The Touristram - a spin through Liège.

The other day while we were out walking the Touristram rolled by, reminding me that I'd planned to make an entry about it.  Tchantches and I decided to "value test" the Touristram for you the following evening, and fortunately we were just in time to catch the last one of the day.  We each forked over 5 Euro, piled on-board, and away we went...

A few things to note about the Touristram:

---Though several interesting places in Liège can be seen while on the tram, many receive no mention in the commentary, and for those sights discussed in the commentary very little history is given.
---The tram is not a "hop on, hop off" affair.  We'd like to suggest to the City of Liège that if this were changed, it would instantly make the Touristram a better value for tourists.  This way if they found the brief descriptions offered on-board intriguing, they could always get off the tram and explore a sight.
---Announcements are not in English, only in French followed by Dutch.
---Announcements are not always well timed - you may have rolled passed the site being commented on already, or not have yet arrived at it when the announcements tell you where it is and what it is you are supposed to be seeing.
---Whenever something is "directly in front of the tram", you cannot see it, because the roof of the tram (which is mostly wood with only a tiny sunroof) blocks the view.  One realizes once inside the tram that they are not the best vehicle for sightseeing... more windows and less wood would be ideal.
---Be warned if you don't have much posterior cushioning of your own... it's a bumpy ride.

---The music played on the tram while moving between sights varies from traditional classical to booming and moody Wagner.

---Note that if the local traffic is cooperative, the ride will be a good half-hour shorter than the 1 and a quarter hours advertised as the length of the tour.  Our general sentiment at the end of the ride was "That's it?"

We did learn a thing or two about Liège that we hadn't known previously, but we'd say that at $5 a pop, you might as well get a map or guide-book, and walk or bike about visiting the sites that interest you most in Liège.  It's not that the Touristram couldn't be good (with a few changes made,) it's just that right now, it isn't a great value.

Adults = 5 Euro
65 and up = 4.5 Euro
4-12 yrs = 3.5 Euro
0-4 yrs = Free
(There is supposed to be a discounted fare for those in possession of the Liège City Pass, but when we asked the Touristram driver/ticket-vendor about this, he knew nothing of it...)

The Touristram departs from Place Saint-Lambert (pictured above) Tuesday through Sunday at:
12 noon, 1:30pm, 3pm, 4:30pm.