Why this ride
69 km from Antwerpen to Antwerpen, about 1 h 47 of riding. It goes by way of Stadhuis en Belforttoren, Flemish Béguinages and back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Stadhuis and Flemish Béguinages
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 69 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 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
Antwerp's Stadhuis faces the Grote Markt with all the confidence of a city that once ran the world's busiest port. It was built between 1561 and 1565 to a design by Cornelis Floris de Vriendt, a Renaissance palace with a long, symmetrical front, tiers of columns and a central tower topped by statues. Four hundred and more years later it still serves as the city hall, and its gilded flags, carved reliefs and rows of tall windows catch the evening light beautifully.
Read the complete Stadhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stadhuis is where the day begins. Next is Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
2. 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 comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Flemish Béguinages.
3. Flemish Béguinages
In the thirteenth century, a remarkable movement spread across the Low Countries. Women, often unmarried or widowed, chose to live together in communities devoted to prayer and work, without taking the permanent vows of nuns, keeping their property and the freedom to leave. They were called béguines, and their walled settlements, the béguinages, became towns within towns. The Groot Begijnhof of Mechelen, the great béguinage, is one of thirteen in Flanders listed by UNESCO, and at its height it housed well over a thousand women, making it one of the largest communities of its kind.
Read the complete Flemish Béguinages write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 33 km into the recorded legs you reach Flemish Béguinages. Next is back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren.
4. back through 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
back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren, late in the day. Next is Stadhuis.
5. Stadhuis
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stadhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Stadhuis. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Stadhuis to Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Stadhuis → Stadhuis en Belforttoren is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stadhuis en Belforttoren to Flemish Béguinages
Stadhuis en Belforttoren → Flemish Béguinages is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Flemish Béguinages to back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren
Flemish Béguinages → back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren to Stadhuis
back through Stadhuis en Belforttoren → Stadhuis is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.