General travel information for Belgium

General travel information for Belgium photoMEDICAL FACILITIES … There are English-speaking doctors; ask at your hotel.

MOTION PICTURES … All foreign pictures with subtitles in French, Flemish or the local language.

MUSIC … There are excellent symphony concerts and occasional ballet at .the Palais des Beaux-Arts. Also opera at La Monnaie. Ask your hotel concierge for details.

NIGHT CLUBS… Night spots in Brussels are big and brassy and on the expensive side. You may have to pay around $2 for .a highball and $20 for the bottle of champagne you’re expected to buy, (unless you’re at the bar) but there’s no cover or minimum. Some require membership fees. Negro entertainers are popular here. Among the better-known and popular places are Le Boeu f Sur le Toit; Cabaret; Chez Paul; and the Scotch Club. Le Moulin and Memling are less expensive, more intimate. La Nouvelle Equipe and El Cochero have the best dance music.

PHOTOGRAPHY … Black-and-white still and movie films are available in Belgium at about the same prices as in the U.S. Gevacolor negative or positive film costs BF.65.00 for 120 or 620 roll, developing (costs BF.40.00) of color film takes at least one month, of black and white 24 hours. La Camera, 47 rue de l’Ecuyer, Brussels, is recommended for photo purchases. Photogenic places in Brussels are: Grand’Place, Place de Brouckere (for night pictures), Cinquantenaire, Sablon church, Royal Palace, Royal Park, Palais de Justice, the Atomium on the site of the ’58 World’s Fair among many others.

RELIGION… While Belgium is a Roman Catholic country, there are churches of almost every denomination (but none at the airport).

RESTAURANTS… Some of the most famous restaurants in the world are in Brussels. Among them are: La Couronne and Le Cygne on the Town Hall Square (Grand’Place); Le Ravenstein; Au Filet de Boeuf, Rue des Harengs; Brussels Grill Bar, 319 Ave. Louise; The Savoy, Blvd. de Waterloo and the Villa Lorraine, especially pleasant on summer evenings. There are many, many others. The Carlton offers dinner dancing and the best bar in town. These are in addition to the hundreds of restaurants offering foods of many nations. On the grounds of the 1958 World’s Fair, a short distance from the center of the city, the restaurant atop the Atomium is still open.

SHOPS AND STORES… Large department stores are open daily (except Sundays) from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Principal ones in Brussels include Au Bon Marche, A L’Innovation, Magasins de la Bourse, Galeries Anspach, and many excellent small luxury shops.

SPECTATOR SPORTS … Soccer, tennis, bicycle races, horse races.

SPORTS … Yachting, fishing, horseback riding, golf, tennis. You can go hiking, cycling or boating. There are Youth Hostels everywhere. The swimming is magnificent all along the coast.