Send parcel to Belgium

Rue de la Loi or Wetstraat? How to write a Belgian address

It depends on where the recipient lives. Belgium has three official languages, and geography keeps them neatly apart: in Flanders, to the north, people speak Dutch, in Wallonia, to the south, French, and a small community in the east speaks German. Brussels is officially bilingual and every street has two names, Rue de la Loi and Wetstraat are the same road. On the label one of the two forms is enough, the one the recipient uses. Cities change name from one language to the next as well: Antwerp is Antwerpen in Dutch and Anvers in French, Liège is Luik in Dutch, Ghent is Gent in Dutch and Gand in French. The postcode has four digits and goes before the city, the house number comes after the street, and in buildings with several units "bus" in Flanders or "bte" in Wallonia marks the flat. Two examples: "Jan Janssens, Meir 12 bus 4, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium, tel. +32 ..." and "Jean Dupont, Rue de la Loi 16 bte 3, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium, tel. +32 ...". The English form of the city name, such as "Antwerp" or "Ghent", is best left off: Belgian couriers do not use it, and on a label it is just one more step.

Why are there so many Italians in Belgium?

Because in 1946 Italy and Belgium signed an agreement that swapped labour for coal: tens of thousands of Italians left for the mines of Charleroi, Liège, La Louvière and Flemish Limburg, and their children and grandchildren stayed. Today people of Italian origin in Belgium number in the hundreds of thousands, and Wallonia has whole neighbourhoods where the most common surname ends in a vowel. To this historic community Brussels has added its own, where the European institutions, the diplomatic missions and the law firms have drawn a generation of Italian graduates, so much so that Italian is among the most widely spoken languages in the capital. The parcels follow this geography: from parents in Puglia or Sicily go oil, preserves, taralli and Christmas and Easter cakes to Charleroi and Genk, while books, clothes, documents and everything you forget at home when you move for work travel to Brussels. As it all stays inside the European Union, even food travels without customs formalities.

How long does delivery to Belgium take?

3 to 4 working days from collection in Italy, one of the shortest transit times of any destination abroad. The parcel travels by road through Switzerland or Germany and arrives in one of the densest and best-connected countries in Europe: from Brussels every corner of Belgium is two motorway hours away, and the couriers' distribution network revolves around the big logistics hubs of Antwerp, Liège and the capital. Antwerp has the second-largest port in Europe, Liège one of the main cargo airports on the continent, and that infrastructure means deliveries in the provinces, in the Ardennes or on the Flemish coast are no slower than in the city. Anyone ordering with Europacco sees the price when placing the order and gets collection from their door anywhere in Italy. For bigger shipments, from house moves to shop supplies, there is also a dedicated page for pallets to Belgium.

Chocolate, fashion, pharma: what do Belgian companies buy from Italy?

A small country with a highly specialised industry, and in every sector there is an Italian supplier. The chocolatiers and breweries, Belgium's image around the world, buy packaging machines, dosing units and labellers from manufacturers in Emilia and Lombardy. Antwerp has been a fashion capital since the Antwerp Six, and its designers and boutiques work with Italian fabrics, leather and accessories, while the diamond district takes in precision tools and equipment. Wallonia is home to one of the largest pharmaceutical and biotech clusters in Europe, which orders components, laboratory materials and spare parts. Then the restaurant trade: Brussels has one of the highest densities of Italian restaurants outside Italy, and from there come recurring orders for pasta, flour, cured meats, cheese and wine. And the design shops and galleries of the capital, which furnish the expats' apartments with Italian furniture and lighting.

Saint-Nicolas on 6 December: the Christmas that comes early

In Belgium children get presents twice, and the first time is the one that matters: on the night of 5 to 6 December Saint-Nicolas, or Sinterklaas in Flanders, comes by and leaves sweets and toys in the shoes by the door. Anyone sending a present to nephews, nieces or friends' children in Belgium should therefore aim for the first days of December, not the 24th. The other dates that bring the country to a halt are 21 July, the national holiday, 15 August, 1 and 11 November, and Whit Monday. In summer many firms, especially in construction and industry, close for collective holidays between mid-July and early August, and a parcel addressed to a company in those weeks may sit in a warehouse. The weather, on the other hand, is not an issue: it rains often, but Belgian couriers are used to it, and a water-resistant outer packaging is all it takes.