Why this ride
From Diest it runs 243 km to Diest; allow about 3 h 19 of riding. It goes by way of Stoclet House, Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi and back through Stoclet House.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Béguinage de Diest and Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 243 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 19
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Béguinage de Diest
Diest has one of the largest béguinages in Flanders, a walled town within the town, with its own streets, gates, church and some ninety houses. The béguines were laywomen who lived a religious life without taking permanent vows, earning their own living and sharing a community, and their béguinages flourished in the Low Countries from the thirteenth century onward. The Flemish béguinages are listed together by UNESCO. In Diest, the béguinage has been restored with care, and its cobbled streets, whitewashed houses and quiet gardens feel worlds away from the traffic outside.
Read the complete Béguinage de Diest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Béguinage de Diest is where the day begins. Next is Stoclet House.
2. Stoclet House
From the street, the Stoclet House on the Avenue de Tervueren looks like a mansion carved out of a block of white marble and trimmed with bronze, with a stepped tower crowned by four male figures and a dome of copper laurel. It was built between 1905 and 1911 for the Belgian banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet and designed by the Viennese architect Josef Hoffmann, with the artists and craftsmen of the Wiener Werkstätte creating everything from the furniture to the cutlery. Gustav Klimt designed the mosaic frieze in the dining room, one of his most famous works. The house was listed by UNESCO in 2009 as one of the most complete and refined works of the Vienna Secession.
Read the complete Stoclet House write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stoclet House comes up 65 km in. Next is Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi.
3. Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi
Charleroi has a reputation, unfairly earned or not, as one of the grittiest cities in Belgium, and its belfry is a fine reason to look again. Rising from the town hall on the Place Charles II, the belfry was built in the 1930s in an elegant Art Deco style, replacing an older tower, and it is one of the belfries of Belgium and France listed by UNESCO. Its slender shape, topped with a dome and carillon, is a symbol of the city's pride and resilience, and inside, the town hall has a sumptuous Art Deco interior.
Read the complete Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
129 km in you reach Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi. Next is back through Stoclet House.
4. back through Stoclet House
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stoclet House write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Stoclet House, late in the day. Next is Béguinage de Diest.
5. Béguinage de Diest
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Béguinage de Diest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Béguinage de Diest. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Béguinage de Diest to Stoclet House
Béguinage de Diest → Stoclet House is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stoclet House to Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi
Stoclet House → Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi to back through Stoclet House
Beffroi de l'Hôtel de Ville de Charleroi → back through Stoclet House is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stoclet House to Béguinage de Diest
back through Stoclet House → Béguinage de Diest is 65 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.