In the rolling hills of the Flemish Ardennes, Oudenaarde is a lovable town on the River Scheldt that was famed until the 18th century for its high-quality tapestries. Even though the industry died off 300 years ago there are 15 supreme examples of this needlework at the Mou Museum in the 14th-century cloth hall. This …
The little town of Rochefort is wrapped in a loop in the Lomme River, under the eerie ruins of a Medieval castle. The region around Rochefort is the Famenne, where the limestone hills have been hollowed out by the Lomme and Lesse Rivers, creating labyrinthine cave systems. There’s one right on the edge of town, …
The capital of Belgium’s German-speaking community is on the margins of the High Fens, a plateau of raised peat bogs and moorland at the highest point in the country. Eupen’s character is still defined by a sheet and drapery industry that reached its apogee in the 18th century. The cityscape is endowed with lots of …
South of Brussels and just on the Flemish side of the boundary between Flanders and Wallonia, Halle is an endearing city around a white Gothic church. For a few short weeks around April people flock here when the Hallerbos forest is bedded with bluebells as far as the eye can see. You need to be …
Anchored on both banks of the Dyle River, Wavre is a small city in Walloon Brabant not far from the boundary with Flanders. In the 1970s Wavre was put on the tourist map with the opening of Walibi Belgium, an amusement park bursting with innovative rides, complete with a water park. Wavre is often known …
In 1486 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I made the little town of Chimay a principality, and declared that its first prince Charles I de Croÿ would have the same rank of any other in the empire. Even now, Chimay is known as the “cité princière” (princely city), and the 21st prince resides at the opulent …
This town in a deep wooded valley in the Ardennes has a story that begins with the foundation of an abbey in the 7th century. For more than a millennium up to the French Revolution Malmedy belonged to the Princely Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy, controlled by 77 successive prince-abbots. The abbey church eventually became a cathedral, …
On its meandering course through the Ardennes the Semois River has carved out some of the most iconic landscapes in Belgium. The views over the long loops at Bouillon, Frahan and Le Tombeau du Géant are timeless. For many centuries the peninsulas created by the river were ideal for defence, good news for a city …
The people of Lier are often called Schapekoppen (sheep heads), which is a 14th-century insult turned into a point of pride. The story goes that at the start of the 14th century John II, Duke of Brabant wanted to thank Lier for its help in his fight against the City of Mechelen. He gave Lier’s …
In the Early Modern Age if you were a visitor to Huy, a city on the rugged banks of the Meuse, you would be pointed to the city’s four wonders, “Les Quatre Merveilles”. These have their original Walloon names, and include the intact fountain on Grand-Place (Li Bassinia), the rose window at the Notre-Dame de …