There are some changes to the details of our guide as it went to press. Here you'll find new phone numbers, additional suggestions for places to stay and more.
Belgium
There are new ways to contacy the Belgian National Tourist Office offices in Canada and Great Britain:
Residents of Canada can dial tel. 514/457-2888 to be switched through automatically to the U.S. office in New York. For information covering Brussels and French-speaking Wallonia only (not Flanders), aimed primarily at Francophone Canadians, contact the Office de Promotion de Tourisme Wallonie-Bruxelles, 43 rue de Buade, Bureau 525, Quebec Ville, Quebec, G1R 4A2 (tel. 0877/792-4939 or tel. 418/692-4939; fax 418/692-4974).
For Residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland: Brussels and French-speaking Wallonia (and its German-speaking district): 217 Marsh Wall, London E14 9FJ (operator tel. 0906/302 0245; brochure line tel. 0800/954 5245; fax 020/7531-0393; www.belgiumtheplaceto.be). For Brussels and Dutch-speaking Flanders: 1A Cavendish Sq., London W1G 0LD (operator 0906/302-0245; brochure line tel. 0800/954-5245; fax 020/7307-7731; www.visitflanders.co.uk).
A great source for gay travelers in Belgium is Infor Homo, avenue de l'Opale 100, 1030 Brussels (tel. 02/733-10-24). Another source in Brussels is the gay and lesbian community center Telsquels, rue du Marché-au-Charbon 81 (tel. 02/512-45-87). For Flanders, try the Federatie Werkgroepen Homoseksualiteit, Vlaanderenstraat 22 (tel. 09/238-26-26), in Ghent.
Should the idea of staying on a working farm, or in a château, an old-fashioned country home, or even in an old school converted to a character-filled lodging, hold some charms for you, Belgium has two organizations that can smooth your path to the front door. In Wallonia, contact Gîtes de Wallonie, av. Prince de Liège 1, 5100 Jambes-Namur (tel. 081/31-18-00; fax 081/31-02-00; www.gitesdewallonie.net). For Flanders, it's the Vlaamse Federatie voor Plattelandstoerisme, Minderbroederstraat 8, 2000 Leuven (tel. 016/24-21-58; fax 016/24-21-87; www.plattelandstoerisme.be).
Brussels
Note the changed numbers for airport information: Brussels National Airport (tel. 0900/70-000 in Belgium; tel. 02/753-77-53 from abroad; www.brusselsairport.be).
The fax number of the Belgian Tourist Information Center is tel. 02/504-02-70. There are now tourist information desks in the Arrivals hall at Brussels National Airport and in the TGV/Thalys/Eurostar lounge at the city's Gare du Midi rail station.
Two bus companies provide service to points outside the city (and stop at some points within it): TEC (tel. 010/23-53-53), with buses orange in color, covers French-speaking Wallonia; De Lijn (tel. 070/22-02-00), with buses white in color, covers Dutch-speaking Flanders.
Antiques Fair, Tour & Taxis, av. du Port, Brussels. The top Belgian antiques dealers and selected dealers from abroad get together to show off their wares. Contact Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique (tel. 02/513-48-31; www.antiques-fair.be). Last 10 days of January.
The great little Welcome Hotel is an even better value than listed in the book: Its rates include an excellent buffet breakfast.
Diners at Master Chef Pierre Wynants's stellar restaurant Comme Chez Soi are emerging with even more of a spring in their step than usual. Under the influence of associate chef Lionel Rigolet, the dishes have been looking lighter in recent times -- even the Burgundian Bruxellois are having to conform to a faster, slimmer world.
The Brussels Bourse (Stock Exchange) stands on the grounds of a Franciscan convent, Les Récollets, that succumbed over the centuries to wars, fire and religious conflict. Excavations begun in 1988 uncovered the convent's foundations and a bunch of medieval tombs. There's now a small underground museum, Bruxella 1238, rue de la Bourse (tel. 02/279-43-50), on the site. The most important tomb is that of Duke of Brabant Jean I, who died in 1294. You can visit here only on guided tours that depart from the Musée de la Ville on Wednesdays 10:15am (English), and 11:15am and 3pm (French). The tour costs 3€.
Count me among those who are absolument shocké that the once elegantly named Palais des Beaux-Arts (Palace of the Fine Arts) cultural center has seen fit to change its name to the trendoid Bozar. If you recall your high-school French you'll know that when you pronounce Beaux-Arts -- and if you're in a particularly graceless frame of mind -- you come up with something that sounds like Bozar. So some bright spark thought it'd be a good idea to do it for you. Shooting is too good for this individual. Might I suggest that you indicate displeasure by, for instance, when someone welcomes you with "Bienvenue à Bozar," throwing up on their shoes.
The annual Brussels Heritage Days program on the third weekend of September allows you to visit some of the finest buildings in town that are usually closed to visitors. Around 60 sites are open. For more details visit the Information Center, Halles St-Géry, Place St-Géry (tel. 0800/40-400; Métro: Bourse), open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm.
Ghent
Ghent's main tourist office, Dienst Toerisme Gent, Predikherenlei 2, 9000 Gent (tel. 09/266-56-60; fax 09/266-56-73; www.gent.be); is open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to noon and 1 to 4:30pm. More convenient for personal visits, the Infokantoor (Inquiry Desk) in the Belfry cellar, Botermarkt 17A, 9000 Gent (tel. 09/266-52-32), is open April to October, daily from 9:30am to 6:30pm; and November to March, daily from 9:30am to 4:30pm (closed Jan 1 and Dec 25).
Antwerp
Close to the Antwerp Zoo and working in co-operation with it, a great attraction for kids is Aquatopia [ST], Koningin Astridplein 7 (tel. 03/205-07-40; www.aquatopia.be; Metro: Centraal Station), which opened its doors in 2003 in the Astrid Park Plaza Hotel building, just across the square from Centraal Station. The futuristic facility's 40 aquaria, set on three floors, are together filled with around a million liters (264,200 gallons) of salt water, and house some than 3,500 marine creatures, ranging from seahorses to sharks. Tropical rainforests, mangroves, wetlands, coral reefs, the ocean floor -- all, and more, are featured. No doubt the biggest thrill will come from walking through the clear-walled "shark tunnel," while watching smallish examples of these toothy denizens of the deep swimming around you. Multimedia applications and interactive computer displays complement the live action; even Nemo puts in an appearance. If you're visiting with children, you may want to spend at least 2 hours here. Aquatopia is open daily from 10am to 6pm. Admission is 9.45€ ($12) for adults, 7.45€ ($9.30) for seniors and students, 4.95€ ($5.20) for people of disability, and 6.45€ ($8.05) for children under 12.
Ostend
The resort's famous and plush Oostendse Compagnie Hotel, housed in the waterfront former Royal Villa, has closed. Its equally renowned Au Vigneron restaurant is reportedly looking for suitable new premises and may re-open. The old Royal Villa itself is to be put to a new use, perhaps as a museum.
Liege
Visitors to the French-speaking Cité Ardente (Passionate City) on the Meuse River will, for a time, have more time on their hands for its peculiar forms of passion, because some of the city's finest museums are closed for refurbishment. Liège went through its own wrenching version of rustbelt economic decline in the 1980s and 90s, and much of its cultural patrimony shared in the general decline, taking on a shabby, down-at-the-heels look. Coinciding fortuitously with the start of the new millennium, all that has begun to change. Now the museums are getting a long overdue look at some of the new cash that's around, affording them a lick of paint and a general prettying up. The museums in question, closed until some time in 2006, are the standout Musée de la Vie Wallonne (Museum of Walloon Life), along with the Musée Curtius and the Musée d'Armes.
Namur
Maison du Tourisme, square Léopold 5000 Namur (tel. 081/24-64-49; fax 081/26-23-60; www.namurtourisme.be), outside the rail station. The office is open daily from 9:30am to 6pm. There is also a small Tourist Information Center, place du Grognon (tel. 081/24-64-48), at the confluence of the rivers Meuse and Sambre; open April to November, daily from 9:30am to 6pm.
The Netherlands
Amsterdam
In 1606, the great artist Rembrandt van Rijn was born in Leiden. He later moved to Amsterdam, where he won fame and fortune -- and later suffered bankruptcy and obscurity. Both Amsterdam and Leiden are recalling the 400th anniversary of his birth with a program of special events and exhibits, not least at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum; Jewish Historical Museum; and his city mansion, now the Museum Het Rembrandthuis. In Leiden, there's a Rembrandt Walk that takes in the Rembrandt Visitor Center; the house where he was born, at Galgewater on the Rhine River, just inside the city walls in the west of town (hence his surname "van Rijn"); the Latin School he attended as a boy; and his first studio. For more information, contact VVV Amsterdam, Postbus 3901, 1001 AS Amsterdam tel. 0900/400-4040; fax 020/625-2869; www.visitamsterdam.nl and VVV Leiden, Stationsweg 2D, 2312 AV Leiden.
Hawk-eyed riders on the city's excellent public transportation trams, Metro:trains, and buses will have noticed that the popular "strip card" ticket (or tickets, since there are several different kinds) is called a Nationale Strippenkaart (National Strip Card). No, this doesn't allow you to strip off willy-nilly on buses and trams throughout the realm -- even Holland isn't that uninhibited -- but it does mean you can use the same card on public transportation in cities, towns, villages, and the remotest way-out-in-the-boonies scrap of countryside. So if you are traveling on from Amsterdam to anywhere else in the country and you still have strips left on your strip card, hang on to it.
The new IJtram line, due to begin service on May 29, 2005, will connect Centraal Station and the new residential districts in the old Eastern Harbor area along Het IJ. Among its stops will be one for the new Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ concert hall, the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam cruise-liner dock, and the new residential, shopping, and entertainment zones of the harbor's redeveloped Eastern Islands. It'll go as far as the still-under-construction IJburg suburb, on an artificial island off the south shore of the IJsselmeer lake.
In December 2004, celeb British chef Jamie Oliver brought his unique Fifteen restaurant concept from London to Amsterdam, by opening a branch of the budding chain there (he reportedly plans further openings in New York, Sydney, and other cities). Oliver presents his own, internationally syndicated BBC cookery show, The Naked Chef, his cookbooks sell like hot cakes worldwide, he rustled up Tony Blair's Christmas dinner, and he likes to tool around town in his Maserati. His cool and wildly popular London Fifteen eatery took on loser street kids and trained them up to be more than acceptable chefs and restaurant workers, and his Amsterdam venture adopts the same approach. Even though Oliver won't often be presiding in person, you can try out his fun-cooking concept at Jollemanhof 9 (tel. 020/5304578; www.fifteen.nl; tram: IJtram), in the old Brazili¿ building, off of Oostelijke Handelskade, in the harbor redevelopment zone east of Centraal Station.
There's Chinese and there's Indonesian, see -- and in Holland there's Chinees-Indisch (Chinese-Indonesian), too. Chinese and Indonesian restaurants might be good or might not be, but at least they can be assessed purely on their own national merits. Chinees-Indisch restaurants rarely, if ever, are any good (I can't think of a single one worth recommending, and there are plenty of them). Places that do this crossover style can't get either one right. Look out for the Chinees-Indisch label along with the restaurant name, and give the establishment a wide berth.
For more than two centuries after Amsterdam's 1578 Protestant revolution, the Alteratie, other Christian denominations were forbidden to worship openly. Clandestine places of worship sprang up around the city. The best known of these is the Catholic Our Lord in the Attic, now the Museum Amstelkring. Another, which is in fact Holland's oldest and largest, is the Remonstrant Church in a onetime hat store called De Rode Hoed (The Red Hat), Keizersgracht 102 (tel. 020/638-5606; tram: 6, 13, 14, 17), in a fine canal-side building -- look out for the little red hat on the gable stone. The chapel in back, with an upper-floor balcony and an impressive organ, dates from 1630 and is now a venue for classical music concerts and debates.
The country's premier museum, the Rijksmuseum, is still working through its 5-year mission to refit itself for the 21st century, a process that's due to end in 2008. Most of it is closed, but key paintings and other works from the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age collection can be viewed in the museum's own Philips Wing, under the banner of Rijksmuseum: The Masterpieces. Interestingly, even in its drastically reduced circumstances, the "State Museum" is still one of the leading museums in the land -- and even in Europe as a whole.
The modern art Stedelijk Museum's permanent premises have shut entirely for the period of its refurbishment, until some time in 2006. But lovers of modern art can catch the latest show at Stedelijk Museum CS, its temporary quarters just east of Centraal Station (hence the "CS").
Opened in early 2005 in a spectacular piece of modern architecture on the IJ waterfront, the Muziekgebouw aan ¿t IJ, Piet Heinkade 1 (tel. 020/788-2000; www.muziekgebouw.nl tram: IJtram), just east of Centraal Station), is the new home of the former Muziekcentrum De IJsbreker, the then grungy foundation for avant-garde and experimental music. This ocean of glass is far from being grungy. The main hall seats around 750 and a smaller foyer hall 125, and you can look for concerts of modern, old, jazz, electronic, and non-Western music, along with small-scale musical theater, opera, and dance. A kind of next-door annex to the Muziekgebouw is the equally new home of the Bimhuis jazz and improvised music club. It's a powerful indicator of how Amsterdam is changing that these two "alternative" music operations should now be housed in such a futuristic setting. A visit to the concert hall's in-house cafe-restaurant, and in fine weather a seat outside on its waterfront terrace, would alone justify the short walk or tram ride here from the Center.
Due to a simple, minor oversight of the kind that really could happen to anyone (translation: a stupid mistake), the author forgot to delete from the book a store that has been closed for several years. Marks & Spencer, a branch of the British department store chain, was popular -- though evidently ever less popular -- for its comfy underwear and prepared foods, a combination that maybe speaks volumes about why the group was in such deep financial trouble that it shut down its operation in Holland (and in other countries).
The Hague
The elegant little Galerij Prins Willem V, Buitenhof 35 (tel. 070/302-3435; www.gemeentemuseum.nl; tram: 10, 16, 17), across from the Binnenhof, is a kind of separate annex of the Mauritshuis Royal Cabinet of Paintings, and if you have a ticket to that museum you'll get in here free. The country's first purpose-built art gallery, it opened to the public in 1774 to display the private collection of Prince of Orange Willem V. Most of the 150 paintings from the Dutch Golden Age are the original occupants of the gallery, arranged in the cluttered style of the time. There are few internationally known works, but all the paintings have an interest of some kind, and a cumulative impact. Look out for Jan Steen's shiver-inducing The Toothpuller (1651), and give thanks for modern dentistry.
Rotterdam
Each year, for 3 days during the second weekend in July, jazz greats from around the world gather in Holland for the North Sea Jazz Festival. This non-stop extravaganza features star performances by internationally acclaimed musicians, in 200 concerts on 15 stages, playing jazz, free jazz, blues, Be Bop, and world music. It had always been held at the Nederlands Congres Centrum, Churchillplein 10 (tel. 070/900-9810; tram: 10), in The Hague, and will be in 2005, too. But that's its last year there. Beginning 2006, the festival moves to Rotterdam, where its new venue is the Ahoy, Zuiderparkweg 20 (tel. 0900/235-2469).