| Liege is a major city and municipality in Belgium located in the Walloon province of Liège, of which it is the administrative capital. It is situated in the valley of the river Meuse (or Maas) near Belgium's eastern borders with the Netherlands and Germany, where the Meuse meets the Ourthe. It is in the former sillon industriel, the industrial backbone of Wallonia.
The Liège municipality includes the former communes of Angleur, Bressoux, Chênée, Glain, Grivegnée, Jupille-sur-Meuse, Rocourt, and Wandre.
The city is the principal economic and cultural centre of Wallonia. The agglomeration of the city, with a population of 476,000 inhabitants, to more than 600,000 inhabitants, depending on where one would put the boundaries, is the third largest in Belgium, after the agglomerations of Brussels and Antwerp. Liège is also the second most populous city in Wallonia after Charleroi.
As of January 1, 2006, the municipality of Liège has a total population of 187,086. The area of Liège has around 476,000 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are predominantly French-speakers.
The city is a major educational hub in Belgium. There are 42,000 students attending more than 24 schools. The university, founded in 1817, has 17,000 students.
The city is well-known for its very crowded folk festivals. The 15th of August festival ("Le 15 août") is maybe the best known. The population gathers in a quarter named Outre-Meuse with plenty of tiny pedestrian streets and old yards. Many people come to see the procession but also to drink alcohol and beer, eat cabbage, sausages or pancakes or simply enjoy the atmosphere until the early hours. The Saint Nicholas festival around the 6th of December is organized by and for the students of the University; for 24 hours, the students (wearing very dirty lab-coats) are allowed to beg for money for drinking.
Liège is renowned for its significant nightlife. Within the pedestrian zone, there is an area (a 100 m by 100 m square called Le Carré) with many lively pubs which are reputed to remain open until the last customer leaves (typically around 6 am). Another active area is the Place du Marché.
The city annually hosts a significant jazz festival Jazz à Liège.
In Spring Liège also hosts the Liège-Bastogne-Liège cycle race, the oldest of the classic cycle races. The circuit starts from the city of Liège, goes to the city of Bastogne and returns to finish in the Liège suburb of Ans. The second half contains most of the climbs in the race, such as the Stockeu, Haute-Levée, La Redoute, Saint-Nicolas and the Col de Forges.
Liège has active alternative cinemas, Le Churchill and Le Parc. There are also 2 mainstream cinemas, the Kinepolis multiplexes.
Liège also has a particular Walloon dialect, sometimes said to be one of Belgium's most distinctive. There is a large Italian community, and Italian can be heard in many places. Knowledge of other 'local' languages (German and Dutch) is usually rather poor, while English is more widely spoken.
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