Liege, the Bilbao of Belgium

Liège is where I live since 2012. I have a lot of affection to this city. Before I moved here, I lived five years in Barcelona. This was a drastic change and I have a rough period to adjust. I recognize that it was not love at first sight. This is an industrial city, with a lot of gray, some eye-sore buildings and plenty of bad weather. Nevertheless, I am a witness of the transformation of Liège in a modern and attractive city without losing its essence.

When tourist visit Belgium they tend to go to two places: Brussels and Brugges. Surprisingly, when I spoke with my Belgian friends, most of them agreed that Ghent (Gent or Gand) is the most attractive and beautiful town in Belgium (I agree). It used to be "underrated" but the secret is out (specially during summer). Antwerp  (Anvers)  is also another beautiful city, that has been neglected. Nonetheless, Flemish cities are much popular than Wallon towns. Fewer people visit Liège, Namur, Mons or Tournai which is a pity because of the charm and historic value of these cities.

The historical background of Liège is immense and it goes back to the Romans. It would be very difficult to summarize the history of Liège in one paragraph or two. I am just going to give  you some highlights:  Liège was the capital of a country, the prince-bishopric of Liège, one of the most democratic states of Europe during the Medieval times. It was an strategic town during the Napoleonic war and one of the most industrialized cities due to the mining activity. Liège suffered tremendously during the First World War. The city was under siege by the German troops during several days. The heroic resistance has been recognize in many ways. Liège has one of the few monuments financed by all the allies during the World War I. It is called : Monument Interallié. Unfortunately, it is open to the public only two times during the year.

Liège also suffered during the Second World War. The city was occupied by the German troops, it was liberated and afterwards bombarded. After the war, Liège underwent a painful process of de-industralization. The negative effects of this process  has been the inspiration of the filmmaker duo, the Dardenne Brothers, for movies like "The Promise" or more recently "Two days, one night".

Nowadays, the city is trying to recover its vitality. It has benefited from several investments in infrastructure. Liège is an international city, it is less than one hour from Germany or Netherlands. The Thalys that goes to Cologne stops in Liège (you have a direct connection with Paris). It has one of the most awe-inspiring train stations that I have ever seen. It was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava (one of the few Calatrava buildings that I like). However, in my opinion, what really saved Liège is the University. Every year many students come to the city, providing the dynamism and energy that lacks other cities in Wallonia like Charleroi. 

Liège has many "incontournables" that will be the delight of the tourists. I will start with the churches. Liège was governed for many years by archbishops so you can imagine that there are plenty of churches to visit. My favorites are the Cathedral, l'eglise de Saint-Jacques and Saint-Martin (difficult to visit, it is not open regularly). There is a very good museum called "Musée Curtius" which used to be the house of an important industrialist. It has a mixed collection of artifacts, furniture, paintings and archaeological objects. I call it the "mini Victoria & Albert" museum of Liège. It is huge for Liège standards. There are two museums of Arts but one of them is currently being restored. 

One of the best parts of visiting Liège is the food. I do not think you could eat better in any other city in Belgium. Since there is not too much tourism, restaurants need to cater local clientele. Furthermore, Liège received an enormous amount of immigrants from Italy during the mining boom. After the de-industrialization, many of those immigrants opened Italian restaurants throughout the city. My favorite restaurants are Vin-sur-vin, le Dix-huitième, (French, Belgian) l'European and la Bambola (for Pizza), Huggies and Les Fous d'en Face (for Burgers), Les Frites ("belgium fries"); Pollux (Gauffres), André and Poivre et Sel (Sandwiches), La Chaisse au Plafond (Croissant aux noissetes)  le Vaudree (a huge menu of beers) Punto e Pasta (lassagne della nona) and Glacier Franchie (for the chocolate milkshake). 

I could have written the article with another title; Liège is also "the Bologna of Belgium". Many of the Belgium specialties have their origin here. There is the famous gauffre de Liège, le sirop de Liège (a fruit sirop), les boulets liégeoises (meatballs covered in a sauce made from sirop de Liège), la salade liégeoise (green beans, potatoes,lard), le cafe liégeois (a dessert made with coffee ice cream) and of course "le liégeoise" (orange Fanta with grenadine sirop) . Other popular regional dishes, that are not exclusive from Liège are chicon au gratin, le jamboneau, le vol-au-vent avec poulet, le spaghetti bolo (bolognese sause, influence from Italy), le fondue parmesan (it is actually croquettes made of cheese), la carbonade flamande (Stoofvlees) among others. Try to spend a Sunday in Liège, then you will see  one of the  largest outdoor market in Europe, the well known "la Batte" People from all over Belgium, Netherlands and Germany come to this market every Sunday. You will see the tremendous influence of Italy in Liège.

Liège is known as well as "la cité ardent" although the name comes from a horrible historical episode (the city was burned by "Charles le Téméraire, Duke of Burgundy) the name now symbolizes the strong spirit liégeois and the wild and sometimes rough festivities.. If you are here during Thursdays you will see how wild it could be. Le carré is the main area for going out in Liège. I personally don't like it so much because it is mainly oriented toward young students but if you are younger than 25, you will love it. There are many musical activities during the year: Les Ardents et les Transardents, la fête de la musique, la fête de Wallonie, Jazz à Liège,  les epicuriales, and for me the best cultural activity : la journée du Patrimoine. Liège also has one of the best Christmas markets in Belgium where you can taste Tartiflettes, Toast aux Champignon and many other delicacies.There is also "La Foire d'Octobre" which is basically an attraction park in the middle of the city. This is the time of the year when people buy the famous "lacquemants" a kind of thin gauffre covered in sirop (Be careful with the sugar!). Liège has an Opera and Concert hall for the Philharmonic Orchestra and three movie theaters for independent films (Grignoux)

The best time to come to Liège is during the music festivals (early summer), early autumn and during Christmas markets. I would try to come during la Journée du Patrimoine because you can visit many attractions that are closed to the public during the year (le Palais du Prince-Eveques, le Monument Interallié, le Collegiale de Saint-Croix). Liège could be your base to explore Aachen (wonderful underrated city) and Maastricht (über-posh dutch town). You can also visit the neglected Leuven, explore the exuberant Ardennes (nature) that has so many hidden jewels like castles (Château de Jehay, Château de Modave), Abbeys (Stavelot, Val-Dieu) and walking circuits in "Le Pays de Herve" (you need a car for this).  Liège is a great city and I certainly will miss it when I leave.