Liège, a cosmopolitan city on a human scale
Liège is a lively, colorful city that knows how to seduce. A true cultural crossroads with a prestigious historical past, it deserves to be discovered. Since its foundation in 1817, the life of the University of Liège has been intimately linked to that of the Cité Ardente.
Today, Liège is Wallonia's largest metropolis and Belgium's third largest urban agglomeration. It has a population of 200,000. It is at the heart of the Meuse-Rhine Euregio, which includes the cities of Maastricht, Aachen and Hasselt.
As a motorway junction, Liège is a gateway to the Netherlands, Germany and all of Central Europe. It boasts Europe's third-largest river port, with links to the seaports of Antwerp and Rotterdam. Its airport, at Bierset, is a fast-growing international freight hub. Its new TGV station, Gare de Liège-Guillemins, puts the city at the heart of the Paris-Brussels-Berlin rail corridor.
A welcoming city
Liège is a cosmopolitan city of tourists and visitors, a city of passage at the intersection of three borders. This melting pot of cultures contributes to the charm of the Cité Ardente.
Liège is proud to be described as the city of hospitality. Neither too small nor too big, it offers all the attractions of a real city, but remains on a human scale. The city center is full of shops, restaurants and brasseries. There's something for every taste and budget. Students, on the other hand, prefer the Carré, a labyrinth of alleyways with a lively nightlife. On the right bank of the river, in Outremeuse, Rue Roture attracts gourmets and lovers of other cultures.
Cultural life in Liège is particularly rich, with a dozen theaters (including Théâtre de Liège), theOpéra royal de Wallonie, theOrchestre symphonique, the Conservatoire, around thirty cinemas (some specializing in art-house films), dozens of art galleries and museums, not to mention numerous cultural associations and public libraries (the Chiroux).
