This is an old coal mine that closed in the 1980s. The area is dotted with mines and this one is…read moreone of the few you can actually tour. We would suggest that you buy a combo ticket to do everything. That's what we did. The mine tour is given in French and Dutch. You can request an audio guide in other languages. We chose the English guides. They take you down into the mine and the tour stops at various panels to explain the operation of the mine. In some areas they demonstrate the operation of the mine equipment. You will be walking down a series of steps, but there are no uphill steps. At the ending, you tour the processing area in the tower above the mine. Next, we rode through the town and countryside on a trolly train. That was followed by a visit to the museum and finally a hike around the mine grounds. It is well worth climbing the 204 steps to the top of the slag heap to see the view of the countryside. Allow yourself around 4-5 hours to do everything. We also stopped for lunch in their restaurant in the middle of our tour and the food was good. We would highly recommend spending the day here.

Blegny-Mine is definitely one of the most interesting places in the region of Limburg and Liège to…read morevisit. It's the only mine in Belgium where you can really go into the underground and the guided tour is foreseen in several languages, including English and Dutch. After visiting the mine it's nice to take a walk on the hill too, because it offers nice views for photography.

On an early December Tuesday,I walked from the awesome Liege Train Station designed by Santiago…read moreCalatrava to the la Boverie Art Museum and I saw the very inventive temporary Bill Viola Exhibit.American Bill Viola,the"Sculptor of Time"is a pioneer in Video Art. Much of the permanent collection was not on display ,but I saw marvelous paintings by Lambert Lombard("Scenes From The Life of Saint Denis"),Abel Grimmer("Parable of Winegrowers"),Gerard De Lairesse("Judith",Judaic theme by this outstanding Mannerist)("Orpheus Arrives in Hell",Jean Auguste Dominque Ingres("Napoleon"),Christian Kohler("Semiramis"),Eugene Boudin,Claude Monet("Harbor Scene",the paradigm of quality French Impressionism),Camille Pissarro("The Louvre,Paris"),Paul Signac("Le Chateau de Combiar",stellar Pointillism),Henri Le Sidaner("Trianon"),Oskar Kokoshka("Monte Carlo"),Pablo Picasso("Soler Family",produced in 1903,)Paul Gauguin("Marquesan Man Red Cape"),Paul Delvaux("Man of the Street"),Rene Magritte("Forest")and Emile Claus("The Gardener"),just to cite a few captivating works.This art museum that day had quality.I wish it had more quantity. I realize Liege is a very French Speaking City,but since English is the Lingua Franca,it needs to have more labelling and information in English.My trip from Brussels to Liege was very worthwhile.The next time,I will bring along my French-English Dictionary.

Honestly, I love the art museums in Europe, it is amazing what you find. Like, there are always the…read morereally famous paintings, but these lesser know museums in the smaller cities hold some absolute gems. I spent about an hour simply wandering around here just soaking in the beauty of the art that was on the wall. It is actually located on an island which is a park, so that was pretty cool as well.

The place where World War II started for Belgium and Germany is absolutely worth the visit. The…read moreguided tour through Belgium's biggest fortress gives you a very good idea of the kind of fortress, but the individual history of the fortress makes the visit even more interesting. It's the place where the Germans used revolutionary weapons like "gliders" and the "shaped charge" for the very first time. The visit to the part of the fortress damaged by the shaped charge is one of the highlights. It's very interesting too to walk on the hill that has the fortress inside of it. The kind of day trip that deserves far more publicity than it gets for the moment!

I went to the velvet cave Christmas Market for a USO trip some time back. It was one of my first…read moreUSO trips and one of my only times in the Netherlands. The town was adorable. Small and quaint with cobble stone streets. But what towns aren't in Europe? The caves were decorated both inside and out. I think that was the coolest part. The market was small, so really the main attraction is the cave.

The Valkenburg Christmas market is held in a labyrinth of caves under the town which sounds unusual…read more& picturesque but it is not that exciting and a little disappointing. There are rather amateurish Christmas scenes of Christmas trees, Santas, elves,etc. with no flair. The theme changes every year. The stalls are unimaginative & some poorly lit. There are some Christmassy bits & pieces and traditional toys but strangely also some household goods. There is no thrill, no magic & little atmosphere. The Gemeentegrot (Municiple cave) was the original market but because of the success has now been extended to the Fluweelengrot (velvet cave) across the road. The caves were made when quarrying for the soft stone over hundreds of years. They also carve the stone into candle holders etc for souvenirs. There is an entrance fee of around £3 for these markets and the queues can be long & disorganised. The caves can get uncomfortably busy, when it isn't a case of stopping to look but to go with the flow. If you really want to shop try to visit when it is a little quieter or at least when all the coaches have gone. Tourist Board is in main square & helpful about parking. Now the town itself is sheer delight. There are masses of wonderful, picturesque restaurants, coffee shops & bars all twinkling with lights & candles. Many have tables & chairs outside, with some kind of heating, and it is lovely to sit people watching, snuggled up with hats & scarves, drinking Glühwein or hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. The food is good and the welcome warm & friendly. There are normally some animated Christmas decorations around the town.