Tournai is one of the oldest towns in Belgium, and it does not shout about it. Sitting on the Scheldt, which the French-speaking locals call the Escaut, it was a Roman settlement, then the first capital of the Franks: Childeric I, father of Clovis, was buried here, and when his tomb was found in 1653 it yielded gold, jewels and hundreds of golden bees that later inspired Napoleon's imperial emblem. The belfry on the Grand-Place was begun in the late twelfth century and is considered the oldest in the country. Climb its two hundred and fifty-odd steps and you look down on a town of grey stone and slate, and straight across at the five towers of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, a Romanesque and Gothic giant listed by UNESCO in its own right.
The Grand-Place itself is a fine, slightly lopsided triangle, lined with cafés and old guild houses, where fountains spring from the pavement on summer days and children run through them. Down by the river, the Pont des Trous, a medieval bridge with defensive towers, was rebuilt with a higher arch a few years ago to let larger barges pass, after a long and heated local debate.
Tournai has been fought over endlessly: by the French, the English under Henry VIII, the Habsburgs and the armies of both world wars. That turbulent past has left a town with a bit of everything, from Romanesque houses to Art Nouveau facades.
On the bike, the area rewards patience more than speed. The countryside of Hainaut is gently rolling, with farms, small villages and roads that wander between them. South of town, the Pays des Collines around Ellezelles and Flobecq is the hilliest corner of the region, with lanes climbing short, steep ridges and offering long views; it is cycling country, so expect to share. Cobbles are frequent in old village centres, slick when wet. Belgium also has a dense network of speed cameras and average-speed zones, and limits change often, so stay alert.
Tournai has fuel and everything else. Eat a plate of local carbonnade or try the town's speciality, lapin à la tournaisienne, rabbit cooked with prunes and beer. Sit on the Grand-Place with a Trappist from nearby Chimay or one of the many local brews, and listen to the belfry bells mark the hours.