; BEL Proximus), Mobistar (MOBISTAR; BELMO; BEL10) – GSM 900/1800.
Useful phone numbers in Belgium:
Tourist Centre in Flanders and Wallonia – 504-03-90
Information Service in Brussels – 515-20-00
Police – 101
Rescue service and ambulance – 100
Chemist's – 479-1818
Religion: Catholicism. Islam, Protestantism, Judaism, Anglicanism and Orthodox Christianity are also officially recognised. The country guarantees freedom of religion.
Climate
The climate is maritime temperate. Cloudy weather is prevalent there. The average temperature of January is +3 – +4°C, in July +18 – +19°C. Relative humidity in the country is high.
Shopping
Shops work from Monday till Friday from 8:00am to 6:00pm, in Saturday – from 8:00am to 12:30pm (and till 5:00pm on the first Saturday of a month).
Tipping: in hotels, restaurants and taxi, service (15%) is included in the bill. In restaurants and cafes you should give 10-15% of the bill for waiter service. In coatrooms, people usually give 1-3 euros, hotel porters are given 1 euro per one luggage.
Banks and currency exchange
Banks work from 9:00-9:30am till 4:00-5:00pm on weekdays. One day of the week, banks work to 6:00pm, such day is different for each bank. Exchange offices are open till 9:00-10:00pm either on weekdays or weekends. You are advised to change your currency in large banks or post offices. Exchange offices have a high commission. In Belgium, payment by bank or credit cards is very popular. You can convert your money into cash using special ATMs – "Geldautomat”.
Customs
You can bring into the country duty-free:
* 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco,
* 1 litre of alcohol beverage and 2 litres of wine
* 50ml of perfume or 250 ml of cologne
* 1 camera and 12 photographic films, 1 video camera and 6 cinefilms, 1 dictaphone, 1 radio;
* up to 0.5 kg of coffee and to 100 gr of tea
To import pets, you must have a certificate from a veterinarian, received no earlier than 1 year ago and not later than 1 month before entry.
Transport
Belgium transport system is well-developed and not expensive. Many minibuses run there. Besides, railway system is well-developed too. Intercity trains are the fastest vehicles. Taxi is the most expensive transport. All kinds of transport run every 20 minutes. You can also rent a bike; this service is available in any city. Hitch-hiking is very popular in the country.
a) Public transport
1. Trams and buses. You can buy tickets in kiosks or buses. The common ticket system is accepted for all kinds of public transport. Single tickets cost about 1.4 euros (includes changes during the trip). Tickets for 5 and 10 single trips cost about 6.5 and 9.8 euros, respectively. A daily tickets costs 3.8 euros (ticket must be punched each time using public transport, even if you make a transfer). A ticket for a night bus or an airport bus costs 3 euros. There are also three-day tickets, which can be used only in five days, and five-day tickets for ten days. Another good variant is Brussels Card. It’s a three-day tourist ticket. Its value is 30 euros. It includes unlimited travel on all kinds of transport, either free or with a discount for visiting museums or places of interest.
2. Subway. You can find subway only in Antwerp and Brussels.
3. Taxi. You can order a taxi in any city in Belgium. Tips are already included in the fare. At night, taxi rate increases by a quarter.
b) Long-distance transport
1. Railway transport. The South Railway Station in Brussels is the main railway junction between cities and countries. Trains within the country are divided into:
* intercity trains
* interregional trains
* suburban electric trains
The ticket price depends on a distance. For example, the distance from Brussels to Antwerp is 48 km, so ticket price will be about 6.70 euros. The distance to Tournai is 87 km, so the price is twice as much (about 11.80 euros). There is a system of discounts. During weekends, you can go out and back for the cost of a daily one-way ticket. Belgium doesn’t have owl trains and sleeping trains.
Car rental is the best way for travelling around the country. To rent a car, you must have a driver’s license, a passport, a credit card and enough money to pay for insurance. Rental price doesn’t include the cost of petrol, the extent of damage in a possible collision, theft insurance and insurance against accidents, fees for additional services, such as payment at airports. Speed limit in the city is 50 km/h, highways – 100 km/h, national roads – 90 km/h.
Bicycle rental
To rent a bicycle, you must buy a special card. The first half an hour is free. Then you will pay about 1.5 euros per hour.
National holidays:
New Year – 1January
Easter
Labour Day – 1 May
Ascension
Pentecost
Day of the Dutch Community – 11 July
Independence Day – 21 July
Celebration of the French Cultural Society – 27 September
Day of All Saints – 1 November
Armistice Day – 11 November
Kings Feast (Day of the Royal Dynasty) – national holiday – 15 November
Christmas – 25 December
Boxing Day – 26 December
You should know:
- In the shops with the sign "TAX FREE" you should demand a check, if your purchase costs more than 125 euros. You won’t pay VAT (21%) with this check.
- In Belgium, the use of cash is limited for buying goods. If your purchase costs more than 15.000 euros, you have to pay by credit card or check.
- In Wallonia, the environment is protected carefully. That’s why they provide penalties for its pollution. For each discarded cigarette butt or a piece of rubbish you must pay about 50 euros. If you don’t throw a plastic bottle or a bag of rubbish in a trash, you will pay 150 euros. If you do harm to the environment, you will be sent to prison. Special agents are responsible for keeping cleanness there.
- Belgians don’t like when foreigners discuss their authoritative figures, such as King. They also can’t stand comparing with France.
- As a rule, Monday is a day off for visiting museums. In Bruges, museums don’t work on Tuesday and Wednesday, in Tournai – on Tuesday.
Visa
To visit the country you must have not only a passport and Schengen or national visa, but also medical insurance, tickets back or hotel booking confirmation or enough money at least 50€ for a person per day. Visa is not required for citizens of such countries: Austria, Australia, Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Guatemala, Honduras, Denmark, Greece, Iceland, Israel, Spain, Italy, Canada, Costa Rica, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, the Seychelles, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Uruguay, Finland, France, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia.