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Ed Peters

As Europe braces for an estimated 1.9 billion visitor nights this summer – prompting a clampdown on holiday rentals and riotous stag parties, strict limits on cruise ships, and even an entry fee for cities such as Venice – savvy travellers are seeking out quieter corners of the continent.
Tucked into western Belgium, and with nearby Germany and the Netherlands giving it a mildly cosmopolitan air, Limburg province seems to be very much traditional Europe: cobbled streets and low-rise architecture, sedate open-air markets selling rafts of cheese, charcuterie and freshly baked bread, and families astride bicycles that rarely need to engage their gears given the dearth of steep gradients.
It has no international airport, few international hotels or fast-food chains, and just a scattering of international visitors.
But gradually, and rather entertainingly, Limburg is upping its game.

The experimental art project Labiomista, in Genk, is a case in point. A tour of the project – erected on the site of a disused colliery, which later hosted a zoo – starts reassuringly enough at a three-storey, century-old Mosan Renaissance-style mansion that used to house the coal mine’s director.
Step inside and a meteor shower of surprises starts in earnest in the form of sculptures and installations by pastry chef turned avant-garde artist Koen Vanmechelen, who specialises in bio-cultural diversity. Think a cluster of African masks surmounted by an egg, and a chicken clutching a dwarf suspended from the ceiling.
Beyond the mansion, Labiomista extends into a 24-hectare park dotted with similarly mind-boggling installations – the naked male with a horn growing out of his head and holding an owl proves especially popular with visiting school groups – interspersed with cages containing (real) camels, zebras and other animals, reminders of the site’s previous incarnation.
“We invested about €20 million [US$21.4 million] in the project, and I must admit there was some opposition locally at first,” says Wim Dries, the mayor who championed Labiomista’s genesis.
“Labiomista opened in 2019 and it’s proved an eye-opener, for local people and international visitors. It’s inspirational and very thought-provoking – about society, diversity, our connection with nature – so it’s turned out to be an enormous asset.”


Older than Labiomista but just as much a surprise in the heart of western Europe is the Japanese Tuin, or Japanese Garden, that sits by the outer ring road of Hasselt, Limburg’s capital, and a cherry-stone’s throw from the Albert Canal, which runs as far northwest as Antwerp.
Just as Huis Ten Bosch, a facsimile Dutch town, was erected outside the Japanese city of Nagasaki with painstaking authenticity, so Japanese Tuin was built in this remote corner of Belgium as a “stroll garden” in 17th-century Edo style, under the guidance of landscape architect Takayuki Inoue, to celebrate a partnership with the city of Itami, in Japan’s Hyogo prefecture.
Its 2.5 hectares (6.2 acres) make it the biggest such garden in Europe, and it is also – by virtue of being so utterly foreign – one of Hasselt’s top attractions.
Bridal couples pose against the backdrop of the Korokan ceremonial house, boisterous children dare each other to race across the Dragon Gate Waterfall, the Peace Bell gets a regular donging and the souvenir stalls at the end – ringed by 250 cherry trees – stock genuine artefacts such as calligraphy scrolls and takoyaki snacks.
“Throughout the ages, the Japanese have tried to preserve the essence of nature as much as possible, and the garden in Hasselt symbolises this,” says director Carl De Coster, who spent seven years working in Japan.
“To start off with, an expert gardener from Itami would come every few years to give some pointers and workshops on the pruning of Japanese pine trees, for example, but now we are pretty much able to run things ourselves.
“It’s a real oasis, and not at all something you would expect to find in this part of the country.”

Like the rest of Belgium, Limburg revels in its food and drinks – yet while the old staples of fries, beer and chocolate are available in abundance, there are distinct signs that the region’s chefs are branching out.
Michelin inspectors have raised their thumbs over the pigeon ravioli at The Thrill, in Genk, and chef Gary Kirchens’ fillet of lamb with parsley and nettle crust at Aurum, in Ordingen.
A recent arrival on the restaurant scene, Het Cordaat, which anchors a brand-new campus for start-ups, scale-ups and corporations on the edge of Hasselt, is part of the extensive culinary fiefdom of the 2024 Gault & Millau entrepreneur of the year, Dimitri Beckers.
With soaring ceilings and plate-glass windows, abundant greenery, and marble-topped tables, it serves items such as smoked eel and slow-cooked rabbit roll, as well as an entire menu page devoted to variations on the theme of gin and tonic.
“Nowhere else in the world offers the same amount of diversity and quality of food over such a small surface area [as Limburg],” says Femke Vandevelde, author of Belgium for Foodies.
“Plates of green, wild herbs, flowers and seeds that are not camouflaged by sauces, butter or added fats are things that make me happy. The soil here bursts with quality products like ground chicory, hop shoots, asparagus, and I like to be able to taste them in all their purity.”

A subtle, old-school hospitality is prevalent in Belgium’s less travelled regions. It is rare to come across someone in Limburg who does not have some command of English, halting or otherwise, and an eagerness to help.
That might entail scampering down a supermarket aisle in search of a particular brand of the thin gingerbread biscuit called speculaas, deciphering a bus timetable or wrestling with an unstaffed petrol pump that does not like foreign credit cards.
The pace of life is relaxed and hospitable too.
Town councils hire out bicycles at a mere €0.45 an hour; pavements, square and parks – even Labiomista and the Japanese Garden – may be busy at times but never frantic; grown men (and women) browse Tintin, Asterix and a host of other favourite titles for hours in the stripwinkel (comic store); car-rental managers dispense free lollipops; and it is no surprise to turn a corner and find a bowler-hatted gent spinning out tunes on his antique barrel organ.


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Tourism

Off the beaten track in Europe: why Belgium’s Limburg province is a great place to visit

Limburg Labiomista mansion, Netherlands, May, 2024 Photo: Ed Peters

The century-old Mosan Renaissance-style mansion at Labiomista, an experimental art project in Genk, in Belgium’s Limburg province. Great food, art and a lack of international visitors make the province an enticing travel option. Photo: Ed Peters

A street in Hasselt, Limburg’s capital, during rush hour. Photo: Ed Peters

An artwork at Labiomista. Photo: Ed Peters

Hasselt’s Japanese Garden is the biggest such attraction in Europe. Photo: Ed Peters

A barrel organ operator in Limburg. Photo: Ed Peters

On Corsica road trip rugged scenery, hilltop towns, traces of Napoleon, aggressive drivers

Ote village, in Corsica, France. Photo: Tim Pile

The village of Ota clings to a hillside in Corsica, one of the stops on our correspondent’s road trip around Corsica. The French island, birthplace of Napoleon, has jagged mountains and beautiful beaches; if only the locals didn’t drive so aggressively. Photo: Tim Pile

Pull over and step out of your car to admire Corsica’s spectacular mountain scenery. Photo: Tim Pile

Herds of goats are one of the hazards for drivers in Corsica to negotiate. Photo: Tim Pile

Hikers on a trail in Corsica. Many explore the island’s hills on foot. Photo: Tim Pile

Ota in Corsica sits amid sublime scenery. Photo: Tim Pile

The Gorges de la Spelunca features arched bridges dating back to the Middle Ages and Genoese occupation of the island. Photo: Tim Pile

Vandalised signs riddled with bullet holes are not an uncommon sight on Corsica, where there is an independence movement. Photo: Tim Pile

A section of coast near Ajaccio, in western Corsica. Photo: Tim Pile

Maison Bonaparte, the house Napoleon grew up in, is one of Corsica’s most popular attractions. Photo: Tim Pile

Tourists view the mountain town of Sartène. Photo: Tim Pile

Sartène dates back to the 16th century. Photo: Tim Pile

Bonifacio, Corsica’s southernmost town. Photo: Tim Pile

5 iconic sites hosting 2024 Paris Olympics events, from the Eiffel Tower to Marseilles

The Eiffel Tower, at the foot of which beach volleyball will take place, is just one of the iconic locations in Paris and elsewhere in France that will host sporting events during the 2024 Olympics. Photo: AFP

Visitors queue to enter the Eiffel Tower, where the Paris Olympics beach volleyball event will be held. Photo: AFP

A tourist poses for a photograph with the Eiffel Tower, adorned with the Olympic rings, in the background. Photo: AFP

The Grand Palais’ distinctive feature is its beautiful glass domed roof. It will host the Olympic fencing and taekwondo competitions. Photo: AFP

The Maritime Fountain, with the Luxor Obelisk in the background, at the Place de la Concorde, hub for urban sports at the Paris Olympics. Photo: Shutterstock

The grounds of Versailles Palace, which will host dressage and showjumping events at the Paris Olympics. Photo: AFP

The Mediterranean waters of Marseilles will be where sailing events take place during the Games. Photo: AFP

Giant stone heads, UFOs on Easter Island, one of the world’s most remote inhabited places

Moai at Ahu Tongariki, Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Photo: Getty Images

On Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, giant stone figures called moai stand facing the elements. Visitors can learn more about the imposing relics, as well as go hiking, biking, snorkelling or for a drive around the island. Photo: Getty Images

Horses on remote Rapa Nui, aka Easter Island, in 2024. Photo: Teresa Bergen

Moai at Ahu Tongariki, the largest ahu (sacred ceremonial site) on Easter Island. Photo: Teresa Bergen

Tourists arrive at Rapa Nui’s airport, which has a thatched roof decorated with bird motifs. Photo: Teresa Bergen

The Explora Rapa Nui lodge. Photo: Explora Rapa Nui

Moai at Rano Raraku, the hillside quarry where the enormous figures were carved. Photo: Teresa Bergen

Explora arranges outings, such as hikes, at less busy times of the day. Photo: Teresa Bergen

Moai at Rano Raraku. Photo: Teresa Bergen

Guide Hanga Eka says almost half of today’s islanders are descended from early Polynesian settlers. Photo: Teresa Bergen

Moai at Ahu Tongariki. Each moai depicts a late village leader, whose stone figure watched over his community posthumously

Baku, oil-rich Azerbaijan’s congested capital, where Asian and European cultures collide

Old and new architecture in Baku, Azerbaijan. Photo: Sundeep Kumar

Baku’s skyline. The Azerbaijani capital’s Eastern and Western influences are reflected in its buildings and culture, and as interesting as this makes this city, visiting comes with some downsides. Photo: Shutterstock


The entrance to Baku’s Palace of the Shirvanshahs. Photo: Sundeep Kumar

A mosque next to the Palace of the Shirvanshahs, with the famous Flame Towers in the background, in Baku. Photo: Getty Images

The Maiden Tower in Baku’s Old Walled City. Photo: Getty Images

In Baku, traditional buildings abut gleaming skyscrapers such as the Flame Towers, a trio of buildings that resemble giant flames leaping from the ground. Photo: Sundeep Kumar

Tea in traditional Azerbaijani armudu (pear-shaped) glasses. Photo: Shutterstock

With an increase in vehicle ownership and little investment in public transport, the traffic in Baku can be frustrating. Photo: Shutterstock

The Hilton Baku, where rooms cost US$100 to US$150 per night. Photo: Shutterstock

Old oil wells in Baku Bay. Photo: Shutterstock

Oil pollution flowing from onshore pumps in Baku. Photo: Shutterstock

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

With few international visitors, Limburg offers a traditional European experience – with some fun exceptions – and old-school hospitality


Belgium’s Limburg province has few international visitors but the food, art and a special Japanese garden make this very traditional part of Europe a top off-the-beaten-path travel option.


Food and Drinks

Travel Destinations

Belgium