Practical information for travellers in Belgium

Living Conditions

Eating

Food Specialties

Belgian food is varied, with numerous regional specialities reflecting the diversity of the country and its neighbours. Some examples include: Tomate-crevette/ tomaat-garnaal (a snack of grey shrimp and mayonnaise stuffed into a tomato), moules-frites/ mosselen-friet (mussels cooked in white wine and served with fries) and chicons au gratin/ gegratineerde witloof (a gratin of Belgian endives in béchamel sauce with cheese). For a sweet treat, Belgian chocolates and Belgian waffles are world renown.

Fries or frites are the Belgian national dish and, according to legend, were invented in Belgium, not France. They are said to be better in Belgium than in any other place in world.

Drinks

Belgium offers an incredible diversity of beers. The most well known are Stella Artois, Duvel (literally: the Devil, beware of the 8.5% abv), Leffe, Jupiler (plain standard beer) and Hoegaarden (white beer).  Kriek (a sweet or sour cherry beer) and, for the Christmas season, Stille Nacht (Silent night) are two recommendations.

Dietary Restrictions

There are no particular food restrictions in Belgium.

Paying

Domestic Currency

Euro

ISO Code

EUR

To Obtain Domestic Currency

Euros can be withdrawn at an ATM or bank counter, both of which are readily available in towns.

Possible Means of Payment

Cash, Cheque, Proton, Maestro, VISA, Amex, etc.

Speaking

Official Language

Dutch, French and German. In Belgium, 5.6 million people speak Dutch, 3.5 million speak French and about 50,000 people speak German.

Other Languages Spoken

Indigenous languages, recognised since 1990, such as Walloon, and immigrant languages, such as Arabic, Spanish and Turkish.

Business Language

International negotiations are often in English, with some occurring in French.

Business is typically conducted in Flemish, French, German or even English (depending on the region).

Useful Resources

To Find a Job

Stepstone
Xpatjobs