Belgium is a small country (11,730 square Miles, the size of Maryland) with a population of 10 million. It has been a constitutional monarchy since 1830. There are three languages (Dutch, French and German). However, English is widely spoken. The three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels) have self-government in many spheres. Belgium has retained its old-world charm in the preservation of its ancient buildings and historical traditions.
If Belgium’s spotlight on the European stage is a little dim, it’s only because its people are rarely boastful. This slow-burning country has more history, art, food and architecture packed into its tiny self than many of its bigger, louder neighbours.

A rich and bubbling vat of beer, chocolate, oil paint and bureaucrats, Belgium gives off the heady pong of the bourgeoisie. But stir the pot a little and you’ll find an ‘artificial state’ roughly made up of two parts Germanic Flemings to one part Celtic-Latin Walloons.

Divided by pride first and language second, the country’s binding agents are a pervasive sense of family and an indomitable entrepreneurial spirit. Visitors, lulled by the locals’ friendliness, will probably not even notice the tensions that spark across the Linguistic Divide.
The Kingdom of Belgium (French: Royaume de Belgique, Dutch: Koninkrijk België, German: Königreich Belgien) is a country in Western Europe, bordered by the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and the North Sea.