Liège is one of the largest cities in the Walloon part of Belgium. It was already the situation in Roman times, when it was called Leodicum. The city’s continued development made it an important political and cultural center in the Middle Ages, and already in 717 Liège had become a bishop’s seat. The city was for a long period ruled by prince-bishops who came from the nobility of the Holy Roman Empire.

The city enjoyed privileges from the late 12th century and the prince-bishops ruled until their ouster by Napoleonic revolutionary troops. After the Napoleonic era, Liège became part of the united Netherlands before the city became part of the new Belgian state from 1830. Liège also became an industrial center and the city hosted the Exposition Universelle in 1905.

Today there is a lot to see in Liège’s cozy streets. You can start with a stroll at the Place de la Cathédrale, where the city’s cathedral is located on the south side of the square. The church was founded in the 9th century and built in the current version in the 13th and 15th centuries. It gained the status of a cathedral in 1802 after the demolition of the then cathedral, which was destroyed in connection with the French Revolution.

In the cathedral you can see a beautiful church interior with fine stained glass windows and several religious treasures that were brought here from the former cathedral. Next to the church, you can see beautiful monastic buildings from the 15th and 16th centuries.

The cathedral of Liège was one of the city’s seven so-called collegiate churches, which were churches with a chapter of clergy. The churches enjoyed various privileges that lasted until the French Revolution. You can see the six preserved of the original churches, which, in addition to the cathedral, are Basilique Saint-Martin, Collégiale Saint-Denis, Église Saint-Jean l’Evangéliste, Collégiale Sainte-Croix and Collégiale Saint-Barthélemy. Added to these is the Église Saint-Jacques as the seventh church. It gained the status of collegiate church in 1811 after the demolition of Collégiale Saint-Pierre.

Liège is also home to the monumental prince-bishop’s residence, the Palais des Princes-Evêques, located on Place Saint-Lambert, which was home to the city’s former cathedral. The residence was built in the 16th century, and the imposing facade is from the 18th century.

In Liège there are several other sights such as the city’s town hall, which dates from the 17th century. On the Place du Marché in front of the town hall, you can see the so-called perron, which is a monument with a column representing freedom and autonomy. You can also visit several museums in the city, such as the art museum La Boverie and Musée Curtius, which hosts an archaeological collection.

A special sight in the city is the long staircase, the Montagne de Beuren, which leads by 374 steps from Rue Hors-Chàteau to Au Pèrî, located close to Liège’s old citadel. If you want to see some modern architecture, you can go to Gare de Liège-Guillemins, which is an architecturally interesting railway station designed by Santiago Calatrava.