Beneath the fields south-east of Mons lies a honeycomb of shafts and galleries dug by Neolithic farmers more than six thousand years ago. They were after flint, the essential raw material for axes and tools, and they dug shafts up to fifteen metres deep through the chalk to reach the best seams, using antler picks and stone hammers. The mines at Spiennes, covering more than a hundred hectares, are the largest and earliest in north-western Europe, and they were inscribed by UNESCO in 2000. An interpretation centre allows visitors to descend into one of the shafts, and on the surface the ground is still scattered with flint flakes.
Mons itself, the capital of Hainaut, is an old town with a Gothic collegiate church, a Baroque belfry, also a World Heritage Site, and a lively main square. Its festival, the Doudou, held every year on Trinity Sunday, re-enacts the fight between Saint George and the dragon in a wild, crowded spectacle that is also listed by UNESCO. Mons saw the first battle between British and German forces in August 1914, and the last day of the war in November 1918, when Canadian troops liberated the town. The surrounding Borinage was a coal-mining region, where the young Vincent van Gogh lived and worked as a preacher before turning to art.
The riding around Mons is mixed: the area is flat and densely populated, with busy roads, industrial areas and towns, but the countryside to the south, towards the French border, offers quieter roads through farmland and forests. Watch out for cobblestones in the towns and villages, which can be slippery when wet. The roads are generally good, and traffic is moderate outside rush hour.
Mons is a city of ninety thousand people, so petrol, food and beds are easy, and the Grand-Place is ringed with terraces where Belgian beers come in their proper glasses alongside frites and carbonnade, beef stewed in dark beer. Touch the little bronze monkey on the town hall facade with your left hand, the locals say, and good luck will follow. The interpretation centre at Spiennes opens on a limited schedule, so check before planning the descent into the shaft, and wear proper shoes rather than riding boots for the ladders.