Send Flowers to Charleroi, Belgium

Charleroi is the largest city in Wallonia, built on coal, steel and glass along the river Sambre, and it has spent recent years reinventing itself. The upper town, or Ville Haute, gathers around Place Charles II and the belfry of the town hall, above the lower town by the station and the quays. Around them spread the former industrial communes that now form the city: Marcinelle, Gilly, Jumet, Montignies-sur-Sambre, Couillet, Lodelinsart and Gosselies, where an aerospace and biotech park stands beside Brussels South Charleroi Airport.

Many families here descend from the Italian miners who arrived after the Second World War, and from Polish, Greek, Turkish and Moroccan workers. Their children and grandchildren abroad are frequent senders of flowers. The Bois du Cazier mine in Marcinelle, now a memorial and World Heritage site, is central to that story. People in Charleroi are known for warmth and plain speaking, and a generous bouquet with a personal card in French suits the place.

Flower delivery in Charleroi works on a next-day basis: order before midnight local time and a florist in the area brings the arrangement to the door the following day, Monday to Saturday, never on Sundays or public holidays. Most homes are brick terraced houses with a single bell, which keeps things simple, but the recipient's phone number is still required.

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