What Language Should I Focus On For Travel Though Belgium?
I am curious; I know Belgium has three official languages, Dutch, French, and German. For travel across Belgium, going to places such as Brussels, Antwerp, Liege, and Bastogne, would I need to be able to speak all three languages, or could I get by on one of the languages mentioned above? If possible I would like to try to get by on French or Dutch, or perhaps a little of both, but then I might get them confused with each other. The other language I would be using other than French, Dutch, or a bit of both would be English, my native language. Of course, anyone may comment on this and offer advice, but I would especially like to hear from people who live in Belgium as to what their opinions are. Thank you!

Question

Answer

I just moved here last month. I am just outside of Brussels (10 minute walk). I've noticed that most people in Brussels speak French. Especially the foreigners, they have almost never been able to speak Dutch well.

Another thing that's hard for me is understanding their accent because it's different than the Dutch from Holland.

Answer

I stick to English when in Belgium, unless I know for sure Dutch or French is expected. Not sure how it is these days, but 2-30 years ago I've been in situations where I felt ignored by French speakers when speaking Dutch, and vice versa.

Answer

Hi! I'm an American living in Belgium (Liege). Let me tell you first that each region of Belgium is monolingual (except Brussels and the German region) so in Wallonia they do not speak Dutch and in Flanders they rarely speak French. I would say focus on French because you're more likely to meet Walloons who don't speak English than Flemings. The Flemish are very well versed in English usually and you can go to any of those cities and get by in English. You could survive in Liege and Bastogne in English too but they really appreciate it here if you try a bit of French (where my experience in Flanders is that they just go to English immediately even if you speak some Dutch). In Brussels most people speak French but you can get by on English. Hope that helped!

Answer

Hey! I live in Belgium. The country is divided into regions in each of them is one language more dominant then others. Flanders (where Antwerp, Gent, Brugge are) is Dutch-speaking. Most Dutch-speaking people can also good English. Walonia (where Liege and Bastogne are) is French-speaking and they are normally not wishing to speak any other language. Brussel is a capital, so it kinda doesn't belong to Flanders, or to Walonia, and normally in public places they speak English, Dutch, French, but sometimes I find myself in situations when people don't understand English and Dutch there. 
In Flanders people have general knowledge of German but it is not widely spoken. It is spoken in German community closer to the border with Germany :)

Hope it helps!