{"id":2831,"date":"2026-01-08T11:20:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cmi-2i2a.univ-avignon.fr\/?p=2831"},"modified":"2026-01-08T11:20:57","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:20:57","slug":"my-erasmus-experience-part-2-cultural-stuff-to-know-about-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cmi-2i2a.univ-avignon.fr\/index.php\/2026\/01\/08\/my-erasmus-experience-part-2-cultural-stuff-to-know-about-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"MY ERASMUS EXPERIENCE, PART 2 : CULTURAL STUFF TO KNOW ABOUT BELGIUM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello everyone ! For this second article on this blog about my Erasmus experience in Mons (Belgium), I will explain you the cultural specificities beyond obvious facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yes but..<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately I will start by maybe disappointing someone: Belgium isn’t drastically different from France, so you won’t experience a massive cultural shock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, while French people immediately think of Stromae or Ang\u00e8le when thinking about Belgian celebrities, in reality these artists aren’t necessarily highlighted by Belgians. Their Spotify playlists are quite identical to ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point that struck me the most, and which I find frustrating, is the feeling of cultural invasion from France. Just look at the medias: French channels like TF1, France 2 and France 3 are on the TV among the top ten channels, by the way Belgians channels even sometimes broadcast french emissions, also there is a large part of french content in social medias.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The asymmetry in general knowledge is particularly revealing. For example, any Belgian would know political or general news from France, and most people could place a medium-sized city like N\u00eemes on a map without major errors. On the contrary, the average French knows quite nothing about Belgian political news (do you personally know Bart De Wever or Georges-Louis Bouchez or even Philippe 1er ?) and would struggle to locate cities like Charleroi or Namur correctly on the map.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feeling of a one-way cultural exchange is, in my opinion, deeply unfair. While this is simply my personal hot take, I perceive it as a somewhat cultural complaisance towards this dominant external influence, and it makes me wonder about the health of national identity among french-speaking Belgians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What you can do in Mons<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion, Mons is one of the best city to preserve and dynamize its local culture throughout the year, contrasting with Avignon which concentrate all its culture into a three-weeks overcrowded summer theater festival and a papal palace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Mons, there are all these major cultural events (non exhaustive !):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

End of September:<\/strong> les F\u00eates de wallonie. a very great party during a week, with concerts and spectacles.
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Mid-October:<\/strong> la Nuit des mus\u00e9es. all the museum of the city are highlighted and we are encouraged to visit them that night, which was very pleasant for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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November:<\/strong> A carnival that lasts for a month, it’s nice to go once. There’s a thrill ride, stuffed animals, and food (the churros are expensive but tasty).
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December:<\/strong> Mons Coeur en neige. It looks like just a standard Christmas market, but it will take place soon (as I write this in November).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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End of January:<\/strong> les F\u00eates des Lumi\u00e8res. Honestly compare it with the same event in Lyon, it’s look cute, and it will happen just at the end of my Erasmus semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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End of March:<\/strong> la Coupe du Mons (yes it sounds like the World Cup) is a well-known week of amusement for the UMons’ students, organising a friendly football competition in which student associations are involved.
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May 31th \/ June 1st:<\/strong> la Ducasse et le Doudou de Mons. This is undoubtedly the most famous event in Mons, it’s a huge manifestation which takes its roots into Mons history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

La vid\u00e9o de la mont\u00e9e du car d’or avec la ducasse<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

La vid\u00e9o du combat contre le doudou<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What you can do in Brussels<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Let’s be direct, Brussels is a continent-scale metropolis, you can find pretty much everything you could imagine there. There is a plenty of nationalities cause to the immigration and the European Union’s employees.
It’s cheap and quick to go there from Mons, so go ahead, but don’t romanticize it too much please.
Just for a little secret, the city is famously associated with the Smurfs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cultural and linguist regions (spoiler: it’s complicated)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, don’t ask me to try the belgian accent, I absolutely can’t.
What we generally refer to as the Belgian accent is actually mostly the Li\u00e9geois accent, but anyone speaking with any accent is first assumed weirdly to be from Li\u00e8ge. However younger generations tend to have a less pronounced accent, because of the Internet and that french cultural exposure again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some tips for mastering the characteristics of Belgian French :<\/p>\n\n\n\n