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BelgiumBelgium is known for its beer, and Friday through Sunday you can indulge in a wide choice of its brews during the annual Belgian Beer Weekend on Brussels’ Grand-Place. More than 40 breweries will serve well-known brands as well as new and exotic recipes.

The event kicks off Friday with the brewers’ opening ceremonies, after which the stands are open to the public from 6-10 p.m. They will open again from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.

A parade of historical brewery carts and beer wagons makes its way through the city at 1 p.m. Saturday and finishes an hour later at the Grand-Place.

The event is free. Find details at www.weekenddelabiere.be.

FranceLille’s annual La Braderie flea market this weekend claims to be the largest of its kind in Europe, with 62 miles of stalls, 10,000 exhibitors, 33 hours of nonstop shopping and 500 tons of mussels — the traditional meal — eaten.

The market has roots in medieval times. Today it attracts sellers from all over Europe, selling antiques to junk.

Cars are banned from city streets for the event, so you can browse safely from 2 p.m. Saturday until 11 p.m. Sunday (the city metro will run the entire 33 hours of the market).

A weekend Pass’ Braderie lets you use any form of public transportation for 4.70 euros. A one-day Pass’ Journée costs 4 euros.

For more details on the market, go to www.lilletourism.com/info-3-96-0-gb.html .

GermanyTrier’s 1,800-year-old amphitheater is the backdrop for fierce battles and exciting horseback performances between the Greek hero Hercules and the all-female army of the Amazons, a highlight of the annual Bread and Circuses Roman Festival, which runs Friday through Sunday.

The festival gets under way at 10 a.m. on Saturday, when legionnaires march from the city’s Roman gate of Porta Nigra to the imperial baths. Starting at 11 a.m., life in Trier turns back 2,000 years. Re-enactments of a Roman camp and Roman village, a parade ground with military demonstrations, gladiator fights and a tavern with Roman food and drinks all set the atmosphere until about 7 p.m.

At 9 p.m., sound and light fill the baths’ catacombs to create the mythical world of the Amazons. An exhibit in the courtyard of the Rhineland Museum looks at the world of Roman craftsmanship.

Tickets for the program in the imperial baths cost 8 euros for adults and 7 euros for children. Tickets for the performances of “Hercules and the Queen of the Amazons” run 16 euros to 22.50 euros for adults and 11 euros to 16 euros for children. Family prices also are available. Additional performances are scheduled for Sept. 10.For the full festival schedule, go to www.brotundspiele2011.de, which has an English-language option.

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