Béguinage de Tongeren and Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Béguinage de Tongeren

   Tongeren calls itself the oldest town in Belgium, and it has a Roman name, a Gallic hero and a weekly antiques market to back up the claim. Under the Romans it was Atuatuca Tungrorum, and in the main square stands a romantic nineteenth-century statue of Ambiorix, the chieftain who gave Julius Caesar a very bad winter. A few minutes' walk from all that pomp lies the béguinage, a quiet quarter of low brick houses, cobbled lanes and small gardens that once housed communities of beguines, religious women who lived a semi-independent life without taking the full vows of nuns.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Tongeren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Béguinage de Tongeren is where the day begins. Next is Sint-Leonarduskerk.

2. 2. Sint-Leonarduskerk

   The church of Saint Leonard rises over the little town of Zoutleeuw, in the fruit-growing country east of Leuven, and it is far grander than the size of the place suggests. In the Middle Ages the town, known in French as Léau, was a prosperous trading centre on a route between Brabant and Liège, and its burghers put their money into stone. Work on the church began in the thirteenth century and went on for generations, giving a late Gothic body with a tall tower, rich sculpture and a lofty, light interior with white walls and tall windows.

   Read the complete Sint-Leonarduskerk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Sint-Leonarduskerk comes up 36 km in. Next is Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.

3. 3. Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort

   Leuven is a university town through and through. Its university, founded in 1425, is the oldest in the Low Countries, and its students fill the streets, cafés and squares, giving the city a youthful energy. At its heart is the Grote Markt, dominated by two buildings: the Town Hall, a Gothic masterpiece covered in hundreds of statues, and opposite it, the Church of St Peter, a great Gothic church whose tower was never finished but which is part of the UNESCO-listed Belfries of Belgium and France.

   Read the complete Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   72 km in you reach Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort. Next is Maison & Atelier Horta.

4. 4. Maison & Atelier Horta

   From the street, the house at Rue Américaine in Saint-Gilles is pleasant but unassuming, a narrow town house of stone and iron among many others. Inside, it becomes something else entirely: a flowing space of curving wrought iron, stained glass, mosaic floors and woodwork that seems to grow like plant tendrils, all bathed in light from a glass roof over the stairwell. Victor Horta, one of the founders of Art Nouveau, built it as his home and studio between 1898 and 1901, and it is now a museum dedicated to his work. In 2000, it was listed by UNESCO together with three other Horta town houses in Brussels, including the Hôtel Tassel, often cited as the first true Art Nouveau building.

   Read the complete Maison & Atelier Horta write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Maison & Atelier Horta, about halfway. Next is Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison.

5. 5. Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison

   Aalst's Schepenhuis, the old aldermen's house on the Grote Markt, is reckoned to be the oldest surviving town hall in the Low Countries, its oldest parts going back to the thirteenth century, and its belfry, added later, carries the bells that once regulated the town's life. Together they are part of the UNESCO listing of the Belfries of Belgium and France. In front of them stands a statue of Dirk Martens, who set up one of the first printing presses in the Southern Netherlands here in the 1470s and later printed works by Erasmus and Thomas More.

   Read the complete Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison sits at 143 km, about halfway. Next is back through Maison & Atelier Horta.

6. 6. back through Maison & Atelier Horta

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Maison & Atelier Horta write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Maison & Atelier Horta comes up 179 km in. Next is back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.

7. 7. back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   215 km in you reach back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort. Next is back through Sint-Leonarduskerk.

8. 8. back through Sint-Leonarduskerk

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Sint-Leonarduskerk write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Sint-Leonarduskerk, late in the day. Next is Béguinage de Tongeren.

9. 9. Béguinage de Tongeren

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Béguinage de Tongeren write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 280 km.