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Canal in Bruges, Belgium

© 123rf.com / Stanley Rippel

Travel to Belgium

Flying to Belgium

The main airline is Brussels Airlines (www.brusselsairlines.com), which was created following a merger between SN Brussels Airlines and Virgin Express in March 2007.

Flight times:

From London to Brussels is 50 minutes, and from New York is 7 hours.

Departure tax:

None.

Travel by rail

Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Belges (SNCB) (Belgian National Railways) (tel: (02) 528 2828; www.b-rail.be), operates frequent day and night trains to destinations all over Europe. Trains à Grande Vitesse (TGV) (tel: 0844 848 4064, Rail Europe, in the UK only; www.tgv.com) operates between Belgium and France, departing from Brussels Midi station.

Further high-speed trains are operated by Thalys (tel: (02) 528 2828; www.thalys.com), linking Brussels with Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne. Journey time from Paris is 1 hour 20 minutes, Amsterdam is 2 hours 20 minutes, and Cologne 2 hours 25 minutes.

Eurostar (tel: 0870 518 6186, in the UK only; www.eurostar.com) connects Brussels with Lille and London St Pancras via the Channel Tunnel (journey time - 1 hour 51 minutes).

Rail passes:

InterRail: InterRail Global Passes are valid for travel in up to 30 European countries. There are two InterRail Global Pass types to choose from: 'flexi passes' and 'continuous passes'. A flexi pass entitles you to unlimited travel on a fixed number of days during your trip . A continuous pass entitles you to unlimited travel every day of your trip. With a One Country Pass you can choose from unlimited travel on 3, 4, 6 or 8 days of your choice during a month.Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Eurailpass: Offers broadly the same freedoms as the InterRail Passes, but is for sale solely to non-European residents. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. Available from The Eurail Group (www.eurail.com).

Driving to Belgium

Eurotunnel runs shuttle trains for cars, bicycles, motorcycles, coaches, minibuses, caravans and campervans between Folkestone in Kent, UK, and Calais, France.

The journey takes about 35 minutes from platform to platform.

Fares are charged according to length of stay and time of year and whether or not you have a reservation.

For further information, contact Eurotunnel (tel: 08443 353535, in the UK; www.eurotunnel.com).

Ferry operators:

P&O Ferries (tel: 08716 645 645, in the UK only; www.poferries.com) serves Zeebrugge from Hull with overnight sailings (journey time - 14 hours) and Superfast Ferries (tel: 0870 234 0870, in the UK only; www.superfast.com) connects the same port with Rosyth, near Edinburgh, (journey time - 18 hours). Transeuropa Ferries (tel: 01843 595 522, in the UK; www.transeuropaferries.com) links Ramsgate with Ostend for passengers travelling with cars (journey time - 4 hours).

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