Liège, Belgium

Once a blue-collar paradise for coal miners and steelworkers, Liège is the surprising new destination for art and food this summer. The Boverie art museum opens in May, showcasing the best of Belgian art and working in conjunction with the Louvre to curate a huge exhibition of international greats like Renoir, Manet, van Gogh, and more. The Boverie is the crowning piece on a public development in southwest Liège, between the Santiago Calatrava–designed train station (Liège Guillemins, the largest in the city) and an urban mall called the Médiacité, about a 20-minute walk from the center of town. By the Boverie’s opening, the Design Station of Wallonia—a local artists’ showcase focusing on design collaborations celebrating the city’s economic and cultural heritage—will also be in full swing. June sees the first annual Generation W Food Festival, in nearby Namur, where French-speaking chefs and producers from the Wallonia region of Belgium will showcase their regional cuisine. Look out for expert cuisine from Liège native Philippe Fauchet, whose namesake restaurant in St.-Georges-sur-Meuse focuses on terroir, and 10 high-profile chefs from the region including Maxime Collard, Pierre Résimont, and Benoit Neusy. Regardless of when you visit, the must-try foods include sugary Liégeoise waffles at Sandwicherie Pollux, on the Place de la Cathédrale, and the city’s traditional meal—meatballs with fries—at Café Lequet, near the river and the Cathédrale St.-Paul. —Jennifer Billock