Quote Originally Posted by Stig
imo Belgium has only 2 nice places. Brugge and the Ardennes
Only two nice places in Belgium? No way:

Bruges - it's so gorgeous I can't walk it's streets without tears in my eyes.
Ghent - apparantly the most 'Flemish' of all it's cities, I have yet to see it but I'll make sure I will.
Antwerp - nice! More cityesque than than the much smaller other Flemish towns. At it's best a great blend between the charm of those small towns and the grandeur of a proper city.
Ypres - weird but interesting place, the Middle-ages meets a Hollywood movie set. The whole city was destroyed in WWI, then rebuild. It felt the way somebody suffering from extreme paranoia must feel, as if everything around you appears real, but is not, yet everyboy else goes about their daily business pretending nothing is wrong.

Bruxelles - well Adrian covered it. Underrated. It used to be thought of as a failed city: a charming Flemish town that tried too hard to imitate Paris, failed miserably in that and consequently now has neither the grandeur of Paris nor the charming atmosphere of a northern trading town anymore.
But the place has improved a lot. The influence of the EU, OTAN and other international institutions has given the place that necessary cosmopolitan flair. It's a wealthy city again too, the buildings are well kept, there's a market for the more refined things in life, there's an eye for elegance in the streets and cafes. A proper capital.
And, not every second person you meet is a close-minded crypto-facist like in Antwerp or a narrow-minded loser like in Liège or Charleroi. Maybe you are right, Adrian, and the Bruxellois/Brusselaars will save Belgium in the end.