Why this ride
From Kraainem it runs 283 km to Kraainem; allow about 4 h 22 of riding. It goes by way of Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison, Belfort, \Halletoren\ ou Belfort and Belfort en Stadhuis. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Stoclet House and Belfort en Stadhuis
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 283 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 22
- 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. Stoclet House
From the street, the Stoclet House on the Avenue de Tervueren looks like a mansion carved out of a block of white marble and trimmed with bronze, with a stepped tower crowned by four male figures and a dome of copper laurel. It was built between 1905 and 1911 for the Belgian banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet and designed by the Viennese architect Josef Hoffmann, with the artists and craftsmen of the Wiener Werkstätte creating everything from the furniture to the cutlery. Gustav Klimt designed the mosaic frieze in the dining room, one of his most famous works. The house was listed by UNESCO in 2009 as one of the most complete and refined works of the Vienna Secession.
Read the complete Stoclet House write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stoclet House 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 33 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 65 km into the recorded legs you reach Belfort. Next is \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
4. \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Tielt is a working town in the heart of West Flanders, a place of farmers' markets, textile history and flat roads, and its belfry rises above the market square like a stubborn finger pointing at the clouds. The Halletoren, the hall tower, stands on top of the old cloth hall, the building where merchants once inspected and traded woollen cloth, the source of Flanders' wealth in the Middle Ages. The belfry is one of the group of Belgian and French belfries that UNESCO listed together, symbols of the civic freedom that the cities of Flanders won from their lords, where the town charters were kept and the bells rang to call citizens to arms or to work.
Read the complete \Halletoren\ ou Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort, about halfway. Next is Belfort en Stadhuis.
5. Belfort en Stadhuis
British soldiers marching to the front in the First World War left Ypres by the road that led east towards Menen, and the gate they passed through became the Menin Gate, now a memorial bearing the names of more than fifty thousand soldiers with no known grave. Menen itself, about twenty kilometres from Ypres, sits right on the French border, on the river Leie, which the French call the Lys, and its town hall and belfry, standing on the market square, are part of the UNESCO listing of the belfries of Belgium and France. The belfry, like much of the town, was damaged in the war and rebuilt, and it remains the proud symbol of the town's civic history.
Read the complete Belfort en Stadhuis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Belfort en Stadhuis sits at 148 km, about halfway. Next is back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort.
6. back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete \Halletoren\ ou Belfort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort comes up about 177 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 216 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 Stoclet House.
9. Stoclet House
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Stoclet House 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 283 km.
Leg by leg
Stoclet House to Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison
Stoclet House → Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison is 33 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 \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Belfort → \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort to Belfort en Stadhuis
\Halletoren\ ou Belfort → Belfort en Stadhuis is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Belfort en Stadhuis to back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort
Belfort en Stadhuis → back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort to back through Belfort
back through \Halletoren\ ou Belfort → back through Belfort is 39 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 Stoclet House
back through Belfort en Schepenhuis / Beffroi et maison → Stoclet House is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.