Getting in and visas for Belgium

WARNING: Mein Kampf and other symbols of Nazism, including material questioning the extent of National Socialist crimes or praising it's actions, are forbidden in Belgium, under the Negationismewet. The penalty is a prison sentence of up to one year, or a fine (the maximum is €2,500). Foreigners are not exempted from this law.

By plane

Brussels Airport (also known as Zaventem due to the town in which it is mainly located) is Belgium's main airport, IATA code BRU. It is not located in Brussels proper, but in surrounding Flanders. The airport is the base of the national airline Brussels Airlines, which was founded when SN Brussels Airlines and its low budget sister company Virgin Express merged in March 2007. All other full-service airlines use BRU, as well as budget carriers such as Vueling and SkyEurope. There is a train (2.80 €) running every 15 minutes to Brussels centre taking 25 minutes, some of them continuing to Ghent and West-Flanders and a bus line number 12 and 11 (3 €) every 20 to 30 minutes to Place Luxembourg (European Parliament) district. The bus stops at NATO and Schuman (for the EU institutions) on its way to the centre. There are also two trains per hour to Leuven, taking 13 minutes. A taxi to the centre of Brussels costs around 20 € (as of 2004) when booked in advance, otherwise around 30 €. Taxis bleus: 02 268 0000, Taxi Brussels: 02 411 4142, Taxis verts: 02 349 4343. There are two other airports in Belgium with scheduled flights. Ryanair and Wizzair fly to Charleroi airport (aka "Brussels South", IATA code CRL), about 60km away from Brussels. You can get to Brussels Gare du Midi on the Ryanair coach in about an hour (€10.50 each way). If you're going to any other part of Belgium, ask at the Ryanair ticket desk for a combination bus+train ticket via Charleroi Sud station (€10 each way if bought in the airport, but more expensive in stations). However, if you are really stuck, it is not unusual for taxi drivers to take credit cards. The price of a taxi ride to Brussels is a set fare (approximately 95 Euros as of May 2006) and you can check with the taxi driver if he will accept your credit card(s) or not. Antwerp Deurne airport (IATA code ANR) has some business flights, including VLM's reasonably priced link to London City airport. Other airports include Oostende, Liège and Kortrijk, but they only handle freight and charter flights. Flights to airports in neighbouring countries, might be worth considering, especially to Amsterdam Schiphol which has a direct rail link to Brussels and Antwerp.

By train

There are direct trains between Brussels and:

• Amsterdam, Luxembourg (normal trains, running every hour)
• Paris, Köln/Cologne, Amsterdam (Thalys)
• Lyon, Bordeaux, Paris-CDG airport and many other French cities (TGV Bruxelles-France).
• London (Eurostar) all tickets from London allow you free onward travel within Belgium; all tickets to London include free travel from any Belgian trainstation to Brussels South, where Eurostar departs.
• Frankfurt, Köln/Cologne (ICE)
• Berlin, Hamburg (night train)

They connect with domestic trains at Brussels' Gare du Midi/Zuidstation, and with all Eurostar or ICE and some Thalys tickets, you can finish your journey for free on domestic trains. For all high-speed and sleeper trains, you need to book in advance for cheap fares, either online or using a travel agency. You might want to check the TGV connections to Lille too. The trains from the rest of France to Lille are more frequent and usually cheaper. There is a direct train connection from Lille Flandres to Ghent and Antwerp. If your TGV arrives in Lille Europe, it will take a 15 min walk to the Lille Flandres railway station. Plan your trip with the Deutsche Bahn timetable. It has all domestic and international connections across Europe. Smoking is never allowed in Belgian trains.

By car

Major European highways like the E-19, E-17, E-40, E-411 and E-313 pass through Belgium.

By bus

You can get to Belgium from all over Europe on Eurolines coaches. International busses have stopovers in Antwerpen, Brussels north-station, Leuven & Liege.

By ship

There are overnight ferries to/from Zeebrugge from Hull in England and Rosyth in Scotland, but they are not cheap. There's also a vehicle-only daytime service from Oostende to Ramsgate in England.