Why go to Liége? What to do?

Hi everyone!

I'm writing you about my experience in Liège, Belgium.

At first I should tell you guys about how I was feeling before I finally decided to go to Liège:

1. I was afraid of going alone;
2. I didn’t spoke anything of French;
3. I'm used to a warm weather;
4. I didn't have a lot of money;

So, even after all of that, my mom and I decided that this was the best thing to do, and that maybe in the future I wouldn't have the chance to do it! So... Off I go to Belgium!

Tip 1: before going, do a proper analysis of your learning agreement, because in some universities, there are some extra curricular activities that you can use to get extra credits, like French courses, internships, etc.

Find a house

There are a lot of flats (or Kots in French) for rent in Liége.

The best thing is to go there, stay in a hostel while you search for something.

I stayed in The Student Hotel Liège, because it was just next to the university, and the city centre.

I would walk from there to school, supermarket, my internship office, etc.

Find friends

If you live in a residence like me, it is easier to talk to people, and the French (if you don't know it) might be a problem, but don't be afraid of getting it wrong, just talk and ask to be corrected, it is a great topic to start a conversation and you will laugh a lot about these episodes.

If you live alone, or dividing a house, have dinner together, go out!

At school

(If you don't speak French)

As soon as you get there find a person that speaks a language that you know so that person can help you understand the system of work in the University.

Talk to your teachers about the curricular program, and evaluation.

Try to find the best dates to do your exams, and deliver essays.

Work

As a personal experience I can tell you guys that the internship is an "extreme" experience while you do Erasmus.

Extreme because I heard bad things about internships, and very good things, but I guess that you have to be lucky about the company that accepts your internship, and the people that you work with.

The City

Ok... About the city there is a lot to know.

Liège is a beautiful city to live. The people are easy to talk with, and you find a lot of different cultures there.

Tip 2: as soon as you get there, go to ESN and to the Erasmus Office in the Université de Liége ULG, because even if your protocol is with Haute École de la Province de Liège, you can get all the info about the city, the tours, houses, field trips, and language courses at the Université de Liége (city center).

What to do in your free time?

People usually go to the parks around the center to simply enjoy. You can go to the parks near the river (La Meuse) or to the botanic garden.

Tip 3: Meet with some friends, go to the supermarket, buy a couple of beers and go to the botanic garden to enjoy the sun - when it's possible!

You can go to the movies, but only to movie theatres in Liège that don't translate the movies to French, so if you have some problem with French, try to figure out which are the places where you can watch the movies in their original versions.

The city center is all about shopping. You can find everything from shopping centers, until little shops, and even open markets.

Tip 4: The best and cheapest way to buy food for the week is to go to the Sunday market, near the river. It starts about 8 am and it ends at 2 pm, but the best time to go is at 12 am so you can try to get everything cheaper before the market closes.

Travel around Belgium and Europe

Belgium has very good transportation services.

It is always on time, the tickets are not expensive, and Liège is really close to a lot of countries, so take advantage of that proximity.

Tip 5: As soon as you need to do some trip, for instance coming from the Brussels airport to Liège's central Station - named Guillemins - you should buy a "Go Pass" that allows you to do 10 trips around Belgium for the total price of 51 eur - Go Pass 10 - so you can go to Brussels for 5, 1 eur instead of the normal 13, or to to Bruges for 5 eur, instead of the normal 17.

With the train you can go everywhere from the center, and there is also the bus, so don't worry you'll be ok with the transportation services.

The only place close by that you shouldn't use you "Go Pass" is to go to Maastricht, Nederland. I tell you this because a trip to Maastricht is 6 eur to go and come back, and if you use the "Go Pass" you will be spending a 10 eur trip (5 to go - 5 to come back) instead of 6 eur.

There are also some trips you can do with ESN and with the Université de Liège, just keep yourself informed about it.

Parties

St. Toré and St. Nicholas.

These are some parts of the city, that directly involve the students. You can check them out in the following links St. Toré and St. Nicholas.

Garden Parties

As I already wrote, there is normal to meet in the parks, gardens, etc. So it is also normal for the Universities, Student Associations, and ESN to do the so called Garden Parties. Click here to watch a video.

Stock Market Parties (La soirée Bourse)

Unexplainable... I don't even know if this word exists, but check out this video.

Le Carré

Le Carré is in the centre of the city, and is the largest concentration of bars in the city.

The ESN parties are normally there, once a week, and in the other nights are all full of possibilities.

• Monday: free drinks for girls at CUBAr;
• Tuesday: inexpensive beer at Duplex;
• Wednesday: ESN parties (normally at The Point of View);
• Thursday: happy hour at Tam Tam from 7 pm to 8 pm;
• Friday: everywhere;
• Saturday: Also;
• Sunday: Maastricht.

If you have some doubts please see the following link.

Places to go

• La maison du pêket: for Pêket;
• Pot au lait: beer and good music;
• Le Brasilia: a bit expensive, but one portion is good for two people;
• Chez Franchi: ice cream and frozen yogurt;
• Vaudree: all the beer you can remember, is there.

Eat frites: there are friteries all over the city, just try them.

Gaufres: they are a kind of Waffles, but with pieces of sugar, and more greasy. I seriously advise you to eat them!

Calimero: the best food to have at the end of a night in Le Carré, try the Pita Calimero.

To end this I should conclude that:

1. I'm glad I went alone, it forced me to know more people;
2. I learnt another language;
3. At the end the weather was perfect, and I discovered that I love snow too;
4. If you save you have money to do a bit of everything.

Ok! So… I guess that's it!

I hope that you got a clear vision of my experience in this amazing city!

And if you need anything else, please write me!

Have a good Belgium experience,

Anália Lima