Direction Belgium, in one of the most beautiful river valleys of Europe which remains however little known. The Meuse valley crosses Wallonia from south to north, then from west to east. In its first part, these landscapes are still wild that the river has eroded into steep cliffs. Then, the valley bears witness to the region's industrial past. You can discover everything thanks to the RAVeL (Autonomous Network of Slow Ways), a set of paths that Wallonia reserves for pedestrians and cyclists. Along the Meuse, these are mainly towpaths and some old refurbished railways. We can thus follow the course of the Meuse from the French border at Givet, to the Netherlands border on the Maastricht side.
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An exceptional heritage
Passage through the village of Anseremme . WBT / Christine Masuy
The Meuse enters Belgium through the south of the country, at the gates of the Ardennes. Once you leave Givet , you follow the river on its left bank through the town of Hastière . In a corner of greenery, you can first see the Saint-Pierre abbey, then, coming out of a meander, the castle of Waulsort . In this village, there is always a ferryman, who draws his tray along a cable by force of arms. This public service has been provided since 1871 to enable residents to cross from one bank to the other.
The limestone cliffs in front of the castle of Freÿr. Christine Masuy
Stay on the left bank to cross one of the most spectacular parts of the valley, with its high limestone cliffs. The place is one of the favorite spots for mountaineers in the flat country. It is in this grandiose setting that the castle of Freÿr , listed as an exceptional heritage of Wallonia, appears . You then approach Anseremme , then you see the Rocher Bayard which marks the entrance to Dinant .
Postcard tunes
The collegiate church and the citadel of Dinant. WBT / Anibal Trejo
Enclosed in the valley, Dinant looks like a postcard. The city is very popular with tourists. He comes from all over the world because this is where Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the ... saxophone, was born. Dinant is also the last Mosan town to have a cable car. From the top of the citadel, the view of the valley will allow you to appreciate the path traveled upstream ... and the one you still have to discover by following the river. At the exit of Dinant, on the right bank, nestles the discreet Leffe Abbey . Its silhouette is familiar thanks to the beer logo of the same name, even if it is not brewed there. A little further, you are not dreaming, there are a few hectares of vineyards on the hillside. It has been fifteen years since vineyards have come to life in the region.
Here the valley is wider, but it remains steep. At the top of a rocky spur, there are the ruins of an old medieval castle: Poilvache . On the other bank, we visit the Gardens of Annevoie and their water games. You then pass Godinne and its pretty Mosan villas, then Profondeville whose name presages the relief. The Meuse meanders and will take you to Wépion , a village renowned for its strawberry crops. In season, there is a fragrance that does not deceive gourmands.
Change of direction
Namur with the citadel of Vauban built at the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse. Simon Schmitt / Unusual Wallonia
Half a dozen kilometers further, here we are in Namur . Dominated by the citadel of Vauban built at the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse, Namur is the capital of Wallonia. Its institutions are installed on both sides of the river. On the left bank the Parliament , opposite the Presidency nicknamed "the Élysette". Namur is a charming little town, largely pedestrian. From there, the course of the Meuse leaves its south-north axis to take you from west to east. The river then separates Hesbaye from Condroz .
This change of course is accompanied by a change of landscape. You can sense it as soon as you leave Namur, on the road to Andenne , when you see a shipyard and quarries. Because soon, we will leave the province of Namur for that of Liège and its coal basin. Victor Hugo described this metamorphosis of the landscape during a trip to the region in the summer of 1840: "After Andenne, the mountains spread, the valley becomes plain, the Meuse goes away from the road through the meadows . The landscape is still beautiful, but we can see the factory chimney a little too often, this sad obelisk of our industrial civilization… ”
Steel and crystal works
In Huy, the collegiate church and the fort. FT Province of Liège
Before starting the more industrial part of the journey, we stop in another fortified Mosan city: Huy . The name inevitably rings in the ears of cycling enthusiasts ... The Mur de Huy is one of the passes for classic cyclists. With a drop of 128 meters for a length of 1.3 km, it's practically a 10% slope. In its toughest section, it's even 26%! Rest assured, the Mur de Huy is not on your route. You continue to follow the Meuse and, as Hugo had noticed, it then gets lost in the countryside. You make a foray into the villages of Ramioul and Ivoz-Ramet before reaching Seraing , country of Cockerill and the steel industry. This is also where the Val Saint Lambert crystal factory is located . Just a few more pedal strokes and Liège is waiting for you.
Located at the tip of the port of yachts in Liège, the Diver and his bow (1939) is the work of the Romanian sculptor Idel Ianchelevici. Eric Martin / Le Figaro
You cross the Parc de la Boverie , walk along the recent Tour des Finances - the tallest building in Wallonia, and you are in the heart of the Burning City. With its lively districts at all hours of the day and night, Liège deserves its nickname. On leaving the city, your route continues on the RAVeL of the Meuse and the Albert Canal - the canal that connects Liège to the port of Antwerp and the North Sea. Your journey is coming to an end. You cross Visé , the last Walloon city, before arriving at the lock keeper complex of Lanaye , located on the border between Belgium and the Netherlands. Maastricht is about ten kilometers away, but it's another journey ...
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The “Meuse by bike”, practical information
In Profondeville, on the RAVeL between Dinant and Namur. WBT / Bruno D'Alimonte
DIFFICULTY
The full route allows you to follow the Meuse through Wallonia for 147 km . Most of the journey is traced on its own site, away from traffic. Most often these are towpaths. These paths are flat, and their coating generally smooth. The route is therefore suitable for cyclists of all levels and all ages. It is accompanied by specific signage "Meuse by bicycle". This is particularly useful when it comes to crossing from one bank to another or crossing a city.
PREPARATION
On the RAVeL website, the route is divided into 5 stages, so as to cover between 24 and 40 km per day. For each stage, the site provides you with the route explained, a GPS / GPX map, a series of practical information (where to stay, where to eat) as well as other possible bike rides in the area.
TOURISM
If you want to complete the cycling route with more tourist visits, visit visitwallonia.be, the Walloon tourism promotion site.
MORE
This route along the Meuse through Wallonia is part of the EuroVelo 19 route. This route follows the Meuse from its source in Pouilly-en-Bassigny, on the Langres plateau in France, to its mouth in the sea from the North, near Rotterdam in the Netherlands. On its Belgian portion, the route is mainly on its own site, in the immediate vicinity of the river. We find a fairly similar configuration in the French Ardennes with the Trans-Ardennes greenway, a cycle path that follows the Meuse on the old towpath between Sedan, Charleville-Mézières and Givet. But progress is not everywhere as peaceful. Upstream, there are even places where the course of the river is underground.
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