Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto and Béguinage de Dendermonde

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto

   Tongeren likes to remind you that it is the oldest town in Belgium, and it has a strong claim. The Romans founded a settlement here, Atuatuca Tungrorum, on the road between Cologne and Bavay, and the remains of its walls can still be seen around the town. Before that, the area was home to the Eburones, a Celtic tribe whose chieftain Ambiorix famously ambushed and destroyed a Roman legion in 54 BC. His statue, a heroic nineteenth-century figure with a winged helmet and a magnificent moustache, stands in the main square, the Grote Markt.

   Read the complete Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto is where the day begins. Next is Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.

2. 2. 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

   Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort comes up about 76 km into the recorded legs. Next is Béguinage de Dendermonde.

3. 3. 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

   about 135 km into the recorded legs you reach Béguinage de Dendermonde. Next is back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.

4. 4. 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

   back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort, late in the day. Next is Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto.

5. 5. Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Onze-Lieve-Lievevrouwebasiliek met Stadsto. That is the ride.