Liege, Belgium - An old industrial centre in a former coal-mining area, Liege is giving itself a bit of a face-lift these days. Its new Grand Curtius museum complex opens on March 6, and it plans to inaugurate an ultramodern train station this summer.

The first special exhibition at the Grand Curtius, from March 22 to June 28, will be dedicated to Belgian surrealist painter Paul Delvaux (1897-1994). Apart from female nudes, a favourite motif of his, fittingly enough, was trains and train stations.

After 15 years of planning and construction, the 50-million-euro (64 million dollars), 5,000-square-metre Grand Curtius puts the collections of five museums, namely Liege's arms, archaeology, glass, decorative arts, and religious and Mosan art museums under a single roof.

"Visitors can take a trip back in time - from early history to the beginning of the 20th century," said Albert Lemeunier, curator of the Museum of Religious and Mosan Art.

The Grand Curtius is housed in the 17th century Curtius Palace, an imposing, rust-red building on the Meuse River that was both home and office to Jean de Corte, named Curtius, a rich arms merchant.

Liege's new train station, under construction for eight years in the city's Guillemin district, is an airy, tent-like structure of steel and glass designed by star Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Its 39 steel arcs, which vault dynamically across the platforms and tracks, support a monumental glass roof weighing 1,700 tons and covering 32,000 square metres. The arcs were erected without interrupting rail traffic.

"In the space of 24 hours, 520 trains arrive at the new main train station," remarked Martine Doutreleau, spokesperson for Euro-Liege TGV, developer of the Liege-Guillemins station.

"Train stations are like calling cards. They convey to travellers the first and also the last formative impression of a city."

The Grand Curtius museum complex and new Liege-Guillemins station are testimony to the ongoing revival of Liege, whose history spans nearly 150 years. Visitors can take in some of that history simply by climbing the Montagne de Bueren, a steep stairway, with 374 steps, leading to the Citadel.

The top of the stairway looks out on a sea of grey roofs and narrow, winding streets. St Paul's Cathedral, a Gothic structure dating from the 10th century, stands out among modern department stores.

"Sometimes students from the nearby secondary school have physical education here," related Leon Hoffer, a Liege tour guide, referring to the stairway. "Running up and down a couple of times without stopping keeps students and teachers fit."

Old and cultured but ever on the go, Liege is especially lively in summer. Then the pubs and cafes are buzzing in the historical city centre, on the Place de la Cathedrale and on the terraces in front of the town hall on the Place du Marche.

Internet: www. liege. be, www. destinationsdelvaux. be. (dpa)