﻿Belgium has many wonderful cities that are not well known to the typical traveler, and yet they
are definitely worth visiting, especially a place like Liège. Here we present the complete tour that
tells you all about this magnificent place. We shall be walking along many of its wonderful
pedestrian lanes and visiting a few museums we will go down to the waterfront street market,
which is really quite a lot of fun. They say it's the longest street market in all of Belgium. Try
their waffles hot from the griddle. And we'll bring you into the great Palace of Justice,
where they're having a party, traditional music, dance, food and drinks. Belgium's divided in two
socio-linguistic group: Flanders speaks Dutch. Wallonia speaks French. Liège is one of the most
prominent cities of Wallonia. A good place to begin our walking tour is at the Market square in
the center of the city. Throughout history, it's been the place people gathered to do business.
Now it's an active plaza filled with outdoor restaurants. Market Square is one of the oldest
in the city with origins dating to the eighth century. By the 18th century 200 merchants crowded
into this one square. It also had political and social importance as the main gathering place of
the city. The column in Place de Marche, called Le Perron is the most important historic monument
in Liege because it represents the freedom and liberties of the city, especially back
in the medieval times when they had a relatively democratic system of government. This unified the
people and enhanced their economic power, leading to their control of the eastern side of Belgium.
Next to it is City Hall, built in the early 18th century in a classic style of brick and limestone.
The City Council of the Middle Ages met here in a building called La Villette. The backside of
Hotel de Ville connects into the heart of the city center, and nearby is a bigger government
building. The very large Palace of Justice is here, which is such an important building,
we'll take you inside later in the program. But for now, we want to start walking through
the streets. Right away you'll come upon a very busy plaza, Gare Leopold, which is the main bus
station in the center of town, featuring several different bus lanes, with lovely trees shading and
shops all around it. I handful of narrow, old cobbled lanes branch off from that busy place,
tempting you to have a look. A few blocks south, you'll find the Parish Church of St Denis. It was
a fortified building designed to be part of the city's defensive wall, founded in the year 990.
It has the oldest Romanesque in Liège, and a choir rebuilt in the Gothic style. It's worth it to take
time to keep wandering through these lovely little streets. The pedestrian zone of Liège is so large,
over a kilometer wide, with dozens of streets, most of them really quite interesting. But you
don't really need a specific route or a map to walk through it. Just go and wander, take a left,
take a right, whatever looks good, maybe have a map in your pocket or on your phone to give you
some idea, but feel free to just get loose and take a walk. And now let me contradict myself.
At the same time it is good to know the location of the main sites. That's why it's important to
have sufficient time when you're visiting any interesting city, you want to be able to do some
freewheeling wondering, but not miss any of those main sites. For example, this map shows the area
we've just been walking in that circle, and where we're going next, the Sunday open market along
the river. It stretches for 1 1/2 kilometers, one of the largest markets in all of Europe,
selling everything: food, clothing, antiques, junk, household goods, everything. Will show
you a lot more of this amazing market at the end of the program, but for now we are heading back
in to the center of the city to continue our explorations. And while you're out walking,
you'll probably run into some students. There are many schools here, of course, and a major
university. This leads to plus Saint-Etienne with the modern facade of Galleries St Lambert looming
over it, which is the only large shopping mall in the center of the city, attracting 5 million
visitors a year to its 40 shops. This road dates back to the end of the 17th century. It also
borders on the edge of Galeries St Lambert and was converted to a pedestrian mall in the 1970s.
That mall occupies a large city block with Place de la Republique crosses on the other side. Built
in the 18th century, the square took its current name in 1918 with a wide choice of restaurants
all around in ,or maybe just some Chinese takeout that you can eat while you're walking along. The
place ontinues as Rue de L'universite, which leads a few blocks later to the central headquarters of
the University of Liege. As we reach the Opera House, we're now leaving one section of town,
the Old City, and entering into a lovely group of pedestrian streets called the Island,
which is considered the best place in town for shopping. The street is called Pont de La, which
means bridge to the island. However, there's no bridge here and we're not on an island. But
in the old days, this whole area, this general shopping zone that we're walking through, was an
island surrounded by the river and its branches. This street leads us right through the center of
the main pedestrian zone of Liege, a neighborhood called Le Carre, with about a dozen pedestrian
streets. In French, Le Carre means the square, because the streets we're talking about are within
a square-shaped district about 400 meters wide, a fun place to explore for a couple of hours. This
is the heart of town, the best place to take a walk and do some shopping, have some food, do
some people-watching or just take a stroll. This is really the longest street of this neighborhood.
Changes names, but it keeps going right through the middle. Let's meander and look at the other
streets of this great pedestrian zone. Starting at one corner of the square at Place de la Catedral,
which is a lovely flower garden and park next to the main church that we'll get back to later when
we enter that church. Right now, we'll walk down one of the main streets at the perimeter
of the square and then wander and meander our way throughout this lovely zone. Rather than
attempting to describe the specifics about all the many shops, restaurants, bars and cafes on
these various streets, you can see for yourself what we're passing by. And I'll be describing for
you the general picture and history of how this pedestrian zone was created. It was in the 1970s
that pedestrian streets were first built around the Cathedral Square. At that time, these other
streets that were walking through had automobiles driving through with not much space for people.
Of course, that was the pattern throughout most European cities at that time. But things quickly
began to change as they discovered the many advantages of keeping cars out and letting people
in. The momentum for this change really picked up towards the end of the 20th century, when
urban planning took center stage in Liege, the city sought ways to enhance the quality of life
for its residents and visitors by transforming Le Carre into this pedestrian zone. The vision
was to reclaim those cobblestone streets from the cars revealing and taking full advantage
of the unique historic charm of this area. Some businesses were initially reluctant, fearing they
would lose customers that they couldn't drive, but business actually improved with more people
coming through. A familiar pattern that we've seen happen throughout Europe. During the day,
all the shops are open. At night there is a party atmosphere with the bars and restaurants, and
morning has a charm of its own. Taking a stroll in Liege in the early morning is a lovely way to
start the day. You get out before the shops have opened, maybe right after breakfast at your hotel,
and the streets are quiet, purely empty, and they will pick up again pretty quickly. By nine,
10:00 in the morning, the shops are all open and there'll be lots of people out. But earlier than
that, it's a delight to just take a stroll. Rue Vinave d'ille is the very center of this shopping
district called the Old Island. As usual, lots of shops and bars and restaurants and terrace
cafes. It's a very agreeable place. Connecting out from here we find the very first pedestrian street
in Liege. It is an upscale shopping passage. This is the first covered shopping gallery in Belgium,
opening in 1838, eight years before the famous Royal Gallery in Brussels. It was completely
restored in the 1930s in the art Deco style, in a uniform design with all windows looking the same,
lending a human scale to what is actually a vast expanse, 168 meters long, with 30
stores. An expansion of this pedestrian zone is an ongoing process, with more works planned for the
near future, converting those automobile streets into places where people can comfortably walk.
When you include all of the city areas beyond Le Carre, throughout the city center, it is a huge
pedestrian zone with about 60 streets extending six square kilometers, which is considered to be
the largest pedestrian area in all of Wallonia, the southern part of Belgium. And they claim it's
the oldest pedestrian zone in the entire country. This beautiful fountain has two different names.
It's officially the fountain of the Virgin with a statue of the Madonna and child on top. And
locals fondly call it the fountain of the Lions because of those four beautiful lions surrounding
it. It was created in the late 16th century by a famous baroque sculptor, Jean Delcour,
a Liege native who traveled to Rome and became a pupil of Bernini. In 1854 it was relocated from
Cathedral Square to this place and rebuilt. Then in 2015, a one-year restoration work took place in
which it was disassembled, cleaned and reassembled with a new foundation, clean bronze statues and
working fountains. In the background you can see the Cathedral of Liege, St Paul's built in
the Gothic style in the 14th century. From this fountain, it's an easy walk over to the place next
to the cathedral with outdoor cafes and a lovely garden with flowerbeds, a great place to sit down
and relax for a little while. During the 15th and 16th centuries, St Paul's was an important church,
but only became the Cathedral of Liege in 1803 when the other cathedral, St Lambert,
had fallen into decay and ruins, destroyed during the French Revolution. The main features of the
church date from the 13th century with all the characteristics of Gothic architecture,
the transept, side chapels, three naves and the pointed arches, along with stained glass windows,
present dramatic examples of that Gothic style. The cloister consists of three long galleries
that were constructed during the late 15th and early 16th centuries in that Gothic style, with
the cross-vaulted ceiling and pointed arches. And they surround a garden courtyard that you can walk
into, and enjoy different views of the outside of the church from the perspective of this peaceful
green oasis. The treasury of the cathedral is frequently open to the public and consists of ten
rooms on two floors leading through a journey of art and history related to the cathedral. The most
important work in the Treasury is the reliquary, a bust of Saint Lambert, the patron saint of Liege,
who was assassinated at the beginning of the eighth century and became a martyr. And after
his assassination, he became worshiped by pilgrims who came to Liege by the thousands, which turned
the city into an important religious and cultural center. Next to the cathedral, we have Cathedral
Street. It's an old road, opened in 1842, and recently has become pedestrianized. Cathedral
Street is part of the longest road in the center, that changes names a few times. The square outline
is the area, Le Carre, we had recently been walking through, and now we're heading
down rue Sant Paul, approaching the Latin Quarter with the University one block over, by the river.
The street extends from the back of the cathedral and it's another one of these typical pedestrian
lanes with the shops and sidewalk restaurants. There just seem to be something a little extra
special about this one. It has an authentic local vibe. Along with restaurants, there are various
food shops for takeaway meals. You could get a sandwich, pick up some cheese, and why not get
some of those waffles that Belgium is so famous for? It seems that this street has mouthwatering
temptations at every other shopfront. You could enjoy some gourmet food and save a little money by
skipping the restaurant and getting takeout. Les Halles is similar, but not affiliated, with its
namesake in Paris, presenting a perfect display of fresh produce and a big variety of packaged foods,
spice and condiments. Or how about a sidewalk market for books down at the end of Rue St Paul?
You'll get some bargains here with a big discount. While travelers don't usually buy heavy books
to bring home, it's fun to take a look at. This book market is as far south in the city as we're
getting in our walking tour. But I want to jump further south to show you the train station, which
is a superb work of art, of architectural genius by Santiago Calatrava, opened in 2009, and even
though it cost a fortune to build, Liege feels very grateful to have such a landmark of modern
architecture as the gateway to the city. This train station is becoming a signature attraction,
acting like a magnet to lure more visitors to the city. There is another train development to show
you in Liege, and that is the construction of a new tram system. It is scheduled for completion
at the beginning of 2025, with an 11-kilometer length and 21 stations, right through the center
of town. They are working incredibly hard to finish it on that schedule. But the construction
is limited to certain roads and nearly all of the pedestrian zone in the center is not affected at
all. So don't let that stop you from visiting before 2025. Then when it opens, it will be a
wonderful enhancement to the city. This street is Hors-chateau, one of the most beautiful streets in
the city. The name means outside the city walls. It was created originally in a location that was
beyond the city walls, so that the people who settled here back in the 11th century were living
without protection from those fortifications. Then, in the early 13th century, another wall
was added beyond the first wall so that this street was now protected. In those days, it
was only a narrow footpath. Now it's a street with many beautiful buildings, most of which date back
to the end of the 17th and the 18th centuries, homes for the wealthy aristocrats. Now it's one
of the main streets of the city, and although cars are allowed, it's a major destination for
visitors, who with many pretty sites, including this fountain. Saint John the Baptist sits on top
of this very impressive fountain and sculptured pediment, one of many fountains in Liege. It was
very useful in the past for the people because they could get their water here for free. They
would come with a bucket and fill it up, bring it home, because most people back in those
old days did not have running water inside the houses. next to the fountain I noticed a party
at a terrace restaurant. In many parts of Liege there are these outdoor cafes and people drink
outside or go inside have a meal. In this case, they're having some kind of party, a gathering of
friends and family for a wedding anniversary. This gigantic staircase is called la Montagne
de Burren. It's not really a mountain, of course. They just call it one because the stairs are so
big. It's a long climb with 374 steps. It goes 70 meters high at a rather steep 30% incline.
But the steps were designed in a very clever way with a kind of level terrace every eight steps so
that you can have a rest or you can walk back and forth as you go up to make your climb a little bit
easier. So you can take the occasional break on your way up. And you'll notice that is the
technique that many of these savvy locals use. And these stairs are not very old. They were built at
the end of the 19th century, and they say it was built for one particular reason: to give soldiers
a direct route from their fortress that was on top of this hill down to the center of the city,
so that they could come directly and quickly in case there were some kind of riots or
demonstrations where their help was needed to calm things down. Prior to this staircase,
soldiers had to go all the way around the hill to reach the city center, and they often arrived
too late to be of any help. But they say there was another real reason why these stairs were built to
get the soldiers directly downtown. And that was there was a red-light district near the soldiers
fortress. So when they left their barracks, they were never in a hurry to get downtown.
So the city built this route to redirect them into the center. If you make it all the way to the top,
they say you will get a nice view looking back across the city center. This narrow alley is
what they call an Impasse, or we'd say impasse, as in no exit, a dead-end alley that goes nowhere.
These alleys seem to be quite hidden, a place where a tourist would never find it. However,
they are popular places. They're well known. They're one of the features of Liege. So visitors
do come and search them out as you can too, easy to find. There are half a dozen of them branching
off from rue Hors-Chateau in the distance you can see the hill covered with trees that rises up
above the city. These impasses are havens of peace and tranquility right in the immediate vicinity
of the historic and lively center of Liege. They attract residents and walkers looking for quiet,
picturesque and green neighborhoods. This lush garden almost makes it seem like we're
at a house in the country with flowers, pets, potted plants and benches. You know,
this is a spot that the local residents spend some quality time in. So peaceful, there are some free
ranging cats that walk around. That is always an indication that we are in a quiet and peaceful,
safe neighborhood. Otherwise, there would be no cats in the middle of a city like this. It's a
safe refuge with a dog keeping his eye on them. Although Liege is inland, it has what's called a
maritime climate that's moderated by winds blowing in from the Gulf Stream. Winter temperatures are
quite mild and in the summer the climate is similar to Scandinavia, up north. This little
neighborhood has a microclimate that's quite pleasant and supports some exotic plants like
this kiwi tree. This one is called the Impasse de la Couronne, the alley of the crown. While walking
along these various narrow alleyways, you'll notice lots of old houses, some dating back
to the 17th and 18th centuries. In recent years, during the 1960s and seventies, they had really
fallen into disrepair. They were ruined and local authorities wanted to knock them down. But local
people got organized to purchase and rebuild them. Most of them were restored, completely
renovated in the 1980s. So now it's a very popular place to live. You see, it does make a wonderful
adventure to meander into these little alleyways which are located just along the north side of
Rue Hors-Chateau. Across the street you'll see the Collegiate Church of Saint Bartholomew, opened in
the late 12th century. The Twin Bell towers and polychrome exterior are hallmarks of the German
Romanesque style. The Lambrecht fountain, created in 1916 is the memorial to a local soldier killed
during World War One. The 18th century saw the addition of two more aisles and the opening of
a neoclassical portal in the walls and a French baroque redecoration of the interior. Seven years
of heavy restoration work at the beginning of this century involved replacing 10,000 stones.
The baptismal font is an early Romanesque work of incredible technological mastery, considered to be
one of the seven wonders of Belgium. Created in the early 12th century, it presents five scenes
from the Bible. And the church offers a narrow window view. You can see the font from the outside
if you don't want to pay the admission to come. In across the street, we find a major history
museum constructed in a Renaissance building with a collection that includes prehistory, weapons,
glass, archeology, natural history and sculpture. They're also a forum for local community events,
like this casual fashion show. It's La Cour Saint Antoine, a beautiful courtyard with a fascinating
architectural history. It's like an urban paradise with a calm atmosphere. With only two entrances,
this secluded space retains a quiet, relaxed atmosphere. The street next to it is for
pedestrians and has no retail shops, which further insulate Saint Antoine from any city noises. A few
blocks over we get to Rue de la Boucherie, a trendy spot now, but had been part of the old
meat market district. One block further we get to a very old and related building that now has
a modern function. The Tourist Information office is in a very special building. This was called the
Meat Market or the butcher's hall. It's one of the oldest civil buildings Liege, constructed in the
middle of the 16th century, in 1546. It was built for the Butchers Guild, and now it's the place to
go for tourist information. "So at the tourism office here, we provide information for people and
tourists who visit the city. Liege is a beautiful city to visit. You have a lot of sightseeing and
highlights to see. And also people here are really, really great because when you walk in
the city and you meet other people and you don't know your way, you just have to ask and they reply
you. So they are very sociable. And so if you want to visit the city, it's your first time, you have
to come to meet us and then we'll give you all the information you need.” The Tourist Office is
right in the center of the old town with many very quaint streets all around it. You can find flower
markets, there's the cafes always, and the old buildings lining these lanes. Of course, one of
the specialties of Belgium is chocolate. And here you'll find homemade chocolates and nearby other
specialty boutiques, such as organic cosmetics and small art galleries. And how about a stroll along
the narrowest street in the city? You have to turn and squeeze to get past any oncoming traffic,
holding an average width of 80 centimeters -- narrowest, and one of the oldest with origins
that date back at least to the 14th century. It's a useful connecting street, even though there are
no shops along it, with only a few unmarked doorways. A good place to sneak in a little
graffiti. It connects two of the main pedestrian lanes of the center. Then it continues, getting a
little wider with some retail and a different name. One of the streets it connects with is
Rue du Pont, which leads to a bridge across the river where we will be going shortly and have a
look at a different part of town. On the other side of the river Mues that flows through Liege.
We've just come from that area around the tourist information office and now we're heading down to
get close to the river, cross over and bring you to a charming little narrow lane with restaurants.
Before crossing that river, we walked down one of the lively streets of the city center with
dozens of stores. Notice we have gotten out of the pedestrian zone. There's one-way car traffic here,
but good sidewalks and lots of people out walking. It's a bustling urban neighborhood. Towards the
end of the street, we get to Le Grand Post, which had been the major post office starting from 1900,
looking something like neo-Gothic Castle. Now it's home to many activities, including a Food Market,
a brewery and 200 co-working spaces. This is one of two footbridges that go across the Muess
River. This Passorelle Saucy was first built in 1877 and then it was destroyed in World War II,
rebuildt after the war, and it's been renovated a few times since then. It has a nice curvature
which gives you views along both sides of the river, up and down where you will see some
excursion boats. That's another activity you could enjoy in Liege, take a boat ride. This
Navette Fluvial offers a ferry service that makes just five stops on the river. Or you could take a
longer boat ride all the way into the Netherlands, visiting the nearby city of Maastricht, on the two
and a half hour boat ride. From a little dancing on the ferry to dancing in the street a few blocks
in from the river. They're having an outdoor party right in the middle of a road with music,
food, lots of drinks and people having fun. (Music plays) It's open to everybody. You pay a small fee
to get in. Then food and drinks are available for purchase. Right around the corner is Rue
Roture. Go around that metal gate that seems to be blocking the entrance, but watch out if there's a
group of kids playing football, this is their neighborhood. You can easily walk around them.
Just don't get run over by these little guys on the way in. It's almost like you have a barricade
and a tunnel leading into this little street. You could easily walk right by it, not even
notice. But this is kind of a hideaway for locals in the know and savvy visitors. You have entered a
narrow, picturesque and pedestrian lane lined with excellent restaurants. We are across the river in
the district of Outremeuse, about a kilometer away from the center, making this more of a place for
locals rather than visitors. But it's worth the walk to get over here. If you're not ready to eat,
you could just sit at one of these outdoor tables and have a drink. Or if you don't feel like doing
that, the walk was worth it. Just to see this beautiful street with its lovely restaurants,
a secret enclave that has survived from the Middle Ages. Exit that gate back to the city.
Back in the center of town, we pay a brief visit to this culture history museum where
you can discover life in Wallonia from the 19th century up until the present,
focusing on society, people, ideas and know how the Wallonia Museum of Folklore is one
of several museums you can enjoy while visiting Liege. It has quite a collection of daily life in
Liege from the last couple of centuries. It's a relatively new museum with modern display style,
but it's in a very old building that had been a Franciscan convent. Their original cloister,
surrounded by columns, has become a friendly and busy place where concerts are held and visitors
can play. Exhibits about the past are accompanied by concern for our future, with displays on
recycling. Belgians are number-one in Europe for recycling packaging waste. They take very good
care of their small country. The museum is right across the street from the Palace of Justice,
making this the perfect time for our return visit into the palace courtyard to enjoy those
festivities. Then, in a few minutes, we'll take you back to see more of that open market along
the river, a musical tribute with no further narration. (Music plays) "Could you tell me
about this market? It's called La Batte. It's something typical here, like a market. So, it's
very long. Every Sunday. Every Sunday, yes. Aha." (Music plays) We frequently upload new movies,
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