Nestled in the Belgian province of Namur, on the banks of the River Meuse lies the historic town of Dinant. Rosie Khdir discovers the town made famous for its rocky cliffs, beautiful river trails and its music.

Dinant was a settlement created back in the 7th century and traces of Neolithic, Celtic, and Roman inhabitants can be seen in the varying architecture around the town.

The city’s main landmark, besides the natural cliffs that provide Dinant with a stunning backdrop, is the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame. This church was rebuilt on its initial foundations after falling rocks crushed the original Romanesque building.

Another must-see in Dinant is the 11th century fortified citadel, which you can get to by cable car. Explore the dungeons, kitchens, weapons museum and old trenches that all reveal different eras of the city’s history.

Dinant is also a town of music, as the home town of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, and will be hosting a Jazz festival on 3rd September this year.

If you are a museum junkie, Dinant will keep you satisfied there, with over twelve museums including the Meuse Medieval Heritage Centre, the Montaigle Castle Museum and the Museum of the Orders of Gastronomy.

Dinant truly is a beautiful city with such a mixture of entertainment. The river trails are great for those who love the outdoors, the many churches and abbeys are perfect for history buffs and there are plenty of restaurants for food lovers.

There are also boat cruises on the Meuse, rail bikes, rocking climbing, boats for hire and even caves to explore.

If you would like to discover this amazing city for yourself then P&O Ferries offers an overnight service from Hull to Zeebrugge. Or you can take the Dover to Calais crossing starting from just £30 for a car and up to nine people; from Calais it is just a few hours drive to Dinant.

Image by: Мишель Шанц

Tags: Belgium, History, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Rosie Khdir
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Rosie Khdir reports on the latest ferry news, as DFDS ceases its Rosyth to Zeebrugge sailings by December this year.

It has been announced that Scotland’s only passenger ferry owned by DFDS Seaways, formerly Norfolkline will cease operation at the end of this year.

The service, launched last May, which ran from Rosyth to Zeebrugge, will be pulled with only the freight route remaining from the middle of December.

Andreas Teschl, vice president of the DFDS Group, said:

“We know this decision will be disappointing to many people. However, we do believe the route has a future as a freight-only service and we want to enhance the service we offer to the freight industry.”

The 489-passenger Scottish Viking which was purpose-built for the route will be in service at least until December 15th, Teschl promised and added:

“We are aware that the ferry service has provided an important link between Scotland and the continent so it is a matter of deep regret that we have had to take the decision to no longer operate passenger services on the Rosyth to Zeebrugge route.”

P&O Ferries has an alternative for those passengers unable to get to the continent from Scotland – the Hull to Zeebrugge overnight ferry.

Image credit: FaceMePLS

Tags: Belgium, History, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Rosie Khdir
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We’ve all heard of a red carpet, but in Belgium there is one even more luxurious! This August a carpet made entirely from flowers will fill the Grand Place in Brussels, Rosie Khdir takes a look.

For almost forty years, Brussels has rolled out a floral carpet in its famous square, thanks to the landscaping of architect E. Stautemans in 1971, but the origins of the carpet began in the Flanders region.

After graduating from the Ghent Horticultural College, E. Stautemans had been experimenting with making simple small carpets made from begonias. He quickly realised that floral carpets would be an excellent way of promoting the flowers that he loved so much.

After years of creating these carpets, Stautemans was soon in demand; he made beautiful begonia creations for cities all over the world including Hamburg, Luxemburg, Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Buenos Aires.

Many carpets were larger than the one the one of Brussels, but E. Stautemans stated:

“Nowhere is the carpet more beautiful and distinguished than in the unique, ancient surroundings of the Grand-Place in Brussels”.

The carpet will cover almost 20,000 square feet in the centre of the Grand Place and will be there from 13th – 15th August, 2010.

This year 23-year-old designer Antione Durieux will be creating a carpet celebrating the European Union with a range of colourful begonias.

The best view of the carpet is from the balcony of Hotel de Ville, which is open to the public from 9 am to 11 pm.

If you want to take a look at this floral phenomenon then P&O Ferries can get you there. A Dover to Calais crossing starts from just £30 for a car and up to nine people and from there it is just a short drive to Brussels.

Image: © Labo River

Tags: Belgium, History, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Rosie Khdir
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It’s festival season all over Europe and this weekend Belgium will host its annual Cactus Festival. Rosie Khdir discovers this eclectic event that has been running for over 20 years.

The Cactus Festival is an award winning intimate outdoor event where stars perform on a single stage at Minnewater, also know as Lake of Love Park in Bruges, Belgium.

This year’s line-up includes artists such as David Gray, Jamie Lidell and Macy Gray as the headliners as well as Regina Spektor, Elvis Costell & The Sugarcanes and Tori Amos.

The festival runs from the 9th to 11th July and features all types of music, from rock, to dance to reggae and there is endless fun to be had with DJs, entertainers and children’s performers.

You will have your pick of food and drink too with stalls selling delicious food form all over the globe including classic sandwiches, fries, Italian ice cream, Moroccan, Vietnamese, African and Turkish dishes.

For the adults who want to party until the dawn there are after parties, one being held by Red Bull featuring feat. Tom Barman Lieven Verstraete and DJ Fallujah.

More information on camping arrangements, the full line-up and directions to Minnewater visit the official website: cactusfestival.be.

If you fancy making your way to this festival the P&O Ferries can get you there. A Dover to Calais crossing starts from just £30 for a car and up to nine people and from there it is just a short drive to Bruges.

Tags: Belgium, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Rosie Khdir
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It’s that time again, so get on your bike and cycle to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, where the Tour de France 2010 will commence. Rosie Khdir finds out what is in store for the brave participants.

One of the world’s most prestigious “Grand Tours” will begin this Saturday 3rd July in Rotterdam. Hundreds of cyclists who have gone through gruelling training to battle through 3,600 kilometres of French terrain will be making there way to the Netherlands to begin the first stage of the tour.

This first stage will take the riders to Brussels to celebrate the 65th birthday of professional cyclist and legend, Eddy Merckx. From here, the troupe in Lycra will battle the rolling valleys of the Walloon region and arrive in the Belgian town of Spa.

This race will see them circle the whole of France, stopping in town and cities such as Reims, Chambéry, Revel and Bordeaux before finishing in Paris.

Cyclists will have to endure nine flat stages, six mountain stages and three summit finishes, four medium mountain stages, and one individual time-trial stage of 52 km.

This world renowned race began back in July 1903 when six pioneers set out on their bicycles to complete a 2,500km race across the country. The reception of their six stage journey was one of amazement.

This race had highlighted many towns, cities and mountains that had been previously overlooked and so it became an annual event. It survived the wars and economic downturn and has since evolved, encouraging other nations to participate and even to host the prologue stage.

For more details about the Tour de France 2010 stages visit letour.fr.

If you want to cheer on these courageous cyclists, then there are a number of different P&O Ferries services that will get you to any one of the stages. You can take the Hull to Rotterdam service, from £149 each way for the first stage, or the Hull to Zeebrugge service to Belgium. There is the Dover to Calais service from as little as £30 for a car and up to nine people.

Image credit: myahya

Tags: Belgium, France, History, Lifestyle, Netherlands, P&O Ferries by Rosie Khdir
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Think Belgium is flat fields and historic towns, think again; Tomas Mowlam heads into the wild in one Europe’s oldest forests, the Ardennes.

The Ardennes is an area of forests, hills and mountains that runs through Belgium, Luxembourg and stretches into France. A strategic battleground for centuries, including during WWI and WWII, the Ardennes is now home to less warlike pursuits.

The two largest cities in the Ardennes are Verviers in Belgium and Charleville-Mezieres in France, but consider basing yourself in a smaller village to really explore the area.

There are great camping opportunities through the Ardennes, including the small but beautiful camp ground at La Muree, just a few kilometres from the Meuse valley (above).

The rivers of the Ardennes, including the Meuse and its tributaries, provide some of the best fun to be had. You can fish on the lakes and rivers or canoe and kayak your way down them.

You can paddle the Lesse River, and Anseremme near Dinant makes a good starting point. To travel down the Ourthe River, the town of La Roche en Ardenne makes a great base to explore the countryside and its easy flowing rivers.

Cycling is just as popular here as in the rest of the Low Countries, but two wheeled activities are more likely to be mountain biking.

If climbing mountains, rather than hurtling down them, is more your thing, then the limestone cliffs of the Ardennes, especially around Freyr near Dinant, will keep you occupied.

There are opportunities to hunt wild game such as boar and deer, or just shoot photos if you’re after a less blood-thirsty time.

Let P&O Ferries get you there with the Hull to Zeebrugge or the Portsmouth to Calais service, both of which are just a short drive to the Ardennes region.

Image Credit: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, Wiki Commons

Tags: Belgium, France, P&O Ferries by tmowlam
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Brussels and a music festival might seem an unlikely combination, but Couleur Café is a brilliantly exotic gathering right in the heart of Europe, writes Tomas Mowlam.

Between 25th and 27th June Brussels echoes to the sounds of what must be one of the most eclectic festival line-ups.

From “R&B, hip hop, world, afro, reggae, ragga, dub, dancehall, Latin, salsa, son, raï and rock” according to the organisers, Couleur Café has it. This year is no different with Rodrigo y Gabriela (above) on the Friday, hip-hop legend Snoop Dogg on Saturday and Nas & Damian Marley and George Clinton on the Sunday.

Tickets for the full weekend are sold out, but day tickets are still available for €34, so you can go for just a day, catch your favourite acts and then soak up the atmosphere of Brussels.

Music starts around 4pm and goes on until late with firework displays each night before the headline act. There’s also great food, art projects and workshops where you can join in with percussion and brass.

The festival has been going since 1990, when it first packed 5,300 festival goers into the old covered market – Halles de Schaerbeek. It rapidly expanded and moved location and this year over 80,000 people are expected to pack out the festival site.

Let P&O Ferries get you there with the Hull to Zeebrugge or the Portsmouth to Calais service, both of which are just a short drive to Brussels.

Image Credit: Kmeron

Tags: Belgium by tmowlam
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The name Waterloo strikes up different images in people’s minds, maybe ABBA at the Eurovision song contest or a busy London tube station, but Rosie Khdir rediscovers the Waterloo that was scene of an epic European battle 195 years ago.

This year mark the 195th anniversary of Napoleon’s Defeat by the combined armies of the Seventh Coalition, and this weekend will see Belgium come alive with celebrations of this victory.

The Battle of Waterloo in 1815 was the last stand that saw Napoleon toppled from his position as ruler of the French empire.

The armies of the United Kingdom, Prussia, the United Provinces, Hanover, Nassau and Brunswick fought in the fields at Waterloo, in modern-day Belgium, and in three days defeated his army of 72,000 men.

The celebrations start with an hour-long Battle of Waterloo-inspired firework and light spectacle at 10 p.m. Then on Saturday visitors are able to travel to the Napoleonic bivouacs, to discover the everyday life of a typical soldier in the imperial army.

Also taking place during the weekend will be a full scale reenactment of the battle with over 3,000 soldiers and Napoleon himself – who is often played by an American actor. Access to these events is free.

Visitors can also learn more about the battle and its participants via the Wellington Museum, which used to be the Bodenghien Inn and former headquarters of the Duke of Wellington during the Battle of Waterloo.

For more information visit the official tourism site for the Waterloo region.

P&O Ferries does a great value service from Hull – Zeebrugge, or you can take the Dover – Calais route from where it is just a short drive along the E40 to the Belgian border. Prices start at just £30 for a car and up to nine people.

Painting by Robert Alexander Hillingford

Tags: Belgium, Britain, France, P&O Ferries by Rosie Khdir
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