CharleroiCharleroi (UKˈʃɑːrlə.rwʌ, US-rɔɪ,_-rwɑː, ʃaʁləʁwa; Tchålerwè tʃɑːlɛʀwɛ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Sambre, in the south-west of Belgium, not far from border with France. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of with a total population of 522,522 by 1 January 2008, ranking it as the 5th most populous in Belgium after Brussels, Antwerp, Liège, and Ghent.
AntwerpAntwerp (ˈæntwɜrp; Antwerpen ˈɑntʋɛrpə(n); Anvers ɑ̃vɛʁs) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 536,079, it is the most populous municipality in Belgium, and with a metropolitan population of around 1,200,000 people, it is the second-largest metropolitan region in Belgium, second only to Brussels. Going through Antwerp, is the river Scheldt. Antwerp is linked to the North Sea by the river's Westerschelde estuary.
WalloniaWallonia (wɒˈloʊniə; Wallonie walɔni), officially the Walloon Region (Région wallonne), is one of the three regions of Belgium—along with Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the country, Wallonia is primarily French-speaking. It accounts for 55% of Belgium's territory, but only a third of its population. The Walloon Region and the French Community of Belgium, which is the political entity responsible for matters related mainly to culture and education, are independent concepts, because the French Community of Belgium encompasses both Wallonia and the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region.
Walloon languageWalloon (wɒˈluːn; natively walon; wallon) is a Romance language that is spoken in much of Wallonia and (to a very small extent) in Brussels, Belgium; some villages near Givet, northern France; and a clutch of communities in northeastern Wisconsin, U.S. It belongs to the langues d'oïl language family, the most prominent member of which is French. The historical background of its formation was the territorial extension since 980 of the Principality of Liège to the south and west.
MeuseThe Meuse (mjuːz , mɜːz, USalsomɜːrz,_mʌz , møz; Moûze muːs) or Maas (mɑːs , maːs; Maos mɔːs or Maas maːs) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . From 1301 the upper Meuse roughly marked the western border of the Holy Roman Empire with the Kingdom of France, after Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the western part of the County of Bar (Barrois mouvant) as a French fief from the hands of King Philip IV.
Pedestrian zonePedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in which most or all automobile traffic is prohibited. Converting a street or an area to pedestrian-only use is called pedestrianisation.
GhentGhent (Gent ɣ̞ɛn̪t̪; Gand ɡɑ̃; Medieval English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in size only by Brussels and Antwerp. It is a port and university city. The city originally started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Leie and in the Late Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of northern Europe, with some 50,000 people in 1300.
LeuvenLeuven (UKˈlɜːvən, ˈløːvə(n)) or Louvain (luːˈvæ̃, USalsoluːˈveɪn, luvɛ̃; Löwen ˈløːvn̩) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic city and the former neighbouring municipalities of Heverlee, Kessel-Lo, a part of Korbeek-Lo, Wilsele and Wijgmaal. It is the eighth largest city in Belgium, with more than 100,244 inhabitants.
BrusselsBrussels (Bruxelles bʁysɛl or bʁyksɛl; Brussel ˈbrʏsəl), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region (within which it forms an enclave) and the Walloon Region.
