5 Times off the beaten track in Belgium

Belgium is more than Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent. Wherever we go, our travel philosophy remains the same: to take our time to discover less obvious places. This also applies to Tom’s home country, Belgium. Hence, we present five lesser-known, off the beaten track places in Flanders, Belgium, one per province.

1/ De Haan (West Flanders)

Some people claim that the Belgian coast is a 65-kilometre-long wall of concrete. Although there are certainly less aesthetically pleasing seaside resorts (Blankenberge! Middelkerke!), you will not catch us making such sweeping generalisations. At the Belgian coast, you can explore a lot of nature, endless dunes and coastal villages that have managed to preserve their charm. De Haan (literally: The Rooster) belongs in the latter category. The green neighbourhood in the dunes, the so-called ‘Concession’, is a gem full of winding streets and whitewashed villas. The rigorous building requirement – not higher than eleven metres, no terraced houses, more green than grey – ensured that the otherwise typical high-rise buildings are entirely absent here.

In 1933, Albert Einstein lived for six months in a house in Shakespearelaan. On his way home from a visit to the USA as a visiting professor, he was informed that the Nazis, newly in power, had raided his residence in Germany. He promptly sent his letter of resignation to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. The befriended Belgian royal family arranged accommodation in De Haan, where Einstein arrived with nine suitcases via the coastal tram from Ostend. Two gendarmes guarded him permanently. Even when, after his usual long afternoon walk through De Haan, he invariably ended up at his regular table on the terrace of the Hotel Belle Vue, where he drank coffee and ate raisin bread.

Eating and drinking in De Haan

Sip beer with the locals in De Zeeduif (‘the sea pigeon’), a working-class pub with a laundry list of Belgian beers on the menu, curiosities on the walls and a billiard table in a back room. A laid-back atmosphere, coastal beer and vegetarian food welcome you to the surf club Surfing Elephant, in the next village Wenduine.

How to get to De Haan by public transport

By train to Ostend or Blankenberge. From there, take the coastal tram, the longest tram line in the world, to De Haan. The historic tram stop, built in the typical Anglo-Norman Belle Epoque architecture of the coast, houses the local tourist office.

2/ Ronse (East Flanders)

In the hilly Flemish Ardennes, we could just as easily opt for Geraardsbergen or Oudenaarde, but Ronse inspires just a little more. “If the Flemish Ardennes were a cake, Ronse would be the cherry on the top, the indispensable ingredient that gives just that little bit of extra”, according to the local tourist office. Ronse – or Renaix in French – is a municipality with language facilities. Surrounded on three sides by Wallonia, its inhabitants switch with ease between Flemish and French. Since the decline of the textile industry, Ronse has been a fairly poor city. The hipsters from Ghent who recently washed up here, keen on cheap houses, seem to want to change that.

But it is mainly the proximity of nature that solidifies Ronse’s spot on this list. The so-called testimonial hills of the region, formed after the last ice age, form the annual backdrop for the Tour of Flanders and regularly feature in the World Championships of cycling. Within walking distance of Ronse looms the pretty Muziekbos. That name literally translates as the music forest, although it has nothing to do with notes and everything with the Celtic word for swamp, Muz. Bluebells bloom in spring, the ‘blue socks’ that attract many people, but that shouldn’t stop you from visiting this relief-rich beech forest in other seasons.

Eating and drinking in Ronse

Old-fashioned tiles hang on the outside walls of no-frills Eetcafé de Vrijheid (‘the freedom’). Inside of this cosy pub/eatery, you can sink into old school chairs and ‘taste the freedom’. On the opposite side of the street, the Saint Martin’s Church has been transformed into a “foodie temple” De Passage. Tsk, hipsters!

How to get to Ronse by public transport

Direct trains to and from Ghent every hour.

3/ Lier (Antwerp)

Many Belgian cities have a beguinage, but we think the one in Lier is the most beautiful. At its peak, at the beginning of the 18^th century, about 300 beguines lived in these 92 houses. Beguines were religious women who made no vows to God. The last one, Sister Agnes, moved to a retirement home in 1984. Even today, it is pleasant enough to wander through the maze of cobblestone alleys, such as the aptly named Hemdsmouwken (‘shirt sleeve‘), the narrowest street in Lier. Note the curious locks on the doors, a kind of funnel. Despite its nickname, drunkard’s locks, these weren’t designed to guide boozers to their beds – beguines were not exactly known as party animals – but to help the inhabitants find the hole in the pitch dark streets.

At the end of Martienushoek hides Piepenholleke, a bar that is not on Google Maps* and that opens its door only once a month. This is the clubhouse of the Gilde Heren van Lier, a men’s club that mainly meets to drink ‘caves’, a local sour beer they brew themselves. Pewter cups hang over the counter – each member owns one. Although the bartender whispered to us that they are more decorative these days. “We don’t drink from them anymore, because those cups give every beer a tin flavour. Now they are only dusted once a year.” Sit down next to the stove and listen to the philosophical bar wisdom of the regulars, such as this gem: “When I drink caves in the evening, die van ons [literally: those of us, slang for my wife] complains that my mouth stinks.”

*Recently it is, because every secret spot on earth has to be made public. Shame!

Must visit in Lier

We already gave a bar tip, but you should also pass the Zimmer tower, an exploit of the local astronomer and watchmaker Louis Zimmer. Including one of the slowest moving mechanical hands in the world, making one revolution every 25,800 years. And I thought Anete was slow.

How to get to Lier by public transport

There are eight trains per hour from Antwerp to Lier and the journey takes only 15 minutes.

4/ Oetingen (Flemish Brabant)

It is sometimes surprising how quickly you can get from Brussels, the capital of Europe, into the greenery. One moment you find yourself in the middle of pleasant chaos, between Turkish men from eastern Anatolia, with flat caps and cigarettes between their lips, amidst dingy shops selling vegetables and telephone cards for calls to Mozambique. The next, just a few kilometres away, there is nothing but peace. You have exchanged the urban jungle for green fields and cobbled villages of three streets. The only thing that reminds you of the proximity of Belgium’s largest city is the hum of the highway somewhere in the distance, or a plane flying over on its way to or from Zaventem.

It does not matter in which direction you leave Brussels. The entire belt around it turns green. To the west stretch the gently rolling hills of the Pajottenland. From Oetingen, a village the size of an apron, church roads and forest paths take you to the magisterial Neigembos. Technically just over the border with East Flanders, Neigembos is nevertheless regarded as part of Pajottenland. This is quite literally off the beaten track in Belgium. Along the way, you will see rural Flanders at its most characteristic. The Maria chapels, the farm roads lined with pollard willows, the old bathtub in the corner of the cow pasture. Lyrical souls call Pajottenland ‘the Tuscany of the Low Countries’, where Bruegel found inspiration for his rural postcards of people at work or party. The Fleming at his most archetypical.

Eating and drinking in Oetingen

Magic is in the air in this part of Flemish Brabant. Quite literally. The local way of brewing beer uses wild yeasts from the air. With a little sense of exaggeration, gueuze – lambic that is re-fermented on the bottle – is called Brussels champagne. The traditional local beers, in addition to gueuze and lambic also kriek and faro, can be tasted in ‘t Vijfde Wiel (the fifth wheel) in Oetingen. Pennants and cups of local football tournaments adorn the wall of this typical village pub.

How to get to Oetingen by public transport

Not as straightforward as the rest of the destinations on this list. Perhaps the easiest is to take the train towards Ninove (once an hour direct from Brussels, but much more often with a change in Denderleeuw). From there, take bus 162 to Oetingen (at least once an hour).

5/ Tongeren (Limburg)

Everyone in Flanders knows that Tongeren is the oldest city in the country, although there is still some debate about this in academic circles. Here, Lemmy from Motörhead Ambiorix graces the main square. Belgian folk hero in retrospect. As the leader of the Eburones, a tribe that lived somewhere “between Meuse and Rhine”, he defeated one-and-a-half Roman legion and thus elicited the following words from Julius Caesar himself: “Horum onium fortissimi sunt Belgae.” The bravest of the Gauls are the Belgians. BAM!

Tongeren, or Atuatuca, became an important city in Roman times. Tumuli and old Roman roads such as the Via Belgica are still proof of this. But again, the countryside is the real reason to come here. Haspengouw is the fruit region of Belgium. In the spring the blossoms colour the landscape, in September ripe apples and pears roll in front of your feet. In this landscape of orchards, holloways, streams and hedgerows, of hawthorn hedges, old tram lines and boardwalks, silence reigns, broken once an hour by the bell of the nearest village church.

Eating and drinking in Tongeren

Next to the Moerenpoort, the only remaining medieval gateway, ‘t Poorthuys serves many local beers, such as Hesbaye. The yellow walls are covered with old portraits of high school students.

How to get to Tongeren by public transport

Regular direct connections with Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Hasselt, Leuven, Liège and Maastricht.