Béguinage de Dendermonde and Belfort

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Béguinage de Dendermonde

   Push open the gate of the Dendermonde béguinage and the traffic noise of the ring road simply drops away. Inside is a quiet triangle of grass, whitewashed houses with green shutters and a modest church, where for centuries communities of beguines lived. These were laywomen who chose a shared religious life without taking permanent vows, earning their keep with lacework, nursing and teaching. The béguinage is one of thirteen in Flanders listed together by UNESCO, and it is among the most intimate of them.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Dendermonde write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Béguinage de Dendermonde is where the day begins. Next is Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent.

2. 2. Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent

   The Great Béguinage of Sint-Amandsberg looks like a small walled town of its own, tucked into a residential suburb just east of the centre of Ghent. When the city expanded in the 1870s and the old béguinage of St Elisabeth was in the way, the beguines, lay religious women who lived in community without taking permanent vows, moved here to a new complex of neo-Gothic houses, convents and a church, all laid out around streets, squares and gardens behind a wall and gate. The move was funded by the Duke of Arenberg, and the whole place was finished in just a few years. It is one of the thirteen Flemish Béguinages on the UNESCO list since 1998, and although the beguines are gone, the houses are still lived in, and the atmosphere is calm and quiet.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent comes up 28 km in. Next is Stadhuis met Belfort.

3. 3. Stadhuis met Belfort

   Eeklo is the capital of the Meetjesland, the flat, green region of East Flanders between Ghent and Bruges, close to the Dutch border, and its town hall with a belfry, the Stadhuis met Belfort, stands on the market square as the symbol of the town. It is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO, a group of civic towers that embodied the freedom and power of the medieval towns of Flanders. Eeklo's belfry is modest compared with those of Bruges and Ghent, but it has its own charm, rising above a town that most visitors pass through without stopping.

   Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   56 km in you reach Stadhuis met Belfort. Next is Belfort.

4. 4. Belfort

   Ghent has three towers standing in a row, and the middle one is the belfry, rising over the old centre between St Bavo's Cathedral and St Nicholas' Church. Begun in the fourteenth century, it was the town's watchtower, bell tower and strongroom, where the charters granting the city its privileges were locked away. On its spire sits a gilded dragon, the city's mascot, keeping an eye on things. The belfry, with the cloth hall attached to its base, is part of the UNESCO list of belfries of Belgium and France, and you can climb it, partly by lift, for one of the best views over the rooftops, canals and spires.

   Read the complete Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Belfort, about halfway. Next is back through Stadhuis met Belfort.

5. 5. back through Stadhuis met Belfort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Stadhuis met Belfort 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 Belfort sits at 111 km, about halfway. Next is back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent.

6. 6. back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Béguinage de Sint-Amandsberg / Gent comes up 139 km in. Next is Béguinage de Dendermonde.

7. 7. Béguinage de Dendermonde

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Dendermonde write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Béguinage de Dendermonde closes the day.