Liège Travel Guide

Palace of the Prince-bishops, Liège

Introduction

Liège (Leodium, Leudicus, Legia or other variants in Latin, Lüttich in German, Luik in Dutch, Luick in Older English, Lîdje in Walloon; pop. 195,000, with suburbs 620,000) is Wallonia's largest city and the third largest municipality in Belgium after Brussels and Antwerp. It is one of the world's rare cities to have developed on large river islands (another example is Paris), at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourthe Rivers.

Liège has one of the longest continuous history of any Belgian cities and some fine examples of 17th- and 18th-century Mosan architecture. It is a vibrant and friendly city known in French as the Citée ardente, due to the warmth and enthusiasm of the local folk. But Liège is also a city of contrast, one that visitors either love or loathe, or perhaps a bit of both at the same time.

Birthplace of Charlemagne, home to Belgium's biggest palace, many of its oldest churches, Wallonia's only opera house, and an array of fine museums, Liège would have everything to please had it not been partly defaced by real estate speculations in the 1960's and 70's and the progressive dereliction caused by the abandonment of the historical centre to impoverished immigrants. More than anywhere else in the Benelux, Liège is a place where luxury meets deprivation in the next street.

Every Sunday, the banks of the Meuse host Europe's biggest market, the Marché de la Batte (from 8am to 2:30pm). On sunny days it can draw up to 100,000 visitors.

Some local brands are ubiquitous in Belgium and often well-known abroad too, like Galler chocolate, Chaudfontaine mineral water, and Belgium's most popular beer, Jupiler, brewed in the suburb of Jupille. The city's local football club, the Royal Standard de Liège, is one of the country's most enthusiastically supported teams.

History

Attractions

Top 5 tourist attractions in Liège
The Palace of the Prince-Bishops The Archeoforum The Old Town & Medieval Churches The Grand Curtius Museum* The new TGV station*

Like Namur and Maastricht, the architectural style of Liège is characterised by traditional 16th- and 17th-century 'brick and greystone' buildings (the so-called "Mosan style"), as well as handsome maisons de maitre (townhouses) from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Unfortunately, a lot ugly concrete apartment and office buildings spoil the city's harmony on the big boulevards (that used to be waterways) and along the Meuse River. The suburbs are mostly made of unattractive, industrial-age, working-class houses.

The old political and religious heart of the city was Saint Lambert Square, to the north of the modern commercial centre. It is prolongated by Market Square (Place du Marché), where stands the town hall (completed in 1718) and the Perron (literally "front steps"), a column symbolising the municipal liberties. Most of the old houses are to be found east of St Lambert Square, between Hors Château and Quai de Maastricht.

To the east of St. Lambert Square is the so-called Ilot Saint Michel ("St Michael's Isle"), now a modern shopping centre. South-east, we find Opera Square (where stand the neoclassical Royal Opera of Wallonia and the statue of Grétry) and the Square of the French Republic. This latter reminds us that 14th July (France's National Day) is also celebrated in Liège and that quite a few locals wouldn't mind if Wallonia split from Flanders to join France. This is ironic considering the city's historical link with Germany, and the fact that the French (the Burgundians, Louis XIV) destroyed Liège several times.

Shopping & Entertainment

Most of the shops, restaurants and cinemas are located between Boulevard de la Sauvenière, St Lambert Square and St Paul Cathedral.

The Galeries St Lambert, between St Lambert Square and St Denis Square, is the city's most modern shopping centre. The galleries spread on 40,000 m2. They have a branch of Mediamarkt and a Inno Department Store.

The area known as Le Carré ("the square"), comprised between the Boulevard de la Sauvenière, Rue Pont d'Avroy, Rue Vinave d'Ile and Rue de la Casquette and well known for its (mostly Italian) restaurants, cafés, pubs and nightlife. The pedestrian Vinâve d'Île, between St Paul Square and Opera Square, is the main shopping street in the city centre. The narrow Rue St Gilles and the broad Boulevard d'Avroy are other notable busy streets, with a lot of restaurants.

On the music and spectacle scene, the Forum (on Rue Pont d'Avroy, 14) is Liège's most famous venue. Created in 1922, it has welcomed some of the greatest French-speaking singers (Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Jacques Brel, Henri Salvador, Joe Dassin, Johnny Haliday...) and comedians (Fernandel, Coluche, Pierre Richard, Les Inconnus...).

For classical music, the Royal Opera of Wallonia is the most prestigious venue, not only in Liège but in all Francophone Belgium. It is home to the Liège Philarmonic Orchestra.

Recommended Restaurants

N.B. : the stars indicate the Michelin Guide rating, the score on a scale of 1 to 20 indicates the Gault Millau Guide rating.

• L'Héliport (14/20), 37, Boulevard Frère Orban - 4000 Liège. (Gastronomic French)
• Michel Germeau (15/20), 151, Rue des Vennes - 4020 Liège (Gastronomic French)
• L'Ecaillier (13/20), 26, Rue des Dominicains - 4000 Liège (French Brasserie)
• Folies Gourmandes (12/20), 48, Rue des Clarisses - 4000 Liège. (French)
• Enoteca (12/20), 5, Rue de la Casquette - 4000 Liège. (Italian, Mediterranean)
• Blucucina, 22, Rue Roture - 4000 Liège. (Italian)
• La Taverne Valaisanne, 45, Place du Marche - 4000 Liège. (Cheese fondue)
• Le Shanghai (12/20), 104, Place de la Cathédrale - 4000 Liège. (Chinese)
• La Cité du Dragon, 5, Rue Soeurs de Hasque - 4000 Liège. (Chinese)
• Mac Lam, 23, Place Xavier Neufjean - 4000 Liège. (Take-away Chinese)

How to get there

Liège-Guillemins Railway Station

By car

Liège sits at the junction of 4 major motorways (E25, E313, E40, and E42) linking it to the rest of Belgium as well as Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany.

• The E40 links it to Cologne and Aachen to the east, and Brussels, Ghent and Bruges to the north-west.
• The E42 runs all the way to Lille, via Namur, Charleroi, Mons and Tournai. Eastward, the E42 forks off from the E40 in Verviers (E421) and goes south to Spa, Prüm, Trier and Saarbrücken.
• The E25 goes northward to Maastricht, then all the way up to Amsterdam, and southward to Luxembourg and Metz.
• The E313 goes to Antwerp via Hasselt.

By train

There are two bullet-train lines passing through Liège: the Thalys running between Paris and Cologne, via Brussels, and the ICE to Cologne and Frankfurt.

There are frequent regular trains to most Belgian cities. Here is a summary of the main lines :

• Toward Ostend (2h15min) : Leuven (35min), Brussels (55min), Ghent (1h35min), Bruges (2h),
• Toward Lille (2h40min) : Huy (20min), Namur (40min), Charleroi (1h10min), Mons (1h45), Tournai (2h10min)
• Toward Antwerp (2h) : Tongeren (30min), Hasselt (55min)

Regular direct trains to neighbouring countries include : Maastricht (30min), Aachen (50min) and Luxembourg (2h30min).

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