Belgium
Often referred to as the Pearl of the Ardennes, Spa is an attractive Belgian town with very scenic surroundings. It has been frequented as a water-place since as early as the 14th century; the English word spa owes its origins to the town. Spa also has Europe’s oldest health resort and arguably the world’s oldest operational casino.
Downtown
Ardennes
Spa is fairly small in size and you can easily cover it with a car or bike.
To travel to neighboring areas like Stavelot you can use the TEC bus system.
You can reach Spa by taking a train from Brussels (North, Central and Midi stations) to Pepinster where you can transfer to the L5476 in the direction of Spa-Geronstere.
From Brussels airport to Spa-Geronstere:
Station |
Departure |
Arrival |
Train |
From Brussel-Nat-Luchthaven To Leuven |
14:39 |
14:53 |
IR 4214 |
From Leuven To Verviers-Central |
15:26 |
16:23 |
IC 513 |
From Verviers-Central To-Geronstere |
16:46 |
17:15 |
L 5487 |
Spa can be covered as part of a tour of the Liege Province (Source: visitbelgium.com)
The route traversed would be:
Liege - Spa - Francorchamps - Malmedy - Stavelot - Reinhardstein - Eupen -Liege (78 miles)
Some typical examples of the local Walloon cuisine include:
There are very few traditional Belgian dishes that are vegetarian and you would be better off checking the menu of a restaurant before getting a table. Desert soups and salads aside you could consider ordering dishes like Stoemp, which is a typical Flemish dish of made of pureed or mashed potatoes and other root vegetables. Please confirm that the dish contains no meat before ordering.
Beer is extremely popular in Belgium with the country having more distinct types of beer per capita than anywhere else in the world including some of the most widely known names globally. Wallonia itself is home to major Trappist beers like Chimay.
While in Wallonia you should try some of the more famous local beers: