Category Archives: BELGIUM

DIVA DIAMOND MUSEUM, ANTWERP BELGIUM

Prepare for sparkle. Prepare for shine. Prepare for scandalous stories of courtesans and opera singers and movie stars. Prepare to be educated and entertained. Prepare for DIVA, a museum dedicated to diamonds, silver and other dazzling objects that opened in Antwerp, Belgium, in May, 2018. Located in Antwerp’s historic city center, DIVA has already emerged […]

BRUGES, WEST FLANDERS, BELGIUM and COCKTAIL

Bruges could be Europe’s most perfect little medieval city. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its historic significance, Bruges overflows with charm. Old graceful canals, ancient cobbled streets, distinctive gothic architecture, archaic cafes and bars fill the city. In addition, Bruges sports a variety of contemporary pleasures, such as fine hotels, divine restaurants, nice […]

BRUGES ART AND ARCHITECTURE TRIENNIAL 2018

Bruges Triennial 2018 contemporary art and architecture exhibition brings a new layer of excitement to Belgium and the already magical city. For the rest of summer—until mid-September—visitors to Bruges can enjoy not only the city’s constant pleasures (enchanting canals, medieval buildings, chocolate, beer and terrific restaurants), but also an exciting array of contemporary art and […]

WORLD’S BEST BEER BARS BY BILL YENNE

Bill Yenne has been writing about beer for a quarter century and is among the world’s leading authorities on beer and brewing history. Then again, he’s an authority on many topics, having contributed to encyclopedias of both world wars as well as having authored more than three dozen non-fiction books with topics ranging from aviation to biography (Julius […]

RED STAR LINE MUSEUM, ANTWERP, BELGIUM

What do Albert Einstein, Vito Corleone, Irving Berlin, Golda Meir and U.S Navy Rear Admiral Hyman Rickover have in common? All immigrated to America on the Red Star Line, an ocean-crossing passenger line transporting some 2.5 million European emigrants to New York and Philadelphia between 1873 and 1934.  How do I know this? I visited the […]

SPA, BELGIUM

WHAT TO DO In the beginning (in a wooded valley of the Ardennes mountain chain in what is today eastern Belgium) water sprang forth from the earth. The   water produced in the cluster of springs was far from ordinary. People believed it to be imbued with healing powers. Soon a village formed around the […]

WHERE TO DRINK BEER IN BRUSSELS

100 bottles of beer on the wall, 100 bottles of beer. Should one of those bottles happen to fall— 400 more bottles of beer on the wall. Belgium produces about 500 types of beer and Brussels tempts tourists with a staggering number of restaurants, cafes, bars that serve the brew. But Sweet Leisure readers headed […]

BELGIAN CHOCOLATE—OH MY!

Those who subscribe to author Terry Moore’s chocoholics 12-step program—“NEVER BE MORE THAN 12 STEPS FROM CHOCOLATE, ” should head to Belgium, as it has to be the most densely packed chocolate-rich country on earth. Although Belgium does not have the climate to grow cocoa beans, it does have the skill, standards and savvy to […]