Liège, Belgium - Polarsteps

During our little Belgium trip we also went to Liege. An impressive old city in the north-east of Belgium where they speak French as well while the other two official national languages of Dutch and French are barely spoken by the inhabitants. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, in the east of Belgium, not far from the borders with The Netherlands (Maastricht is about 33 km to the north). At Liège the Meuse river meets the river Ourthe. The city is part of the sillon industriel, the former industrial backbone of Wallonia. It still is the principal economic and cultural centre of the region. The Liège municipality includes the former communes of Angleur, Bressoux, Chênée, Glain, Grivegnée, Jupille-sur-Meuse, Rocourt, and Wandre. In November 2012, Liège had 198,280 inhabitants. One of the main attractions in Liege was the Montage de Bueren which is a 374-step staircase in Liège, Belgium. The staircase is named after Vincent de Bueren, who defended Liège against an attack by the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold in the 15th century. It was built in 1881 to honour the 600 soldiers who died in the battle. In 2013, Montagne de Bueren was ranked as #1 on The Huffington Post's list of Most Extreme Staircases. The view from the top of the staircase and from the heights of the Citadel was magnificent and breathtaking!