Tienen means sugar to most Belgians. The town in the east of Flemish Brabant has been the home of Belgium's largest sugar refinery since the nineteenth century, and the smell of sugar beet being processed hangs over the town in autumn during the campaign, when trucks loaded with beets roll in from the surrounding fields. The Sint-Germanuskerk, the church of Saint Germanus, with its massive tower serving as the town's belfry, stands near the huge Grote Markt, one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and it is part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France. The tower, a mix of Romanesque and Gothic, has a carillon whose bells ring out over the town.
The museum Het Toreke, in a former prison on the square, tells the history of the town and the region, from the Romans to the sugar industry. Tienen also has a beautiful Gothic church, the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-ten-Poelkerk, and a number of old houses and gardens.
The landscape around Tienen is known as Haspengouw, or Hesbaye, a gently rolling plateau of fertile loess soil, with fields of sugar beet, wheat and potatoes, orchards of apples, pears and cherries, and small villages. In spring, when the orchards are in blossom, the area is especially beautiful. The riding is relaxed, with quiet roads winding through the countryside, little traffic and gentle hills, but the wind can be strong on the open plateau. Some village roads are cobbled.
Tienen has fuel, shops, cafés and restaurants, and the Grote Markt is lined with terraces. Hoegaarden, about five kilometres away, is the home of the famous white beer, a cloudy wheat beer flavoured with coriander and orange peel, revived in the 1960s after the last local brewery had closed, and now known worldwide. Leuven, about twenty kilometres west, is a lively university town with a spectacular Gothic town hall and the largest beer-brewing company in the world. Local food includes Luikse wafels, Liège waffles with caramelised sugar, and stews made with local beer.