Beffroi de Namur and Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Beffroi de Namur

   The belfry of Namur is a stout, round tower with a bulbous slate roof, not at all the slender Gothic spire people imagine when they hear the word. It started life in the fourteenth century as part of the town walls, the Tour Saint-Jacques, and later became the belfry, holding the bell that rang the hours and the curfew. It is one of the many towers in the World Heritage Site of the Belfries of Belgium and France.

   Read the complete Beffroi de Namur write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Beffroi de Namur is where the day begins. Next is Stadhuis met Toren.

2. 2. Stadhuis met Toren

   Sint-Truiden's Grote Markt is one of the largest market squares in Belgium, and at its centre stands the town hall with its belfry, a tower that has watched over the town since the Middle Ages and been rebuilt and remodelled several times. The belfry, with its carillon, is part of the UNESCO listing of the Belfries of Belgium and France, inscribed in 1999 to honour these civic towers that symbolised the freedom and wealth of the medieval towns. Climb it if you can, and you will see the whole of the Haspengouw region spread out around you, a gently rolling landscape of orchards and fields.

   Read the complete Stadhuis met Toren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Stadhuis met Toren comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal.

3. 3. Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal

   Rik Van Looy, one of the great Belgian cyclists of the 1950s and 1960s, was known as the Emperor of Herentals, which tells you something about the priorities of this town in the Kempen. Herentals lies on the flat heathland of the province of Antwerp, and in the middle of its market square stands the old town hall, built in the fourteenth century as a cloth hall, a lakenhal, when the town grew rich on wool and weaving. Its belfry is part of the UNESCO listing of belfries of Belgium and France, a symbol of civic pride and of the freedoms that merchants bought from their lords.

   Read the complete Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 125 km into the recorded legs you reach Voormalig Stadhuis / Lakenhal. Next is back through Stadhuis met Toren.

4. 4. back through Stadhuis met Toren

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Stadhuis met Toren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Stadhuis met Toren, late in the day. Next is Beffroi de Namur.

5. 5. Beffroi de Namur

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Beffroi de Namur write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Beffroi de Namur. That is the ride.