Lier

Lier is a city of about 36,000 inhabitants (2018) in the province of Antwerp, Belgium. Lier is often overlooked by many international tourists, but can make an interesting day out from Antwerp or Mechelen. The town is southeast of the regional capital city of Antwerp.

By train
Lier is connected by rail to a number of major Belgian cities, including Antwerp, Mechelen, Turnhout, Herentals, Aarschot, Leuven and Brussels. The connection to Antwerp is especially good, from which any other destination within Belgium can easily be reached. To plan your trip, you can consult the website of NMBS, the national railway company, for national and international travels. The train station is fairly close to the city centre, only some 10 minutes in walking distance.



By bus
The Flemish national bus company, De Lijn, operates bus lines to Lier from Mechelen, Herentals and other neighbouring towns. For more information regarding different timetables (only available in Dutch): https://www.delijn.be.

By car
Lier can be conveniently reached by car. It's halfway between the E19 (Antwerp to Brussels) and E313 (Antwerp to Liège). They are not really close to Lier, but there is a well-developed network of national roads connecting the town with the highways and other close-by cities, like the N10 to Antwerp, N14 to Mechelen and N13 to the E313. Like many towns in Belgium it is a problem, however, to park your car in the city centre.

Public transportation
The public transport company De Lijn runs bus lines through Lier.

On foot
Best method to discover Lier. Most places of interest are in the centre of the city and lay only a couple of minutes from each other.

Bicycle
Much of the surrounding area can be accessed by cycle routes and the Nete Canal towpath. Riding a bicycle is not permitted in the market, although many of the locals bring bikes to the market, not to ride, but to use as pack-horses for their shopping.

Buy
Lier holds a weekly market (Saturday, morning to mid-afternoon) of produce sold from the back of trucks. Departments include one in the Grote Markt selling meat, & also a department called "tuinbouw" (gardening), located in Zimmerplein, which sells vegetables: home vegetable breeding was a popular hobby for Belgians during the industrial revolution, & the nation has capitalised on this pedigree to become one of the largest per-capita exporters of vegetable produce in the world.

Eat
The Lier tourist office offers a picknick package full of regional specialities. You can pick it up there and enjoy it wherever you want. Orders by e-mail at least 2 days in advance to picknick@lier.be.

A regional dish of Lier is Liers vlaaike. It is a spicy cake made of candy syrup and a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander and cloves. It has been around for more than 300 years and is one of the oldest pastries in the area. Since 2013 it has been included on the EU list of authentic regional products.


 * Quite a few restaurants around Zimmerplein, Grote Markt and the street in between (Eikelstraat). Mostly French and Italian cuisine.

Drink
Most of the nightlife is centered around Zimmerplein in local pubs.



Go next

 * Antwerp — second largest city of Belgium with a thriving diamond, shopping and fashion scene.
 * Mechelen — compact historical city between the major cities of Antwerp and Brussels.