Liège and Ghent selected as cities to see in 2016
Every year, the New York-based magazine Travel + Leisure publishes its list of 50 sites in the world to visit. For the first time, a city in Wallonia has appeared on the list: Liège. Ghent, in the Flemish Region, was also selected.
As the magazine explains, the site does not have to be an idyllic destination in order to appear on the list. Many criteria are taken into account for a place to be considered attractive.
Art, culture and gastronomy have allowed Liège to appear in 48th position. The magazine focuses on the opening in spring 2016 of the Boverie museum, the first three exhibitions of which are organised in partnership with the Louvre museum and which will present works by artists such as Manet and Van Gogh. The Guillemins train station, the work of the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, inaugurated in 2009, as well as Médiacité, a large shopping centre about 20 minutes from the city centre, are also mentioned. In terms of gastronomy, there are the famous waffles from Liège as well as the unmissable Liège meatballs.
Ghent appears in 25th position. Considered to be one of the most attractive European cities for its gastronomy, the magazine mentions the presence of Chefs such as Desramaults, a national star who owns two restaurants in Ghent, and another outside the city. The magazine also makes reference to events such as the Holy Food Market and the Flemish Food Bash, a music festival organised annually by famous Chefs which attracts guests from all over the world.