Thuin sits on a rocky spur above the Sambre, and from the river it looks like a town that climbed a hill to keep its feet dry. At the top stands the belfry, a tall square tower with an onion-shaped spire that was originally the bell tower of a collegiate church and survived when the church itself did not. Since 1999 it has been part of the UNESCO listing of belfries of Belgium and France, a reminder that towns in this region measured their freedom in bells, towers and charters.
Below the old upper town, terraced gardens cling to the slopes in tiers, held up by stone walls and linked by steep paths and stairways. The jardins suspendus, or hanging gardens, are a local pride, and the view from them across the valley is worth the climb in bike boots. Down by the water, Thuin has a long tradition of river boatmen, the bateliers, and a few old barges and the memory of that trade remain along the Sambre.
The riding around Thuin is better than you might expect for Wallonia's industrial fringe. The Sambre valley roads bend with the river, passing locks, wooded slopes and small brick villages, while to the south the land begins to rise into the Botte du Hainaut, the boot-shaped finger of Belgium that pokes into France around Chimay. Head that way for quieter lanes, forests and good flowing curves. Surfaces vary, and cobbles appear in town centres and on some steep streets in Thuin itself, which can be slippery when wet.
Thuin is a proper small town with fuel, shops and a choice of brasseries. Nearby Lobbes has an ancient collegiate church of Saint Ursmer with Carolingian roots, and the romantic ruins of the Abbey of Aulne lie a few kilometres down the valley, a beautiful place to stop in the evening light. Chimay, further south, is famous for its Trappist beer and cheese.
Local food leans hearty: try a Walloon dish of boulets in sauce, or something with the region's beer in it. Visit in spring when the gardens are waking up, or in autumn when the woods turn gold along the river. Climb up to the belfry, look out over the valley, and enjoy one of Belgium's more surprising viewpoints.