Why this ride
269 km from Brussels to Brussels, about 4 h 20 of riding. On the way it passes Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison, Belfort, Béguinage de Dendermonde and Petit Béguinage de Gent. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hôtel Solvay and Petit Béguinage de Gent
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 269 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 20
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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. Hôtel Solvay
Brussels is a city you ride into rather than through, and Avenue Louise is one of its grand approaches. The Hôtel Solvay stands on it, number 224, a townhouse that the architect Victor Horta designed in the 1890s for the industrialist Armand Solvay, whose family fortune came from soda production. Horta was in his early thirties when he started working on houses like this, and he was one of the founders of Art Nouveau. Here he gave everything a whiplash curve: the iron balcony, the stair rail, the stained glass, even the door handles. Several of his town houses are now on the UNESCO list together.
Read the complete Hôtel Solvay write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hôtel Solvay is where the day begins. Next is Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison.
2. 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 comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Belfort.
3. 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
about 63 km into the recorded legs you reach Belfort. Next is Béguinage de Dendermonde.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Petit Béguinage de Gent.
5. Petit Béguinage de Gent
Push open a gate off a busy Ghent street and the noise drops away. The Klein Begijnhof, the Small Béguinage, is a walled enclave of whitewashed and brick houses with stepped gables around a green courtyard and a Baroque church. Béguines were lay women who lived in community, devoted to prayer and work but without taking permanent vows, and this béguinage was founded in the thirteenth century. Most of the present buildings date from the seventeenth century. Together with other Flemish béguinages, it is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and it remains one of the calmest places in the city.
Read the complete Petit Béguinage de Gent write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Petit Béguinage de Gent sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Béguinage de Dendermonde.
6. back through 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
back through Béguinage de Dendermonde comes up about 165 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Belfort.
7. back through Belfort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
about 201 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Belfort. Next is back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison.
8. back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison, late in the day. Next is Hôtel Solvay.
9. Hôtel Solvay
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hôtel Solvay 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 269 km.
Leg by leg
Hôtel Solvay to Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
Hôtel Solvay → Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison to Belfort
Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison → Belfort is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Belfort to Béguinage de Dendermonde
Belfort → Béguinage de Dendermonde is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Béguinage de Dendermonde to Petit Béguinage de Gent
Béguinage de Dendermonde → Petit Béguinage de Gent is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Petit Béguinage de Gent to back through Béguinage de Dendermonde
Petit Béguinage de Gent → back through Béguinage de Dendermonde is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Béguinage de Dendermonde to back through Belfort
back through Béguinage de Dendermonde → back through Belfort is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Belfort to back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
back through Belfort → back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison to Hôtel Solvay
back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison → Hôtel Solvay is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.