Why this ride
A 285 km round trip from Lier - roughly 4 h 47 in the saddle. It goes by way of Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort, Maison & Atelier Horta, Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison and Belfort. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Stadhuis en Belforttoren and Belfort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 285 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 47
- 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. Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Lier's Grote Markt is one of those squares that makes you slow down without being asked. In the middle stands an elegant eighteenth-century town hall in pale stone, and grafted onto its side is something much older: a slim Gothic belfry from the fourteenth century, its four corner turrets giving it the look of a castle chess piece. Together they belong to the group of Belgian and French belfries listed by UNESCO, symbols of the moment when medieval towns won their freedoms and built towers to prove it.
Read the complete Stadhuis en Belforttoren write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis en Belforttoren is where the day begins. Next is Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.
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 40 km into the recorded legs. Next is Maison & Atelier Horta.
3. 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
about 74 km into the recorded legs you reach Maison & Atelier Horta. Next is Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Belfort.
5. 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 sits at 143 km, about halfway. Next is back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison.
6. 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 comes up about 177 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Maison & Atelier Horta.
7. 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
about 212 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Maison & Atelier Horta. Next is back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort.
8. 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 Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
9. Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stadhuis en Belforttoren 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 285 km.
Leg by leg
Stadhuis en Belforttoren to Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort
Stadhuis en Belforttoren → Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort to Maison & Atelier Horta
Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort → Maison & Atelier Horta is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Maison & Atelier Horta to Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
Maison & Atelier Horta → Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison is 35 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 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Belfort to back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
Belfort → back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison to back through Maison & Atelier Horta
back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison → back through Maison & Atelier Horta is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Maison & Atelier Horta to back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort
back through Maison & Atelier Horta → back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort to Stadhuis en Belforttoren
back through Sint-Pieterskerk / Belfort → Stadhuis en Belforttoren is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.