Belgium

A small Central European country, the middle bit of the Benelux states, with the
Netherlands bordering to the north and Luxembourg to the south-east (plus
France to the south and
Germany to the east).
In dark-tourism terms, Belgium has quite a lot to offer, especially with regard to the
First World War.
Ypres has become almost synonymous with the senseless tragedy that was the “war to end all wars”, and today’s memorial sites and museums bear testimony to the slaughter back then. But there are also less well-known WW1 sites, such as
Yser.
These are the places given their own chapters on this website:
As a tourist destination in general, Belgium is notoriously and unjustly underrated … especially for the
British the country somehow acquired the reputation of the least worthy tourist place in Europe – which is strange, as it offers two of Britain's best-loved commodities in unparalleled quality: beer and chips (as in 'pommes frites', "Frieten" in Flemish – it was here that they were invented, and they're thus grossly misnamed "French" fries in the
USA and elsewhere – and nowhere else are they made so well).
Belgium is also a bit of a whipping boy for its grand southern neighbour
France (often the prototypical butt of jokes in ways similar to the Irish for Brits), and, if to a somewhat lesser degree, for the
Netherlands too. Personally, I feel sorry for Belgium. It doesn't really deserve such a rough deal on the reputation front – although it doesn't help that if the country gets in the international (negative) headlines these regularly involve child abuse, right-wingers, a language war and/or general political gridlock … oh, and Brussels, of course, the place all Euro-sceptics point an accusing finger at.
But I quite like Belgium – not just as a dark-tourism destination, but also e.g. in culinary respects, in which it is world class. Good food and drink is very important to Belgians in general, so even in small towns you won’t have trouble finding a good meal; and the rightly fabled Belgian beer (especially the Trappist and Abbey ones) is also never far away. Belgium has some immensely pretty cities, of which Bruges (Brugge) and Ghent (Gent) are the best known, but e.g. Antwerp is also a gem (pun intended – it’s also the world’s No. 1 diamond cutting and trade centre). And while the northern plains may seem a bit bland, the south has some splendid scenery, in particular the Ardennes.
Belgium 1
Belgium 2 - in Bruges
Belgium 3 - street and canal scene
Belgium 4 - international clogs
Belgium 5 - old beer advert
Belgium 6a - Orval
Belgium 6b - almost symmetric
Belgium 7 - delicacies
Belgium 8 - national dish - waterzooi
Belgium 9 - flat Flemish land