Transfer from Brussels Airport to Charleroi

transfers2airports.com offers the best rates for low cost airport taxi transfers from Charleroi Airport to any direction.

Charleroi is a city that gives home to a little more than 200,000 inhabitants. Located in the Walloon region, the population is basically French-speaking. The metropolitan area withthe outer commuter zone has a population around 525,000, so the city is the 5th most populous in Belgium after Brussels, Antwerp, Liège and Ghent. The inhabitants are called Carolorégiens or simply Carolos.

The municipality of Charleroi lies in both banks of the river Sambre in an area once was important and famed for its industrial activities (coal mining and steel industry), which has had the nickname of Pays Noir ("Black Country"), belonging to the larger sillon industriel. Despite the fact that most of the factories have closed since the 1950s, the landscape is still dotted with refuse heaps and old industrial buildings.

Charleroi lies around 50 kilometres south of Brussels.

Origins

The Charleroi area was already settled in the prehistoric era, with finds indicating metallurgical and commercial activities along the Sambre. Under the rule of the Roman Empire, many public buildings, temples and villas were built in this area. Archeological excavations found burial places with jewels and weapons. The first documentary record of a place called Charnoy dates from a 9th-century offering in the Lobbes abbey, which lists various neighbouring towns and related tithe duties. During Medieval times, Charnoy was a small hamlet like many others in the area, with about only 50 inhabitants, belonging to the County of Namur.

Foundation

The history of Charleroi as a city began in 1666. In the spring of that same year, Francisco Castel Rodrigo, Governor of the Netherlands at the service of five-year-old Charles II of Spain, expropriated the area from the local lords to build a fortress near the Sambre. In September of 1666, the governor changed the name of Charnoy to that of the newly founded city of Charles-Roy (King Charles), so named in honor of Charles II. The chronogram FVNDATVR CAROLOREGIVM (MLCDVVVI) can be found in the register of the parish of Charnoy for the year 1666. Next year, Louis XIV’s French armies, under the command of the Vicomte de Turenne, laid siege to the yet unfinished fortress. Then Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban perfected the fortification work; the city-to-be was granted its privileges; a bridge was built over the river, and free land was distributed to the inhabitants.

Air Transport

The Brussels South Charleroi Airport in Gosselies, 7 km north of the center, opened in 1919 as a flight school. Afterwards, it was converted to the building of the Fairey aircraft-factory. Gosselies is now an alternate airport for Brussels. Low-cost carrier Ryanair is the largest airline to provide service there; others include Wizz Air, Jetairfly and, in the summer only, On Air. Seasonal holiday charters also fly from/to the airport.

A new terminal opened in January 2008, in need of more capacity replacing building.

Transfers2airports.com offers the best rates for low cost airport taxi transfers from Charleroi Airport to any direction. Upon arrival at the airport, your driver will wait for you at the meeting point (the meeting point is always specified in your airport transfer voucher). If you need a taxi or airport transfer from Charleroi Airports to any nerby cities (Brussels, etc.), your driver will inform you about the exact pick up time at least 24 hours before the transfer.

Brussels is 47 km (19 mi) north of Charleroi Airport.

Main sights

The belfry is on the list of World Heritage Sites.

The Maison Dorée was built in 1899 by the Art Nouveau architect Alfred Frère. Its name is derived from the goldengraffiti that adorn the façade.

The city gives home to many museums of fine art, glass and others, and there is a significant one showing artistic pieces of photography, in the Mont-sur-Marchienne district.