Culture
The city is well known for its very crowded folk festivals. The 15 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 6 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 behind the Opera House, there is a square city block known locally as Le Carré in English "the Square" 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 "Batte" market is where most locals visit on Sundays. The outdoor market goes along the Meuse River and also attracts many visitors to Liège. The market typically runs from early morning to 2 o'clock in the afternoon every Sunday year long. Produce, clothing, and snack vendors are the main concentration of the market.
Liège is home to the Opéra Royal de Wallonie (English: Royal Opera of Wallonia) and the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (OPRL) (English: Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra).
The city annually hosts a significant jazz festival Jazz à Liège.
Liège has active alternative cinemas, Le Churchill, Le Parc and Le Sauvenière. 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.
Read more about this topic: Liege
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