MURRAY'Solin publici er, London, HANDBOOK FOR BELGIUM AND THE RHINE. WITH TRAVELLING MAP. он 416 .M98 LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. PARIS: GALIGNANI AND CO.; STASSIN AND XAVIER. 1852. NOTICE. ***This Volume is a part of 'Murray's Handbook for Travellers on the Continent printed separately for economy and the convenience of Travellers. CAUTION TO TRAVELLERS.-By a recent Act of Parliament the introduction into England of foreign pirated Editions of the works of British authors, in which the copyright subsists, is totally prohibited. Travellers will therefore bear in mind that even a single copy is contraband, and is liable to seizure at the English Custom-house. The CAUTION TO INNKEEPERS AND OTHERS.-The Editor of the Handbooks has learned from various quarters that a person or persons have of late been extorting money from innkeepers, tradespeople, artists, and others, on the Continent, under pretext of procuring recommendations and favourable notices of them and their establishments in the Handbooks for Travellers. Editor, therefore, thinks proper to warn all whom it may concern, that recommendations in the Handbooks are not to be obtained by purchase, and that the persons alluded to are not only unauthorised by him, but are totally unknown to him. All those, therefore, who put confidence in such promises, may rest assured that they will be defrauded of their money without attaining their object.-1843. ABBREVIATIONS, &c., USED IN THE HANDBOOK. The points of the Compass are marked simply by the letters N. S. E. W. (rt.) right, (1.) left. The right bank of a river is that which lies on the right hand of a person whose back is turned towards the source, or the quarter from which the current descends. m. mile; R, or Rte. Route; St. or Stat. Railway Station. The references to routes and pages not included in this volume apply to the complete work, 'Handbook for Travellers on the Continent, in North Germany, &c.,' 1852, : MONEY-CIRCULAR NOTES. THE safest, most economical, and most convenient mode of carrying money abroad to meet the expenses of a journey, is in the shape of circular notes, which may be obtained from Messrs. Herries, Farquhar, and Co.; Coutts and Co.; Sir Claude Scott, Bt., and Co., Cavendish Square; Messrs. Twining, in the Strand, near Temple Bar; and the other chief bankers in London to these may be added the Union Bank. These notes possess this great advantage over a common letter of credit, that the bearer may receive his money at many different places instead of one fixed spot alone. The traveller, having determined how much money he will require for his journey,* pays in that sum to the banker, and receives in exchange, without any charge, notes to the same amount, each of the value of 107. or upwards, together with a general letter of order, addressed by the house to its foreign agents, which, while it serves to identify the bearer, also gives him a claim to their good offices, in case he may need them. The letter is addressed to nearly 200 agents and correspondents in different parts of Europe, so that, wherever the traveller may be, he cannot be very far removed from his supplies. "The value of the notes is reduced into foreign money, at the current usance course of exchange on London, at the time and place of payment, subject to no deduction for commission, or to any other charge whatever, unless the payment be required in some particular coin which bears a premium. They are drawn to order, and the traveller will naturally, for his own security, not endorse them till he receives the money; besides which, such cheques are so concerted with the agents as to render a successful forgery of his name very difficult." Owing to the number of English who now go abroad, these circular letters can no longer be expected to serve as a private letter of introduction; but it is of no slight importance in many cases of difficulty to the stranger, in a strange place, to be able to produce a reference to some person of respectability; and the parties to whom these letters are addressed are usually ready to afford friendly advice and assistance to those who need it. "I have found English Bank-notes very convenient in Belgium and all parts of Germany. The exchange is somewhat lower than for Circular Notes, but the stamp-duty may be set against the difference.”—R. It is advisable to take a small supply of English gold to pay the expenses in the steamboat and on landing, as well as to guard against running short of money in places where circular notes cannot be cashed. English sovereigns bear a high premium all over Germany, and in shops and inns at all the large towns they ought to be taken at their full value. *It is difficult, if not impossible, to fix with any approach to exactness the average rate of expenses of a traveller abroad, as it depends so much on his own habits, and varies in different countries; but, unless the expenditure be very lavish, 25s. a day for each individual ought fully to cover all the outlay, even when travelling post. On a pedestrian excursion in remote situations, the expenses can hardly exceed from 5s. to 10s. per diem. The cost of living at foreign inns is insignificant compared with that of locomotion, and the latter will of course be proportionately increased when the traveller proceeds rapidly, making long days' journeys. The above calculation will be near the mark if he travel 70 or 80 English miles a-day; if he limit himself to 40 or 50, the expense will probably not exceed 20s. for each person. |