Liège travel guide
Liège Tourism | Liège Guide
You're Going to Love Liège
Liège is a city to discover on walking tours through its historic center, and then later at night, at a crowded bar or cocktail lounge. It's a center for culture and business within the Belgian province of the same name, and offers a rich arts scene you can experience in many ways.
Top 5 Reasons to Visit Liège
1. History and Architecture
Liège is a city to walk through, to discover buildings like the Église St-Jacques-le-Mineur, La Boverie art museum, or the grand Cathédrale de Liège, along with enjoying an outdoor cafe in the historic Place du Marché.
2. Arts and Culture
The city has been a center for culture and the arts for centuries, with both quirky and impressive museums such as the Musée de la Bière (Beer Museum) and open-air Musée en Plein Air du Sart-Tilman, along with art galleries, performance venues, and much more.
3. World-Class Dining
The city is one of the culinary centers of Belgium, with the finest of French and Belgian cuisines available, including Walloon specialties, along with other European traditions.
4. Sizzling Nightlife
From beer halls to bars and sophisticated lounges, live music venues, and dance clubs, there is a whole new city waiting for you to explore at night.
5. Parks and Green Spaces
Escape city life for a walk through the green spaces along the Coteaux de la Citadelle, the old city fortifications, or a trip to the Jardin botanique de Liège, or Botanical Gardens.
What to do in Liège
1. The Louvre Of Liège
Partnered with the Louvre in Paris, La Boverie, which opened in 2016, is a fine arts museum located in the Liège Palace of Fine Arts. The building, which was built for the 1905 World Expo by architects Charles Étienne Soubre and Jean-Laurent Hasse, was extended in 2013 to accommodate a growing collection of artworks and the merger of several other museums. The permanent collection includes works by Ingres, Gauguin, Evenepoel, Chagall, Picasso, Delvaux and Magritte, among others. The Louvre has agreed to lend the museum material for one temporary exhibition per year.
2. 7000 Years Of Civilization
House in a 17th century mansion built in the Mosan Renaissance style, the Grand Curtius is an archeological and decorative arts museum. Recently renovated, the gallery has combined the collections of the museums of archeology, weaponry, decorative arts, religious art and Mosan art. The museum's permanent collection boasts a wide-ranging selection of art from prehistoric artifacts to art-nouveau pianos that spans over 7000 years. The museum also features an attractive garden adorned with fountains and sculptures, as well as a bistro.
3. A Modernist Hub
Designed in 2009 by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, this spectacular modernist railway station is situated on the high-speed rail network and serves over 15,000 people each day. Constructed of steel, glass and white concrete, the station also includes a 104-foot tall monumental arch. Calatrava envisioned the station as a structure without facades where pedestrian routes below the building connect the parts of the city that had been divided by train tracks.
4. The Remains Of History
An immense archeological site beneath the Place Saint-Lambert in the center of Liège, the Archéoforum, founded in 2003, showcases the artifacts retrieved from excavation campaigns that have taken place at the site of the former Cathedral Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Lambert since 1907. The collection includes objects dating back to the Mesolithic era, as well as remains from the Gallo-Roman villa, the Merovingian church, and the Carolingian, Ottonian and Gothic cathedrals. Visitors can take part in a guided tour or use an iPad to discover the traces of prehistoric civilizations.
5. A Gothic Masterpiece
Founded in the 10th century and rebuilt between the 13th and 15th centuries, the Cathédrale St-Paul INSERT IGNOREd St. Lambert's Cathedral, which was destroyed during the French Revolution. In 1812, Napoleon ordered that the tower, which features original ogival windows, be raised and a bell tower be added. The church features a pentagonal Rayonnant style apse, dating back to the 14th century, as well as a Gothic choir, transept and nave. The ceilings are decorated in bright colors and the windows are finely detailed in stained glass.
1. The Louvre Of Liège
Partnered with the Louvre in Paris, La Boverie, which opened in 2016, is a fine arts museum located in the Liège Palace of Fine Arts. The building, which was built for the 1905 World Expo by architects Charles Étienne Soubre and Jean-Laurent Hasse, was extended in 2013 to accommodate a growing collection of artworks and the merger of several other museums. The permanent collection includes works by Ingres, Gauguin, Evenepoel, Chagall, Picasso, Delvaux and Magritte, among others. The Louvre has agreed to lend the museum material for one temporary exhibition per year.
2. 7000 Years Of Civilization
House in a 17th century mansion built in the Mosan Renaissance style, the Grand Curtius is an archeological and decorative arts museum. Recently renovated, the gallery has combined the collections of the museums of archeology, weaponry, decorative arts, religious art and Mosan art. The museum's permanent collection boasts a wide-ranging selection of art from prehistoric artifacts to art-nouveau pianos that spans over 7000 years. The museum also features an attractive garden adorned with fountains and sculptures, as well as a bistro.
3. A Modernist Hub
Designed in 2009 by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, this spectacular modernist railway station is situated on the high-speed rail network and serves over 15,000 people each day. Constructed of steel, glass and white concrete, the station also includes a 104-foot tall monumental arch. Calatrava envisioned the station as a structure without facades where pedestrian routes below the building connect the parts of the city that had been divided by train tracks.
4. The Remains Of History
An immense archeological site beneath the Place Saint-Lambert in the center of Liège, the Archéoforum, founded in 2003, showcases the artifacts retrieved from excavation campaigns that have taken place at the site of the former Cathedral Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Lambert since 1907. The collection includes objects dating back to the Mesolithic era, as well as remains from the Gallo-Roman villa, the Merovingian church, and the Carolingian, Ottonian and Gothic cathedrals. Visitors can take part in a guided tour or use an iPad to discover the traces of prehistoric civilizations.
5. A Gothic Masterpiece
Founded in the 10th century and rebuilt between the 13th and 15th centuries, the Cathédrale St-Paul INSERT IGNOREd St. Lambert's Cathedral, which was destroyed during the French Revolution. In 1812, Napoleon ordered that the tower, which features original ogival windows, be raised and a bell tower be added. The church features a pentagonal Rayonnant style apse, dating back to the 14th century, as well as a Gothic choir, transept and nave. The ceilings are decorated in bright colors and the windows are finely detailed in stained glass.
Where to Eat in Liège
Enjoy rural French cuisine in a charming 16th-century building at Le Bistrot d'en Face, where main dishes start at EUR15. Enjoy Belgian classics with gourmet flair at Dix-Huitième, where main dishes start at EUR22 and multi-course menus begin at EU 35.
When to visit Liège
With cooler winters, most tourists come to the city from April through September, when typical temperatures range between 60 and 70 degrees.
How to Get to Liège
Plane
Brussels Airport (BRU) is the closest international airport at a distance of about 58 miles. Train connections to Liège start at about EUR19.20.
Train
Liège-Guillemins is the main rail station in the city, with daily connections via regular or high-speed trains to Brussels, Aachen, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Paris.
Car
Highway E40 connects Liège directly to Brussels, with other easy highway connections available to Cologne in Germany and Luxembourg.
Bus
The city is connected to major centers in Belgium and throughout northern Europe via Eurolines bus company.
Airlines serving Liège
Where to stay in Liège
Le Carré - this is the historic city center where you'll find medieval and Romanesque churches and other charming period buildings, many of which have been renovated into bars and restaurants.
Popular Neighborhoods in Liège
Féronstrée et Hors-Château - this is a historic district to the north of the center, where you will find the 17th-century Fontaine Saint-Jean Baptiste and La Montagne de Bueren, a steep series of 374 steps built in the 15th century.
Grand Léopold - centering around Rue Léopold, this is where you will find Place Saint-Lambert or the main city square, along with a busy retail area for shopping.
Where to stay in popular areas of Liège
Most booked hotels in Liège
How to Get Around Liège
Public Transportation
There is an extensive bus network provided by TEC, the regional bus service. Fares start at EUR2.10.
Taxi
Taxis are plentiful in the central areas of the city, with fares that start at EUR3, going up an additional EUR2 every 0.60 miles.
Car
Driving in the city can be a good option, with lots of indoor parking available in the downtown area. A car rental starts at EUR25.
The Cost of Living in Liège
Shopping Streets
You'll find the Galeries Saint-Lambert shopping center, along with many smaller stores and boutiques, around Place Saint-Lambert. Médiacité, across the River Meuse, offers entertainment and dining options along with a modern megamall.
Groceries and Other
Carrefour is the largest supermarket chain you will find scattered across the city, along with Liège Cash and other smaller stores. A quart of milk costs about EUR0.85 and a dozen eggs roughly EUR2.25.