If looking for Belgian culture, the short description of the methods required is 'Don't stick to the tourist trails.' Modern Belgium's cosmopolitan culture is a bit self effacing, definitely understated, but it has its humor, too.
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Belgium, culturally, must be one of the more undersold countries on Earth. The superficial view is of a few things called 'Belgian', which are as representative of the culture as most national clichés.
The beer, chocolates and waffles are undeniably excellent, but they're hardly the whole story.
The real Belgium online
A quick look at Belgium online is enough to put an end to the oversimplified shopfront version of the place. The modern art community alone makes a point with this series of links: http://www.webwatch.be/arts-culture.cfm
Belgium's new media isn't about food, either. Belgium is a truly multicultural nation, in the most literal possible sense of the words.
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Brussels
Fortunately for visitors, Brussels also has a lot of very useful online resources, like and the culture is irrepressible.
If you have a look at the 'Curiosities' page on this site, you can see a possible reason for the understating of Belgian culture. The Belgians may be understandably trying to avoid writing the large encyclopedia's worth of materials involved in describing their culture. It's literally everywhere. Every nook and cranny seems to contain something. The city is obviously awash with its culture.
Architecture
Belgium is also famous as one of Europe's few surviving showpieces of forms of architecture across a huge slice of history. Everything from medieval to ultra modern is on show here.
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Two Belgian cities are good representatives of the architectural diversity.
Brussels
The architecture of Brussels is one of the great concentrations of a mélange of architectural styles which have been extolled for decades as great architecture.
A quick look at a map will show you a tour of history, past and present.
Ghent
Ghent, aka Gent, is another true showcase of some of Europe's greatest, and best preserved, architecture. Despite centuries of wars, Belgium has managed to maintain the existence of buildings and architectural forms which have long since gone from other parts of Europe. These are the real classical masterworks, and if you find yourself surrounded by architecture students, the reasons will be obvious.
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http://www.alovelyworld.com/webbelge/htmgb/gand.htm
Regional Belgium
The regional divisions of Belgium are idiomatic, and pretty simple. North is Flanders, south is Wallonia, and the coastal region is called 'The coast'. Brussels is a specific regional distinction, not an 'area' like many other western cities.
The cultural understatement includes the strange fact that regional Belgium is a true hidden treasure. Like the culture, the country itself is very diverse, and the complex cultural history has had many regional effects.
Wallonia and The Ardennes
Wallonia does a good job of marketing its many features, but there are so many. Everything from eco tourism to skiing and water tours can be found.
Wallonia is rightly proud of its vast array of features.
The Ardennes is perhaps best known to non Europeans for its history in the Second World War, as the scene of the German invasion of France, and the Battle of the Bulge at its end.
Belgium, of all nations in Europe, has a sense of heritage. The Ardennes is in fact a regional triumph of conservation, as well as culture. The natural environment, which is justly famous for its beauty, has well been protected.
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Flanders
Flanders is a historic region by any global standard. It was a battlefield in ancient times, but it was permanently immortalized in the First World War. Some of the most terrible moments of that war really were 'In Flanders Fields'.
The region was devastated. So much scrap metal was left after the war that recycling industries operated for decades. War historians have stated that in some areas there was quite literally not one brick left standing on top of another. Even Hiroshima wasn't so badly damaged.
Despite history, Flanders was rebuilt, in many cases from the ground up. Today it's as much a testament to human history as a part of Belgium.
It's also a very modern, upbeat place, now. Like the rest of the country, it has its own unique attributes. A quick browse of this UK website could have you planning a trip lasting for months.
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The Coast, De Kust
The Flanders region includes the coastal zone. If the tourist information seems a bit 'utilitarian', it's mainly because there's an awful lot of it.
This web page alone
deals with 14 separate resorts and local areas. It's worth taking your time to browse through this tsunami of information. The culture, you'll notice, is always there, history, art, and regional characteristics.
Discovering Belgian culture
If you want to see Belgium and find the culture, be patient, look around, and you'll soon find something off the beaten path. Bring some good Belgian beer, chocolates and waffles anyway.
