There are so many places to visit in Europe. Starting in England, the Lake Districts in Cumbria is England's open secret. Anyone with a thirst or love for history can consider the following places: Dover Castle in Kent, the Roman Baths, Bath in SouthWest England and the World Heritage Site of the Neolithic Stonehenge which is located near Salisbury in Wiltshire. The Stonehenge asks a mysterious array of questions. Was Stonehenge a temple for sun worship, a healing centre, a burial site or perhaps just a huge calendar? Windsor Castle in Berkshire, alongside its surrounding gardens and parks, offer to tourists a commanding exhibition of the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. These places are in addition to the numerous theme parks, beaches and coasts, festivals, countryside and rural retreats that already exist.

In France, the Euro-Disney Parks is the premier place to visit when it comes to family entertainment. For more than two decades, France has reigned as the world's most popular tourist destination, receiving 82 million foreign tourists annually. In France, it is must to visit France's second largest seaport city of Marseille. With incredible views, an array of restaurants and things to do, Marseille is easily the best place to relax, have a good time and enjoy mingling with the locals. Lyon is best known for its gastronomic, history and vibrant cultural scene. In the heart of France, the unexposed Nigerian visiting Lyon -used to pounded yam and Banga soup -may struggle with menus that are sophisticated to understand. Cannes has been made famous by the film festival it hosts, and Lourdes is a place for spiritual rejuvenation and restoration. Located in the foothills of the Pyrenees, Lourdes is famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes ( the Immaculate Conception). The City of lights/love, otherwise known as Paris is well known for iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles Palace, Sacre-Coeur and the Notre Damsel Cathedral.

Having been to the Netherlands recently, the writer was in Brussels to consider the effect or not at all of recession on the city, its citizens and its immigrants. The answer to this questions lies in the fact that Brussels hosts several international organizations. Most of the European institutions as well as the NATO Headquarters are located in Brussels.

According to the Union of International Associations criteria, Brussels is the first Congress city in Europe and second in the world. Data provided by the International Congress and Convention reveals that Brussels is the 21st congress city in the world. Annually, more than 70,000 meetings and events are organized in Brussels with more than 7 million participants, and congress tourism provides 25,000 jobs. This does answer the question about recession. It may not exist here. Brussels is the sixth most important business city in Europe after London, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Berlin. 75 percent of business tourism is the result of the presence of the European Institutions in Brussels. Regarding the quality of life of expats, Brussels ranks 15th in the world. It is the third most prosperous region in the European Union after London and Luxembourg.

Belgium is one of the founding members of Europe; its capital city is Brussels. It has a population of 10.7 million people. Belgium is a Federal State divided into three regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the North, Francophone Wallonia in the South and Brussels, the bilingual capital where Dutch and French share official status. Like Amsterdam, many people in Brussels also speak English albeit with a strong accent. Their rail stations and signals on roads are in French and Dutch.

In addition to the fact that Belgium hosts the capital of the EU, it is a small country right in between the Netherlands, France, the UK and Germany. The Netherlands, France and the UK have large black communities. There is a small but vibrant Afro-German community. Although many black people live in Belgium, there is insufficient literature on the Afro-Belgians probably because Belgium is a multilingual community. The Flemish people speak Dutch, and the Francophones speak French. Both sides have black communities: the AfroFlemish and the francophone Afro Belgian. Brussels has significant minorities of North Africans ( predominantly) Moroccans, Congolese, Rwandans, Burundians and a growing Nigerian community. 

Brussels is an exciting city; there is clear evidence that they are a diversity neutral nation with the presence of a lot of black people. Unlike in France where the blacks seem subjugated to menial and subservient roles, the blacks in Belgium are upwardly mobile and progressive. Tousif, a Rwandan refugee, who now has his own cab business talks about the neutrality of Brussels and indeed Belgium towards black people. As he drove me to my hotel, he showed me areas which belonged to Cameroonians and of course Nigerians. He told me that Nigerians are very successful businessmen and women here and that the government has provided the enabling environment for all cultures to integrate and flourish. Tusif fled the Rwandan genocide of 1994 and with thousands other Africans.

Brussels does have its own struggles. Not all its residents are wealthy, the Brussels region battles high unemployment rates 20.7 percent and more than 30 percent among the under 25 group. A quarter of Brussels residents live under the poverty line. In Brussels, nearly one boy out of five and one out of six, leave school early. The specific socioeconomic impact of the institutions on Brussels is not easy to determine, as shown by data provided by the Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis in 2011.

Most Belgians of African origin live in towns and cities. The most significant concentration can be found in Brussels which has a cultural and commercial black African neighbourhood. Paradoxically, even though Africans live here, the area is not impoverished, and Africans do not constitute the majority of peoples living there. The Matonge area is famous for selling African products and services from vegetables to cosmetics.

So, where in Europe are you going this summer? If you want warm weather at this time, Spain is the best place to go. If you would like to cool down from Canada's heat this summer, try Canterbury, Kent in England.

 

Photo by Libby Penner on Unsplash