This year sees an exciting new event for tourists in the untapped world of Belgian gastronomy. So make sure you have a spare notch on your belt to loosen up your waistband for ‘Kooket’ at the end of October 2011 in Bruges. Star-chef Gert van Hecke and over 25 of the best chefs Bruges has to offer will be serving up the finest cuisine in the Bruges’ famous Market Square, a fantastic setting for some of the best food you’ll ever taste.

This culinary event runs from the 29th of October to the 31st, you’ll have your choice of courses costing between 3, 6 or 9 euro. If you find yourself wishing that you could have some of this cooking form your own home then have no fear. Kookeet 2011 will also play host to a number of cooking demonstrations from a select few master-chefs, in the halls under Bruges’ famous landmark Belfry Tower. So you can get an education in fine cooking and be moments away from one of the most famous landmarks in Belgium. Also if you take a serious liking to the food served up then you can always make the most of the Belfry Tower and climb up to the top to assist in your digestion.

To get to Bruges for Kooket 2011, the very first of what is sure to become a tradition in the sleepy town of Bruges, then take a P&O Ferry from Hull to Rotterdam and you’ll be just a short journey to one of Belgium’s most famous cities and a first class cook-fest.

Image credit: Arnie J

Tags: Belgium, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Karim Beerahee
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We hate to be the ones breaking it to you, but yes, it is that time of year again. Actually, we don’t hate it – Christmas time is amazing, and the earlier you envelop yourself in it, the better. No holiday season is complete without a visit to a Christmas market, and why not go and have a look at how our friends in Europe are doing theirs?

Belgians love their street markets, and this year’s Christmas Market in the capital Brussels, which will take place from Friday 25th November until Sunday 1st January 2012, is set to be another highlight among European Christmas markets. Belgium is a great place to visit in the autumn and winter months anyway, and if you’re having a look around for a little break around early December this might be just the ticket for you.

A genuinely European affair, the Brussels Christmas Market will see exhibitors from their neighbouring countries setting up shop around the city, turning its marketplaces into a hustle and bustle with those distinctive Christmas smells and sights of handicrafts and decorations.

The Brussels Town Hall will be decorated and illuminated, and there will be an ice skating rink as well as a big ferris wheel. In short, everything you’d need for a trip to get you into the festive spirit.

To check out the Brussels Christmas Market on your next trip to Belgium, have a look at the great deals on offer from P&O Ferries. You could, for example, travel from Hull to Zeebrugge for up to 5 days from only £109 each way, a price which includes a car and two passengers.

Image credit: garypembridge

Tags: Belgium, P&O Ferries by Matthias Scherer
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If you are after a unique and fun way to tour Belgium on your holiday we may have just found the thing for you. Jog Tours is an international tourist industry which provides guided tours across large cities at a jogging pace. Now that the cold season is upon us if you don’t fancy wandering around Ghent in the cold, looking about buildings with only a guidebook for information this tour will heat keep you warm, you’ll get all the information you need about the city and be able to ask questions as well.

Let me allay you your initial fears, the tour is a group jog not a race, your guide will set a pace with which everybody will feel comfortable and you can choose between 6 km, 8 km and 10 km tours of the Historic Center, Arts & Parks and the Old City. Scheduled tours run daily and provided there is more than one person in attendance the jog is on, come sun or rain.

If you are going as a party then you can book a custom tour, the scheduled tour is a great way to make new friends though. The cost of a tour is very reasonable and you can check out the route on their websites and see if there’s anything in particular that you wanted to keep an eye out for.

To get to Ghent, one of mankind’s oldest settlements, take a P&O ferry to Belgium and your just a short distance from your Jogging Tour holiday.

Tags: Belgium, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Karim Beerahee
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This is the last month of ballooning season in Bruges. If you have a trip to Belgium planned you might like to take advantage of the fantastic service Bruges-Ballooning offer.

Trips run from 1st April to 31st October, and you can choose from a number of packages including sunrise and sunset trips as well as a day long journey or a romantic 2 person flight over Belgium’s’ most enchanting city, Bruges. Since most people only book a short stay in Belgium Bruges Ballooning offer a book today, fly tomorrow service, which you can access online.

If you’re a bit tentative about flying, the team has met British CAA standards of commercial balloon operators and zero injuries in over 2700 flights, so you’re the safest of hands.

The experience itself is one not to be missed, jaw dropping views and the chance to float in the heavens without the drone of engine aside, the company makes it a venture never to be forgotten. Group flights make it easy to meet new people, you’ll get the chance to help out with the prep and pack up of the balloon, so you can really appreciate the flight. Bruges Ballooning offer a champagne reception upon your landing so you can relax as you find your feet again.

They also offer a money back guarantee if the weather won’t permit you to fly, Bruges Ballooning also offer you the next possible slot to fly should the weather be unfavourable.

Tags: Belgium, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Karim Beerahee
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If you have a taste for Belgian beers but are tired of mass exported ones you might like to head over to Guame on the 3rd weekend of October, the 15th and 16th offer you the chance to meet some of the smaller ale brands and their master brewers in person. This is the 10th anniversary of Brassigaume and previous events have all blossomed a fun and friendly atmosphere, lots of interesting beverages to be had in an environment that any beer-lover wouldn’t want to miss.

There is also an international input on Brassigaume so you’ll be able to some ales that aren’t brewed in Belgium, the resident chef Jean-Claude Depeauw heads up the food tent so you don’t have to drink on an empty stomach. This festival starts at 2 o’clock on 15th October and finishes at 8 PM on Sunday 16th. Getting there is well signposted for travel by car or a mere 5 minute from Marbehan station.

To get to Belgium’s Brassigaume festival 2011, take a P&O Ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge and your just a short drive away from some of the best kept secrets of Belgian beer.

Tags: Belgium, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Karim Beerahee
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P&O Ferries is offering a couple of excellent deals for the winter months, if you fancy a break to the continent between 1st October and December 29th you’ll be able to travel in luxury at discounted prices with P&O Ferries.

At just £72 per person you can catch either the Pride of Rotterdam or MS Pride of Hull and cross the Channel in style in a 10 hour mini cruise dropping you off at Bruges, Rotterdam or you could take the Coach transfer and head on in to Amsterdam. The Hull minicruise is going to run a 2-for-1 deal, an excellent opportunity to holiday with your loved one and not break the bank.

To keep you entertained on your crossing these ferries are well kitted out with a casino, cinema, live cabaret and huge shopping sections.

They have 546 en-suite cabins, as well as state rooms and standard suites; the deal opens on the 1st of October. For more information on when to make your bookings watch this blog, we can keep you updated on all the tourist events you won’t want to miss, including Christmas Markets and festivities.

Image credit: Peter Huys

Tags: Belgium, Lifestyle, Netherlands, P&O Ferries by Karim Beerahee
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For music fans, the onset of autumn can mean only one thing: the festival season is over. Or is it? In Ghent, Belgium, a festival dedicated to the finest in electronic music is taking place in November, and it looks like it will be an occasion no techno fan can afford to miss.

The I Love Techno festival celebrated its 15th birthday last year, with established purveyors of cutting-edge techno (including Berlin minimal DJane Ellen Allien and ex-Bloc Party singer Kele Okereke) on hand to provide the appropriate soundtrack.

This year, the line-up includes techno luminary Paul Kalkbrenner, electroclash pioneers Boys Noize, UK pop-step upstart Katy B, and the Californian master of party Steve Aoki. The festival will play out on 12th November at the Flanders Expo complex over a single night, so be prepared to make it count if you do end up going.

To get there, you can take a P&O Ferry from Hull to Zeebrugge, from where it’s only a 30 mile drive to Ghent. There is free parking at the festival site. For ticket information and a full line-up, check out the official festival website.



Image credit: I Love Techno

Tags: Belgium by Matthias Scherer
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Silkscreen prints and lithographs by Andy Warhol and his contemporaries

This September marks the close of the Andy Warhol and co…w exhibition at Brussles’ L’Abbaye de Stavelot. The gallery has a fantastic selection of original pieces from private collections and some of his most popular pieces; they have been on display since late January.

Warhol is acclaimed as the vanguard of the Pop Art movement; his work spanned multiple forms from prints, to film and literature. called a legendary in his own lifetime he was already well established as an icon by the time of his death in 1987.
His 1963 canvas Eight Elvises sold for a cool US $100 million, putting him right up there as an artist (pricewise) with the likes of Picasso, van Gogh and Renoir.

Price of entry is just €5, it is open every day and comes to a close on the 25th September.

P&O ferries can get you to Belgium via their Hull to Zeebrugge service, don’t forget John Cale and Lou Reed’s words ‘Andy said, visit me, why didn’t you visit me?’

Tags: Belgium, Lifestyle, P&O Ferries by Karim Beerahee
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