At exactly the same time as Hong Kong was kicking up its heels to celebrate Valentine's Day and the arrival of the Year of the Tiger, the inhabitants of Binche in Belgium were going carnival crazy.
Strolling drummers, fancy dress parades, fireworks and a free-for-all orange fight characterise this 600-year-old celebration that lasts for three days. Never mind that Unesco has proclaimed it a 'masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity' - it's simply tremendous fun, as the thousands of visitors who flock to the Binche Carnival every year will testify.
This is just one of the scores of attractions which lie either side of the border running between Belgium and Luxembourg.
Public transport is efficient. However, a well-developed road network and a more relaxed attitude to passport control ensure that visitors with a hire car can zip between one country and the other with consummate ease.
North of Luxembourg City, it's no good pretending that Vianden is off the beaten track. In the valley of the River Oure, and overlooked by a perfectly restored medieval castle, the village is incredibly picturesque. Pavement cafes line the steep narrow main street, a specially scheduled bus service makes a one-hour tour around the local sights, and a chairlift makes the trip up to the castle a breeze.
Vianden, with a population of just 1,600 is incredibly popular, but understandably so.
To the north, on the other side of the border, the Belgian city of Namur holds a different sort of attraction. A fantastic array of Gothic religious treasure is on display at Tresor du Prieured'Oignies, there's a permanent tribute to the 19th century erotic artist Felicien Rops near his old home, and a hill-top amusement park that's fun for all the family. There's also a good dose of nightlife too, with cafes and bars set beside cobbled streets and tree-lined avenues, some with live bands, others simply serving up beer and conversation, and a riverside casino that only closes just before dawn.
