First class Belgian tourism

This morning, after paying 7 Euros each for a return ticket, we installed ourselves comfortably in a first class carriage away from all the screaming kids, scouts and other noisy groups; and less than 2 hours later we were ambling along the Belgian seafront enjoying the fresh breeze, the sand and the sun for a day.

How was this possible?

It was all thanks to a birthday: Belgium is 175 years old, which anyone living here probably knows by now unless they’ve been living under a rock (from a Belgian quarry, of course). And in honour of this event, the Belgian railways would like to encourage you to visit this little country you live in.

So, during every weekend starting now until the end of December you can buy a return ticket to any location in another region for 5 Euros in second class or 7 Euros in first class. Living in Brussels gets you the best deal of all considering this is the smallest region, you can basically go wherever you want for that price. The ticket is also valid all weekend which means you can leave on Saturday and come back on Sunday if you feel like spending the night deep in the Ardennes.

As far as I know, they haven’t been making much noise about this special offer but you can find all the info you need on their website.

I’ll be taking advantage of this more than once.