Liège

Liège (German: Lüttich, Dutch: Luik) is the largest city of Wallonia. This industrial city is actually quite green, with wide boulevards, an interesting, if a bit disorderly, mix of architecture from different periods, much greenery and picturesque riverbanks and hillsides. There are also quite a few museums and other points of interest, enough for at least a busy day trip.

Understand
At the foot of Ardennes on the river Meuse, it has been a prominent urban centre since the Middle Ages, but really blossomed during the industrial revolution, when it grew to become Belgium's third-largest metropolis, after Brussels and Antwerp. Thanks to its strategic position, Liège still enjoys relative affluence and economic importance, in contrast to its fellow Wallon cities farther south.

Despite its size and location in-between some of the most-visited cities in Europe, Liège sees very little tourist traffic. It is the largest city of Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, and the capital city of the namesake province.

Liège has been an important city since the early Middle Ages. It was the capital of the Principality (prince-bishopric) of Liège, which remained an independent state until the French Revolution (around 1789). In the 19th century it became an early centre of industrialism. Today it is a large city of 200,000 inhabitants, with a total 750,000 in its metropolitan area. A city heavily shaped by waves of immigrants, Liège has important Italian (making up at least 5% of the population), Spanish, German, Moroccan, Turkish, and Sub-Saharan African communities (the latter being one of the largest in Belgium).

The central area of Liège presents itself as a rather interesting mix of a historic town centre (dotted with a few extremely brutalist buildings from the 1960s and 70s), a rather elegant new town with wide boulevards, tall apartment buildings (some Art Deco), narrow street with small businesses, a few pretty parks, and a few interesting shopping arcades. The outskirts of Liège consist mainly of 3 very distinctive areas: large industrial complexes sprawling on the river's bank in the north and the south (with the cities of Seraing and Herstal), working-class areas in the east and the west with mainly spare green neighborhood for healthy people, and several affluent suburbs dispersed here and there.

Liège sits at the beginning of the Ardennes, which makes the landscape of the south very different than the rest of the city, with high hills and abundant forests (Sart-tilman and beyond).



By plane

 * Brussels Airport is your most likely point of entry into Belgium. To reach Liège, take the train to Louvain/Leuven, or Brussels-Nord and change for Liège.
 * Brussels South Charleroi Airport, located in Charleroi, is an alternative for low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and WizzAir. From the airport, take the city bus Line A (stop is outside of the departure hall), which costs €6 one way to Charleroi-Sud (south) train station, then the train to Liège-Guillemins. Train departs once every hour from 05:00. Last train leaves at 23:00. The trip takes approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes.
 * Maastricht Airport is also close to the city. Ryanair has some service from the city (a lot less than Charleroi though). Transportation to Liège can be done by taking a bus to Maastricht station, then taking a train.
 * Cologne-Bonn Airport, in the neighbouring North Rhine-Westphalia region of Germany, is a mid-sized airport that serves as base for many low-cost carriers such as easyJet, Eurowings, and Ryanair. Reaching Liège from that airport takes just under 1½ hours by car, and about 2 hours by train with a change in Cologne.
 * Frankfurt Airport has a thrice daily direct high-speed train link to Liège-Guillemins. More frequencies can be found if you make a stop in Cologne.
 * Frankfurt Airport has a thrice daily direct high-speed train link to Liège-Guillemins. More frequencies can be found if you make a stop in Cologne.

By train
is the main station, 3 km south of the centre, with bold modern architecture by Santiago Calatrava. Thalys and ICE high-speed trains serve Brussels, Paris, Aachen, Cologne and Frankfurt.

From Brussels, intercity trains run at least hourly and take 50 min from Brussels Nord. From Brussels Airport, take the airport shuttle to Leuven then the intercity train. From the Netherlands change in Maastricht, with hourly trains taking 30 min.

Nightjet, the Austrian Railways' sleeper train, runs three nights a week from Brussels via Liège to Vienna, Munich and Innsbruck. It calls at Aachen, Cologne, Bonn, Koblenz, Frankfurt airport, Würzburg and Nuremberg where the train divides: one portion runs via Linz to Vienna, the other via Munich to Innsbruck.

To get downtown from Liège-Guillemins, either change to the frequent regional train to Liège-St-Lambert (7 min), or take Bus 1 or 4 bus just outside the station to Place St-Lambert or Bus 48 towards Opéra, or take a taxi. Those buses run both ways at the station bus stop so check the destination board.

is the downtown station, with regional trains from Aachen, Verviers and Merken.

Coming from Germany with the Deutschland-Ticket, take a regional train to Aachen. Then a Belgium regional train (€11, hourly) to Liège. Booking the train on the Belgium train website costs less than booking it at the Deutsche Bahn counterpart

By car
Liège is the crossroads for several major motorways. Its "ring" has 6 branches in clockwise order:
 * the E25, to the south, towards Luxembourg and into France via Metz, Nancy, Lyon
 * the E42, to the west, crosses Wallonia via Mons/Bergen before entering France via Valenciennes, Paris
 * the E40, to the west, leading to the Belgian coast via Brussels
 * the E313, leading to Antwerp and on to the large coastal cities of the Netherlands
 * the E25, to the north, with Maastricht a stone's throw away (30 km) and the rest of the Netherlands beyond
 * the E40, to the east, entering Germany via Aachen. A second branch (Actually the E42) splits off at Verviers, heading to Trier.

Since it is a fairly large city, many motorway exits are signposted for "Liège". When coming from Germany or Netherlands, follow the E25 to its end, then follow the road signs to the center. If you are coming from Luxembourg, exit at "Angleur" and follow signs to the center, or to continue on to the exit marked "Liège-centre". Finally, coming from Paris, Lille, Brussels, or Antwerp, follow signs to Luxembourg until you reach the exit marked "Liège-centre." When coming from Flanders, Liège is named as "Luik."

There are a number of covered car parks in the centre costing €2.20 an hour.

By bus
Liège is well-connected by bus, notably by Flixbus and BlablaCar Bus.

By boat
Individuals arriving with their own boat are welcome at the port des Yachts.

Many organised cruises departing from Maastricht stop in the centre of Liège, on the right bank (quai Marcatchou to quai Van Beneden).

By car
Unlike most Belgian cities, Liège has no inner ring built along the path of the old city walls. Instead, the main streets were laid out along the old branches of the river, which makes their organisation a bit obscure.

Leave your car in one of the city-centre parking garages, especially if you have no map of to your destination.

Here are the main routes for cars:
 * the motorway E40-E25 that crosses parts of the city
 * the Boulevards "d'Avroy" and "de la Sauvenière", the main route between the center and the train station
 * the Quais "de la Meuse" and "de la Dérivation", which link to/from the two branches of the E25

By bus
TEC is the main bus company. Most lines converge towards one of the city-center bus "terminals." These terminals are located at Place Saint-Lambert, Gare Léopold, Place de la République Française, and around the Opéra/Theater (all the four are very close to one another). The names of these five sites are used to indicate the direction of the bus, according to the line taken.

Several other lines leave from the train station Liège-Guillemins. Among them, two lines link the station with city centre: the #4, a circular line (direction "Bavière" to go from the station to the centre, direction "d'Harscamp" for the reverse trip), and the #1 which runs train station to city center and on to Coronmeuse. There also is a few lines that start from the intersection of the Boulevard d'Avroy and the "Pont d'Avroy", the main shopping street. Few lines run after midnight.

More and more bus stops now show the waiting time for the next bus on each line, and many buses are equipped to display the next stop and adapted for people with reduced mobility. Nevertheless, be aware that the next stop screens are not always synchronised with the bus stops. For people using a bus line they're not familiar with, ask the driver to warn you when you are arriving at the bus stop you are looking for. You can ask for a free printed version of each bus schedule at the terminal of the line.

By bike
Travelling by bike in the city centre is easy, but the hillsides can be a bit steep (between 5 and 15%). Reaching the higher neighbourhoods will require a bit of training and a multi-speed bike!

Cycling paths are regularly added and improved, though the main roads remain a bit dangerous. Most one-way streets can be travelled in the opposite direction by cyclists. A map of cycling paths is available at the tourist information office. In addition, there's a "Ravel" (a path for walkers and cyclists) along the right bank of the river Meuse.


 * La Maison des Cyclistes

By scooter
Multiple electric scooter rental companies operate in the city such as Dott and Pony. Scooters are scattered all over the city therefore are easy to find.

By foot
Most of the areas in city centre are easily accessible on foot, and walking provides an interesting perspective on the city itself. The trip from the train station at Guillemins to the city centre requires a bit more timeL about 30 min.

Historic Centre
is a major square in the centre, where a number of key sights may be found. It was the site of Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady and St (Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Lambert), representation of religious power, torn down at the start of the 19th century after the revolution of Liège and today memorialized by metal columns and a design traced on the ground. At Place Saint Lambert 9-17, admire the neo-classic façades, dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Other sights in the historic city centre include:



Outremeuse
On the opposite bank of the river, the Outremeuse district has few memorable buildings, notably the Rue Roture, but a welcoming atmosphere. It was historically a working-class neighbourhood, so the buildings tend not to be as grand as those on the other side of the river. Also the most-visited museum complex in Liège and Wallonia, comprised of the Aquarium, the House of Science, and the Zoology Museum, all housed in a neo-classic University building.
 * The main buildings of interest in the district are:
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).
 * Departing from the amphitheater along the quay, a bateau-mouche (covered boat) offers river tours, from 1 Apr to 30 Oct (11:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 17:00, €6, +32 4 221 9221 and +32 4 366 5021).

Do

 * Visit the Carré District, where you can celebrate or party on any day, at any time. It's the preferred district of students, alternating shops and cafés, many of which allow dancing (sometimes on the tables!).
 * The Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera, and Theater de la Place head up the cultural life in Liège.
 * Liège is the European city with the most theaters per person. Liège has an international reputation especially for its marionnette theaters, whose performances often involve the traditional folklore character Tchantchès in an unbelievably wide range of situations. The most-known marionnette theaters can be found at:
 * Museum of Wallonian Life (Wednesdays and school holidays at 14:30 and Sundays at 10:30, Cour des Mineurs, +32 4 237 9040, open even when the museum is closed.)
 * Museum of Tchantchès (Oct to end Apr, Sundays at 10:30 and Wednesdays at 1430, rue Surlet 56, +32 4 342 7575)
 * Movie theaters include Le Parc and Le Churchill for European films; Le Palace and Kinepolis for big-name blockbusters; and soon UGC Longdoz in the future "media city".
 * Football: Standard Liège play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground is Stade Maurice Dufrasne (capacity 27,000) on the river bank 2 km south of city centre.
 * RFC Seraing were relegated in 2023 so they now play in Challenger Pro League, the second tier, at Stade de Pairay (capacity 8200) in Seraing city.
 * Movie theaters include Le Parc and Le Churchill for European films; Le Palace and Kinepolis for big-name blockbusters; and soon UGC Longdoz in the future "media city".
 * Football: Standard Liège play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground is Stade Maurice Dufrasne (capacity 27,000) on the river bank 2 km south of city centre.
 * RFC Seraing were relegated in 2023 so they now play in Challenger Pro League, the second tier, at Stade de Pairay (capacity 8200) in Seraing city.
 * Movie theaters include Le Parc and Le Churchill for European films; Le Palace and Kinepolis for big-name blockbusters; and soon UGC Longdoz in the future "media city".
 * Football: Standard Liège play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground is Stade Maurice Dufrasne (capacity 27,000) on the river bank 2 km south of city centre.
 * RFC Seraing were relegated in 2023 so they now play in Challenger Pro League, the second tier, at Stade de Pairay (capacity 8200) in Seraing city.
 * Football: Standard Liège play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground is Stade Maurice Dufrasne (capacity 27,000) on the river bank 2 km south of city centre.
 * RFC Seraing were relegated in 2023 so they now play in Challenger Pro League, the second tier, at Stade de Pairay (capacity 8200) in Seraing city.
 * RFC Seraing were relegated in 2023 so they now play in Challenger Pro League, the second tier, at Stade de Pairay (capacity 8200) in Seraing city.


 * There are numerous other sports clubs including no less than three rowing clubs. RCAE, a university club but open to everyone, offers a range of sports from parachuting to spelunking. The sports fields at Xhovémont, Cointe or Sart Tilman are ideal for practice. The ice rink, dating from the water exposition of 1939, is in its last seasons before being moved, while a new swimming pool with modern facilities including a diving tower will soon be constructed in the center. (The previous one is being converted to a museum.) Other pools are spread throughout the city, notably in Outremeuse.
 * For those who prefer a calmer sport, cycling or jogging is perfect along the quays of the Meuse. The woods at Coteaux de la Citadelle, Chartreuse, and Sart Tilman are all close, as are the magnificent countrysides of the Ardennes (with Condroz, Hesbaye, and Herve lending themselves particularly well to hiking and mountain-biking).
 * A circuit is dedicated to Simenon (author of the Maigret stories), and a museum will be opening shortly.



Events

 * Liège–Bastogne–Liège Late April. The oldest and most arduous of the pro-cycling spring classics, this race draws the best in the world to compete. As Liège is where the race starts and ends, don't expect finding accommodations here to be easy.
 * The Feast of the Assumption (15 August) is celebrated here by the entire city and countless visitors.
 * The celebrations of 15 August in Outremeuse welcome more than 300,000 people each year.
 * The Festival of Walking, in the second half of August, offers urban walks.
 * The Celebrations of Wallonia (2nd weekend in September), the nuit des Coteaux (night events in the historic center), the Secret Gardens and Corners Day (la journée Jardins et Coins secrets - 3rd Sunday in June), and the heritage days (les journées du patrimoine - end September) are other key dates in Liège.
 * The fair, held since the city was established, has become a fun-fair. It takes place from the first weekend in October to the second weekend in November (6 weeks).
 * The Christmas Village, one of the biggest and oldest in the country, has more than one million visitors each year.

Learn
A university city with some 80,000 students, Liège has plenty of educational possibilities.


 * University of Liège (L'Université de Liège) . With 17,000 students and links to numerous foreign universities.
 * Le pôle mosan is a platform regrouping more and more of the écoles supérieures of the region.
 * Le FOREM (FORmation et EMploi - training and employment)
 * L'Union des Classes Moyennes also offers classes for adults
 * Le Centre J has lots of useful information for young students



Buy

 * Sunday morning market at la rive gauche
 * The Marché de la Batte is where most locals visit on Sundays. The one of the longest markets in Europe stretches along the Meuse River by the Université de Liège and attracts many visitors to Liège. The market typically runs from early morning to 2 o'clock in the afternoon every weekend year long. Produce, clothing, and snack vendors are the main concentration of the market.
 * Flea Markets at Saint Gilles (every Saturday morning on Boulevard Louis Hillier) and Saint Pholien (every Friday morning on Boulevard de la Constitution) also attract many visitors.

Typical purchases

 * Val Saint Lambert crystal, now sold throughout the world, makes an exceptional gift in the "splurge" category.
 * The tourist information office sells local artists' products including scarfs with medieval motifs and ties with contemporary artistic designs.
 * Marionnettes of "Tchantchès", a character from local folklore embodying the Liégeois attitude, are available in the 6 marionette theaters in the city.

Other typical purchases are food and drink products:


 * As elsewhere in Belgium, pralines (filled chocolates) and the numerous cheeses and beers are a must.
 * Local products include "Herve" cheese (with a strong smell!), "Sirop de Liège" (made from a mix of apples and pears and typically used for cooking/baking), and cider (the alcoholic kind).
 * "Pèkèt" (genièvre) is an alcoholic beverage available in countless varieties.
 * For sweets, you can't go far without encountering the famous Liège waffles, smelling of cinnamon and sugar. They're best when freshly-cooked, though the pre-packaged variety also exists and has spread to many other countries.
 * Other sweets are available depending on the season: boûkètes (dark crêpes with raisins, eaten with brown sugar) are mainly available for 15 August and at Christmas, while lacquemants/lackmans (dry waffles filled with a mix of sugar and other sweets) are found at the fairs.
 * If you find them, try "cûtès peûres" (baked pears), which unfortunately seems to have disappeared from the street vendors.
 * Liège coffee (café liégeois) is originally from Vienna but was rebaptised by the Parisiens to show their support for the heroic resistance in Liège at the start of the first world war.

Shopping in city centre
The best options for shopping are around Place Cathédrale and Place Saint Lambert, and in particular at Vinâve d'Ile (Celio...), Saint-Michel (Van den Borre, Delhaize, C&A), the Opera Galleries (Zara, Springfield) and the Saint Lambert Galleries (FNAC, Média Markt, Inno, Champion), as well as along the roads towards the center (rues Féronstrée, Saint-Gilles, Puits-en-Sock in Outremeuse, Grétry in Longdoz.)

Shopping outside city centre
Several large commercial centres are on the outskirts of the city:

Eat
In addition to the local foods mentioned above, regional specialities include:
 * boulets sauce-lapin, meatballs in a sauce made from Sirop de Liège, onions, vinegar and prunes, accompanied of course by frites - french fries. The boulet even has its own critics and reviews.
 * la potée liégeoise, a country dish made from beans, potatoes, and bacon bits cooked together and drenched in vinegar.
 * les boûkètes, dark crêpes served at New Year's Eve or other festive occasions
 * le matoufèt, a cross between a crêpe and an omelette, made from flour, eggs, milk and bacon bits, and served either salty or sweet.
 * la tarte au riz, originally from the neighboring city of Verviers or the area of Tancrémont

Other local recipes are available online.

Prices unfortunately are fairly high, as in most other Belgian cities. Budget restaurants will cost about €12-15 per person, drinks included, mid-range restaurants between €25 and €50, and splurge restaurants well over that!

For budget solutions, snack shops like any of the sandwicheries or kebab shops offer cheap yet tasty food. A Döner kebab typically costs 3-5 euro, and a sandwich is around 2-4. In Liège all snack shops charge 50 cents for sauce, and usually another 50 cents for vegetables. For example you can see a meatball sandwich for €2 on the price list; however, after the sauce and the vegetables it will be €3 in total. It is recommended to look for convenient stores for soft drinks as they're over-priced in snack bars.

Obtaining meals outside of conventional times can be a challenge: Many restaurants do not serve between 2 and 6 in the afternoon, those that do tend to be full and you can expect to wait some time for service.



Budget




Drink
The area known as "Le Carré" offers numerous options to drink and party 365 days per year, with a young, vibrant, student atmosphere. Also worth a visit: the trendier Place du Marché, and the area around Place Cathédrale, to see and be seen. In addition, many of the cafés in the Le Carré area are a good alternative, with plenty of dancing and typically no entrance fee.

Sleep
For a city of its size, Liège has surprisingly few accommodation facilities. This is both due to the city's relatively low popularity as a tourist destination and the fact that it is between 1 and 3 hours from many major cities where business traffic to it originates. You may want to take advantage of the latter yourself and stay anywhere closer or farther and come to the city for the day.

Stay safe
Liège is generally a safe city during daytime. However, be cautious at night, especially if you are a woman. It is not recommended for women to walk alone in the evenings, as many foreign female students have been followed late at night. Robbery is rare, but harassment of single females occurs often. It is mostly verbal, but some travelers have been assaulted in off-downtown areas. If where you're staying is more than a 5-min walk from the centre, it is safest to take a cab (they have a queues around the Opera and Pont d'Avroy Bus Terminal) after 22:00.

Connect
Liège has 4G from all Belgian carriers. As of July 2022, 5G has not reached the city.

Go next

 * Neupré World War II Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial commemorates the American soldiers who died in Northern Europe during WWII.
 * Henri-Chapelle World War II Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial is the final resting place for 7,992 American military lost during the drive into Germany.
 * Spa is the pleasant town that gave its name to mineral spring resorts.
 * Tongeren dates from Roman times, but its sights are mostly medieval.
 * Maastricht in the Netherlands has an attractive old centre.
 * Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) in Germany is ranged around its cathedral, begun in 796 AD.