Get arty, get speedy, get cultural, Be Zen. Experience something new. Go ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. Live your life and do something you’ve never done before in Wallonia!
Experience Gardens
Annevoie Water Gardens – water water everywhere
In the wooded hills above the River Meuse between Namur and Dinant, sits Annevoie Gardens, one of Wallonia’s treasures. Ponds, lakes, jets and waterfalls - the soothing sounds of the varied water gardens offers visitors instant joy for the senses. French, English and Italian garden styles are all visible thanks to the eminent man Charles-Alexis de Montpellier who owned the estate in the 1770’s.
Taking place each year in May or June, Annevoie’s Venetian Costume Carnival is a must when over 100 people in full glittering carnival costume prance, dance and stroll through the gardens jumping out theatrically from behind trees and water features.
Experience Art
La Boverie Liège – arty party
Belgium’s latest fine arts museum in Liège is an iconic cultural site in Liege and a piece of lasting heritage from the world fair of 1905. It regularly works in partnership with the Louvre in Paris with exceptional rotating exhibitions on view but also houses an impressive collection of masters including works by Van Gogh, Van Dongen, Monet and Adrien de Witte.
Overlooking the River Meuse, and located in a beautiful park, the Boverie the city’s impressive collection of fine arts and exhibitions attract visitors from all over the world..
Experience Speed
Stavelot Abbey & its Spa Francorchamps Track - poetry and speed
Come and discover Stavelot Abbey and its site, listed as major heritage of Wallonia, and witness the fascinating history of one of the oldest monastic foundations in Belgium. The ancient site juxtaposes beautifully with the world’s most beautiful racing circuit and is home to the Circuit Museum with an array of impressive racing cars adorning the vaults and cellars of the abbey from a Mercedes Silver Arrow to a Bugatti type 35. The ancient abbey and its cellars make a first-class case for these mechanical jewels.
Experience Wellbeing
Thermes de Spa – water and wellbeing from the home of Spa
The town of Spa, from which spa resorts all over the world took their name, is located in the Walloon province of Liège, in the heart of the lush forests of the Ardennes.
Though record suggest the therapeutic waters of Spa stretch back to Roman times and then in a fashionable way with Europe’s great and good over a century ago, its main watery attraction is thoroughly modern. Thermes de Spa is spectacularly designed in glass and wood by one of Belgium’s foremost architects. Facilities include two large heated circular indoor and outdoor swimming pools with hydro massage jets, each heated to a blissful 32C. There’s also an array of Hammams, Jacuzzis, relaxation rooms and an infrared lamp area. Treatments range from bathing in bubbly water in brightly polished copper tubs to soaking in glorious mud baths containing rich peat taken from the High Fens that overlook this stunning resort.
Experience Nature
The ‘Haute Fagnes’ (High Fens) – where the wild things are
It’s boggy, peaty, windy and wild in the ‘Haute Fagnes’ region surrounding Spa, Malmedy, Eupen and Monschau (in Germany) and covers an area of 30,000 hectares, including the forest of Hertogenwald, with four artificial lakes and a nature reserve. Guides from the Nature Centre of Botranges lead discovery tours to show walkers what Wallonia’s ‘Wild Place’ is all about. Due to its altitude, its cold winter and its unique year-round climate, the natural reserve offers a uniquely rich landscape for flora and fauna enthusiasts. The superb wild landscapes also offer perfect conditions for cross country skiing. Skiing in Belgium? Who’d have known!