GET MARRIED AND GET A FREE MERCEDES
Mons
Romantic Belgium Town and Nato Headquarters
Okay,
maybe they don't give you the Mercedes. But you can get
your picture taken on one outside the town hall of Mons after a civil
ceremony. Mons, Belgium is a quite little romantic town in the Hainaut
region of southern
Belgium
bordering
France about an
hour from Brussels. The
town market square of Mons is one of the most beautiful in Belgium,
dominated by the 
town hall. On
market days it's filled with flowers, fruits and vegitables and locals
hagling. The streets of the old town are narrow,
curving and rarely level, set on the gentle hills, with old houses
jumbled together. Vincent Van
gogh
lived here for a year in 1879, in a house in Cuesmes, now open to
the public. At
night, in the excellent regional Belgian cuisine
restaurants around the city square, one can encounter military
wives from many countries, whiling away the hours after shopping.
The
administrative office of NATO is up in Brussels
along
with
other
EU offices but the
military "Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers in Europe" SHAPE
is just outside Mons, mostly a legacy of past European wars as Mons
was the site of the first battle of WWI (see Flanders
Fields WWI Monuments). The military base is a few kilometers
from the edge of the city, marked by the flags of member nations.
Mons is an active business center related to the base, but the old
city
seems far removed.
A stay at a local family run Bed & Breakfast just a few steps up the cobblestoned streets from the town center costs a fraction of more familiar tourist destinations. Upon check-in, you will be offered the option of without breakfast or with for a few Euros extra. The charming owner with a smattering of Belgie accented English will assure that it is a "big" breakfast. The breakfast is typical French style - croissant and jam, and a "big" breakfast here apparently means you get four kinds of bread with your jam. But the stay and the town is charming and feels all to your own. And if you need a McMuffin there's always the ever present McDonalds.
If you're looking for a little more quiet out-of-the-way honeymoon destination or romantic European getaway with a few familiar sounding voices, Mons might be just the place. And the prices have yet to catch up with Europe's more familiar tourist destinations, so definately a lesser known bargain honeymoon spot. Mons is about an hour by car south of Brussels or by the Thalys High Speed Train from Paris in about 1 hour 20 minutes. The nearest airport is in Charleroi about ten mintues. Or maybe you'll want to rent the Mecerdes for the drive through the verdant countryside of beautiful Belgium. © Bargain Travel Europe
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SEE ALSO:
VALENCIENNES
CATHEDRAL
EUROSTAR
LONDON / PARIS
GORGE-EOUS LUXEMBOURG
THREE CHOICE HOTEL BARGAINS IN NICE
