The largest city in Wallonia is surprisingly appealing for visitors, with a solid collection of museums and a distinctive take on meatballs.
What is Liege all about?
Expectation is a funny thing, and levels of it tend to be low when coming to Liege. Bruges may have the dreamy architecture, Brussels the museums and Antwerp the fashion scene, but the largest city in French-speaking Belgium tends to move under the radar. This suits it just fine, because once you get there there’s something instinctively loveable about it. It hasn’t got its chest puffed out, it’s not screaming its supposed highlights from the rooftops, but Liege feels warm, creative and thoroughly enjoyable to hang out in. It’s the sort of place that’s low on the bucket list, but ends up high on the list of cities you want to come back to.
A walk through Liege’s highlights
Most of the attractions worth looking at are in the old town, with the Museum of Walloon Life being an excellent starting point. Inside a former convent, the museum takes a look at the story of French-speaking Belgium. This involves coal mining, the glass industry and weird festival costumes, while also looking at the inventor of the saxophone and George Lemaitre, who first suggested the Big Bang Theory. The stars are the dozens of tiny scale model buildings and dioramas, though.
Le Grand Curtius is the major museum, though. Well, it’s more a collection of different museums congregated in the same building, but the range is impressive. If pressed for time, concentrate on the History of Liege section, and the Musée de Verre, which showcases some extraordinarily beautiful pieces of glass art.
On Sundays, the market spreads down the embankment of the River Meuse, and seemingly everyone in town piles in to make it a social occasion as well as a chance to buy fruit and meat. It is eclectic to say the least – one stall might be selling cheap clothing, the next breads and olives, the next live geese.
If you’d prefer to go guided, Liege walking tours are available.
Liege’s top attraction
Easily the best attraction within a short trip of the city is the Blegny Mine (blegnymine.be), where visitors can don hard hats and head deep into the guts of a former coal mine. There’s also a mining museum on site, but the more visceral experience comes wandering through the claustrophobic tunnels underground.
Where to eat in Liege
L’Ecailler du Café Robert is a gorgeous, classically timeless café with green leather booths and tile paintings along the walls. Fish dishes are the speciality.
But Liege’s culinary speciality is meaty rather than fishy, and Le Dernier Ragot near the train station is as good a place as any to tuck into the ‘boulets a la liegeoise’. These absolutely humungous meatballs come in a rich, chestnut and tomato sauce and, because this is Belgium and it’s practically the law, chips on the side.
Shopping in Liege
The shopping scene is arguably Liege’s strong point. The little lanes of the old town are absolutely packed with interesting, independent one-offs, all doing their own thing and usually with high quality control too. En Neuvice is a particularly good street, with luthier Renzo Salvador selling classical guitars, and ‘slow design shop’ Restore specialising in jewellery and wood carvings.
Then there’s Carre Noir, where the smell as you walk in is extraordinary – and in a very good way. This chocolate shop sells individual chocs with a concentration on where the chocolate is from – whether Congo, Haiti, Madagascar or Vietnam – while offering demonstrations and tasting sessions.
Liege hotel recommendations
The Hotel Neuvice is a real charmer. It’s across three 18th century buildings – the wooden beams left in place give that away – but it has worked with the setting to give it an impressive modern makeover. Big superking beds, dashing-looking black tiled bathrooms and multiple light settings easily controlled from the bedside add to the appeal.
The Husa de la Couronne is a good option if you’d prefer to stay near Guillemins station. With proper king beds, high quality bedding, a smattering of art, it has just enough design thoughtfulness to elevate it above bland budget hotel cookie cuttery.
Worth noting
When planning a trip, it’s tempting to look at the map and assume the Jonfosse or Palais stations near the city centre are the ones to book a train to. In reality, almost all trains stop at the Guillemins station about 2km south of the centre. The plus side to this somewhat awkward location? The station itself is a visually stunning, free-flowing architectural marvel from Santiago Calatrava that would be worth a detour to ogle anyway.
More Belgium travel
Other Belgium travel stories on Planet Whitley include:
- Five excellent reasons to make a day trip to Antwerp.
- Is there an Amsterdam to Antwerp train?
- Discovering the history of Belgian chocolate in Bruges.
- Following the Tintin trail in Brussels.
- Discovering migration history at Antwerp’s Red Star Line Museum.
Disclosure: This guide contains affiliate links. Book through them, and I earn a small commission.
