Liège, Belgium /

Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium.The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse River, 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. As of October 2011, Liège has 196,496 inhabitants. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of 1,879 km2 and has a total population of 749,110 as of 1 January 2008. This includes a total of 52 municipalities, a.o. Herstal and Seraing. Liège ranks as the third most populous city in Belgium, after Brussels and Antwerp, and the fourth municipality after Antwerp, Gent and Charleroi. (note that the size of the municipality can be relatively small compared to the real size of the agglomeration)