A plan for Liège

At the foot of Ardennes on the river Meuse, it has been a prominent urban centre since the Middle Ages, but really blossomed during the industrial revolution, when it grew to become Belgium's third-largest metropolis, after Brussels and Antwerp. Thanks to its strategic position, Liège still enjoys relative affluence and economic importance, in contrast to its fellow Wallon cities farther south.

Despite its size and location in-between some of the most-visited cities in Europe, Liège sees very little tourist traffic. It is the largest city of Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium, and the capital city of the namesake province.

Liège has been an important city since the early Middle Ages. It was the capital of the Principality (prince-bishopric) of Liège, which remained an independent state until the French Revolution (around 1789). In the 19th century it became an early centre of industrialism. Today it is a large city of 200,000 inhabitants, with a total 750,000 in its metropolitan area. A city heavily shaped by waves of immigrants, Liège has important Italian (making up at least 5% of the population), Spanish, German, Moroccan, Turkish, and Sub-Saharan African communities (the latter being one of the largest in Belgium).

Historic Centre

1 Place St. Lambert is a major square in the centre, where a number of key sights may be found. It was the site of Gothic Cathedral of Our Lady and St (Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Lambert), representation of religious power, torn down at the start of the 19th century after the revolution of Liège and today memorialized by metal columns and a design traced on the ground. At Place Saint Lambert 9-17, admire the neo-classic façades, dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

2 Palace of the Prince-Bishops. Composed of the Palace of Justice (classic façade at Place Saint Lambert 18) and the Provincial Palace (lateral neo-gothic façade at place Notger 2). This palace is the heart of the city, and represents the political power of the old Prince-Bishops of Liège.

3 archéoforum, ☏ +32 4 250-93-70. Tue-Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 11:00-18:00, closed on Mon. An underground archaeological site with the remains of the three (successive) cathedrals on the site, as well as a building from Roman times. €5.50 guided; €3.00 un-guided.

4 Hôtel de ville de Liège (La Violette), place du Marché, 2. Perron, and houses along the market square. The town hall, is an elegant classic building. It was built in 1714, during reconstruction after the French attacks in 1691. It can be visited on rare occasions only, except for the salle des pas perdus ("room of lost steps"), which is freely accessible. The houses on the square, with their charming blue stone and brick faces, date from the same period. The Perron, symbol of the city's freedom, is at the center of the square above the fountain that acts as its support. The perron is one of the symbols of the city and was used to render justice.

Other sights in the historic city centre include:

5 Hôtel d’Ansembourg (Musée d’Ansembourg), Feronstrée 114, ☏ +32 4 221-94-02, museum@liege.be. Now a museum (Musée d’Ansembourg), is worth visiting for the well-preserved original interior. €3-5.

Visit the Carré District, where you can celebrate or party on any day, at any time. It's the preferred district of students, alternating shops and cafés, many of which allow dancing (sometimes on the tables!).

The Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Opera, and Theater de la Place head up the cultural life in Liège.

Philharmonic Orchestra.

1 Royal Opera (Opéra Royal de Wallonie), Place de l'Opéra, ☏ +32 4 221-47-22.

Theater de la Place.

Liège is the European city with the most theaters per person. Liège has an international reputation especially for its marionnette theaters, whose performances often involve the traditional folklore character Tchantchès in an unbelievably wide range of situations. The most-known marionnette theaters can be found at:

Museum of Wallonian Life (Wednesdays and school holidays at 14:30 and Sundays at 10:30, Cour des Mineurs, +32 4 237 9040, open even when the museum is closed.)

Museum of Tchantchès (Oct to end Apr, Sundays at 10:30 and Wednesdays at 1430, rue Surlet 56, +32 4 342 7575)

Theater Al Botroule, Rue Hocheporte 3, ☏ +32 4 223-05-76. literally, "in the belly-button"

Theater Denis, Rue Sainte Marguerite 302, ☏ +32 4 224-31-54.

Theater Mabotte, Rue Mabotte 125, Seraing, ☏ +32 4 233-88-61.

Movie theaters include Le Parc and Le Churchill for European films; Le Palace and Kinepolis for big-name blockbusters; and soon UGC Longdoz in the future "media city".

Le Forum, rue Pont d’Avroy 45. A small but exceptionally-decorated venue, offers concerts, comedy performances, etc. Country Hall (in the outskirts) is a relatively new venue for huge shows and sporting events.

Le Trocadéro. It is the most Liégeois of Parisian cabarets, or the most Parisian of Liège cabarets, depending on how you look at it, while two other venues (La Bouch’rit and le Comiqu'Art) offer dinner-show combinations. (updated Apr 2015)

La Zone (Music club), Quai de l'Ourthe, 42, ☏ +32 4 341-07-27, info@lazone.be. It is the place in Liège for alternative and underground music and arts. Opens only on events, check their program on the web before going there. Non expensive bar with plenty of soft drinks, beers and wine.

Football: Standard Liège play soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier. Their home ground is Stade Maurice Dufrasne (capacity 27,000) on the river bank 2 km south of city centre.

In addition to the local foods mentioned above, regional specialities include:

boulets sauce-lapin, meatballs in a sauce made from Sirop de Liège, onions, vinegar and prunes, accompanied of course by frites - french fries. The boulet even has its own critics and reviews.

la potée liégeoise, a country dish made from beans, potatoes, and bacon bits cooked together and drenched in vinegar.

les boûkètes, dark crêpes served at New Year's Eve or other festive occasions

le matoufèt, a cross between a crêpe and an omelette, made from flour, eggs, milk and bacon bits, and served either salty or sweet.

la tarte au riz, originally from the neighboring city of Verviers or the area of Tancrémont

Prices are fairly high, as in most other Belgian cities. Budget restaurants will cost about €12-15 per person, drinks included, mid-range restaurants between €25 and €50, and splurge restaurants well over that!

For budget solutions, snack shops like any of the sandwicheries or kebab shops offer cheap yet tasty food. A Döner kebab typically costs €3-5, and a sandwich is around €2-4. In Liège all snack shops charge 50 cents for sauce, and usually another 50 cents for vegetables. For example you can see a meatball sandwich for €2 on the price list; however, after the sauce and the vegetables it will be €3 in total. It is recommended to look for convenient stores for soft drinks as they're over-priced in snack bars.

Obtaining meals outside of conventional times can be a challenge: Many restaurants do not serve between 14:00 and 18:00, those that do tend to be full and you can expect to wait some time for service.

Budget

1 Le Cloître, Cour des Mineurs (inside the Museum of Walloon Life (Musée de la Vie wallonne)). That restautant has the traditional dishes of Liège. It goes together with Flemish fries and the sauce of Liège. (updated Feb 2023)

2 Brasserie Sauvenière (Les Grignoux), Pl. Xavier-Neujean 12 (Cinéma Sauvenière). Quite spacious inner yard and a very nice lunch menu. Little and quiet terrace. Also vegetarian offers. (updated Feb 2023)

The area known as "Le Carré" offers numerous options to drink and party 365 days per year, with a young, vibrant, student atmosphere. Also worth a visit: the trendier Place du Marché, and the area around Place Cathédrale, to see and be seen.

1 Le Vaudrée 1, 109 rue Val Benoit 4031 Angleur, ☏ +32 4 367-10-61. 40 beers on tap and 1200 bottles, fantastic food as well.

2 Le Vaudrée 2 & Beer Shop'E, Rue Saint-Gilles 149. Where you can taste a good thousand or so Belgian and foreign beers. Santé!

3 La Maison du Péquet, Rue de l'Epée 4 (behind the town hall). It mainly serves fruit-flavored versions of genièvre, known locally as péquet.

4 Pot au Lait, rue Soeurs de Hasque 9. A café popular with exchange students living in the region.

5 Aux Olivettes, rue Pied du Pont des Arches 6. It offers an ambience from an entirely different time.

6 La Zone, Rue Méan 27 (Outremeuse). A club for alternative and underground music and culture with a non expensive bar

7 Grand Maison, 37 Quai de la Goffe, ☏ +32 4 221-38-23, vivement@grandmaison.be. Another nice, real coffee-café with breakfast and snacks. (Sit outside in summer!) (updated Apr 2018)

In addition, many of the cafés in the Le Carré area are a good alternative, with plenty of dancing and typically no entrance fee.

By car

Because the roads in Liège are always complicated, old and narrow, walking can be a better choice.

Unlike most Belgian cities, Liège has no inner ring built along the path of the old city walls. Instead, the main streets were laid out along the old branches of the river, which makes their organisation a bit obscure.

Leave your car in one of the city-centre parking garages, especially if you have no map of to your destination.

Here are the main routes for cars:

the motorway E40-E25 that crosses parts of the city

the Boulevards "d'Avroy" and "de la Sauvenière", the main route between the center and the train station

the Quais "de la Meuse" and "de la Dérivation", which link to/from the two branches of the E25

By public transport

TEC is the operator of public transport in Liège. It operates the local bus service and the tram line.

The tram line (map) runs from Sclessin (stop: Standard) alternating to either Coronmeuse or Liège Expo. All trams pass the train stations Liège-Guillemins and Liège-Saint-Lambert, and run through the city centre. In the city centre, the tram line has two routes: On Monday to Saturday trams run to Standard via Féronstrée and to Coronmeuse or Liège Expo via La Batte; however, on Sunday to accommodate the Marché de la Batte, trams in both directions run via Féronstrée.

TEC fares apply for both trams and buses, and include transfer privileges. The "Next" fare type is sufficient for one hour of travel within the city limits of Liège. You must validate your ticket each time you board a TEC tram or bus. Tickets can be purchased from vending machines at tram stops (no tickets sold on board trams), on board buses (maximum €10 notes) or at Espace TEC shops (at the Liège-Guillemins station entrance and at the bus terminal in Place Saint-Lambert).

Liège is generally a safe city during daytime. However, be cautious at night, especially if you are a woman. It is not recommended for women to walk alone in the evenings, as many foreign female students have been followed late at night. Robbery is rare, but harassment of single females occurs often. It is mostly verbal, but some travelers have been assaulted in off-downtown areas. If where you're staying is more than a 5-min walk from the centre, it is safest to take a cab after 22:00.