Nastasia & Kyle's Wedding
Things To Do/Choses à Faire
Tourist Center
The tourism website is a great resource to start looking for things to see and do in Namur!
Shopping and Drinking
Namur is the capital of Wallonia and is the region's economic hub and has a festive university community. It also boasts a rich history and is easily accessible on foot. The Old Town is the best place to visit, with its old buildings, narrow cobblestone streets, and cute cafés and boutiques. A 15-minute walk from the hotel, it is a great place for some shopping and getting good beers and food. Look for the area around Saint-Loup church to wander around the little boutiques and quirky places. If you prefer a bit more mainstream shopping (like H&M and Zara), head towards the following streets: Rue de Fer, Rue de L’Ange, and Rue des Brasseurs. Tip: Flat/comfy shoes are recommended for the cobblestone streets of Old Town.
Citadelle de Namur
The 300+ year-old citadel that towers over the city is its most iconic sight. You can learn all about its history at the Terra Nova visitor center. This is likely where we'll welcome those traveling on Friday night. If you want to enjoy the views and walk up to the top, it is completely free. If you would like to see some of the exhibitions that are shown within the citadel or visit the underground network of tunnels within, there is an entrance fee of 15€. The tour takes around 1-4 hours to complete depending on your interests. Getting to the citadel: 15 min walk from Mercure Hotel or cable car (4.5€ one-way or 6€ return). For Friday night, Belgians will take those unable to walk up with their cars. If you would like to take the cable car, we advise you to take it up one way, and then walk calmly down at the end of the night (or in a car provided).
Where to eat and drink in Namur
Namur has a number of great small cafés and brasseries (breweries with local food) that are within a short walking distance from the hotel. If you're interested in a café, some local friends recommend Arsène Café and Chez Juliette. Rue des Brasseurs is a nice street with many other cafés as well. If brasseries are more your thing, Barnabeer has a wide variety of Belgian beers and Brasserie Belgo-Belge and Brasserie François are known for their food. Around August, Namur is known for its organic strawberries from Wépion, its small grey snails ("les petits gris"), and Biétrumés (small caramel and hazelnut chocolates). You can also have other Belgian staples, including "boulets liégeois" (meatballs in a sweet brown beer sauce), frites (fries), steak-frites-salade, moules (mussels), and, of course, hundreds of Belgian beers!
Museums
There are a few museums located in town, which you can find via the link here.
Small Boat Rides
We'll likely organize a boat tour for those on Friday, but these small boats leave across the river from the hotel and can give you a quick tour of the city for those who'd like! They leave every 20-30 minutes.
Kayak, canoe, paddleboats, and "beach"
Namur is situated right on the Meuse River with several places to do some watersports. The link below has the most options and is close to the hotel. Across the river from our hotel, there is also The Flow, a beach-like area on the river where one can play baci ball, canoe, kayak, paddle board, and have drinks on the riverside. Website: https://theflowevent.be/fr
Hotel Mercure Casino
The Mercure Hotel has a casino. A poker tournament will take place during our stay. Free vouchers will be provided for guests, courtesy of the Mercure Hotel.
Sights and Mussels in Dinant
We highly recommend a nice half day in Dinant before arriving in Namur: A small but breathtaking town further south on the Meuse River, with a massive early 19th century citadel overlooking the valley. You can take the stairs or a cable car up to the top of the citadel for stunning views of dramatic cliffs over the water and a museum of the citadel's history. Dinant is also a picturesque kayaking destination, where you can paddle 10 or 20 km down the Lesse River to see the imposing Walzin Castle and some small rapids. Dinant also has the Leffe Abbey (now a hotel where you can also stay overnight), the Adolphe Saxe (inventor of the saxophone) museum, and, if you're hungry, you can get get some of the best mussels around at "Chez Bouboule, le Roi des Moules"!
Stunning Caves in Han-sur-Lesse
Located a 45 minute drive from Namur, Han-sur-Lesse is a small town most famous for its underground cave complex know as the Grottes de Han-sur-Lesse. The visit includes light shows and a boat ride within the cave. The town also has a small tramway system to take you around well-known nature park where you can see a variety of animals native to the area, including a lot of deer!
Durbuy: The Picturesque Smallest Belgian Town
The smallest town in Belgium, Durbuy is just under an hour drive from Namur and is nestled amid Belgium's rolling hills and mountains. Its winding cobblestone streets are jam-packed with cute cafes and stores if you're looking the perfect small-town Belgium feel. It's also a well-known tourist destination so you should still be able to get away without knowing any French!
Treat Yourself in Spa
Spa is known for its Formula 1 racetrack and its thermal baths. Check out the famous Thermal Resort if you’d like to relax before or after the wedding! For a more luxurious stay, check out the 5 star Manoir de Lébioles (https://www.manoirdelebioles.com/en/) with its spa resort, castle hotel, and gourmet restaurant. Plus, there are beautiful castles in the surrounding area!
Maredsous Abbey
One of the only six Trappist breweries in Belgium, we can't recommend coming here more highly if you have the time! Trappist beers are brewed by Trappist monks under specific conditions and Maredsous is one of our favorites. While you can get Maredsous outside of the abbey, there's no place better than at the source itself. They have a great patio area and you can even take a tour of the abbey itself or walk around the beautiful grounds. There is an extensive cafeteria with delicious food. According to Nastasia, the Maredsous cheese alone is reason enough to visit this abbey!
Castle Fort Ruins of Montaigle
These are the ruins of a medieval castle dating back to the 900s. While not as built up as other renovated or maintained castles nearby, the ruin is a sight upon itself with plenty of information provided by the museum to immerse yourself in the rich history of the location before walking among the ruins.
Vêves Castle
As much of a fairytale castle as you can hope to see outside of Disneyworld! Vêves Castle is a beautiful, very well preserved castle that is open to tours, with a great museum on castle life inside. Located a 30-minute drive from Namur.
Bouillon Castle
The spitting image of what you think a 1,000 year-old medieval castle should look like, Bouillon Castle is one of Belgium's most beautiful medieval castles, located in the Ardennes about an hour's drive from Namur. The castle is very well maintained and has a lot of immersive touches, including medieval reenactments and bird of prey shows. Godefroy de Bouillon is most famous for having participated in the first Crusade.
Villers-la-Ville abbey
Visit the magnificent ruins of a sweeping Cistercian abbey where you can admire the haunting, natural beauty of gothic architecture intertwined with wild greenery.
The Belgian Ardennes
The Ardennes are the southeast, mountainous region of Belgium situated over an hour from Namur, but it is definitely worth the time if you're into hiking and WWII history. The region is home to the site of the Battle of the Bulge near Bastogne (filmed in Band of Brothers for those who watch) and has great hiking trails with historic castles, water features, and stunning views. You can find the Bastogne War Museum here: https://www.bastognewarmuseum.be with parts of a glider flown by Nastasia's great uncle!
Liège
Liege is the economic center of the region and is known for its architecture, fun-loving people, and as being the home of its famous style of waffles and meatballs. The city is only about a 45-minute drive east of Namur. Trains leaving from Liege connect to Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, and France.
Flanders: Ghent, Brugges, Antwerpen
The north half of Belgium, the Flanders, is home to the beautiful gilded cities of Brugges, Ghent, and Antwerpen. You can fit Brugges and Ghent into one long day from Brussels, even if you opt to take the train!
Waterloo
Visit the site that inspired Abba's hit song and, we've hear, was home to some kind of historic event before that... The Waterloo battleground can be overlooked from a monument built at the top of a hill at its center. There's a massive museum describing the rise and fall of Napoleon and detailing the fateful events of the Battle of Waterloo, including a 3-D 20-minute film.
Brussels
The capital of Europe has a bit of everything for everyone and you'll be passing right by it if you're flying in and out of the country. Its gilded Grand Place was voted multiple times most beautiful square in Europe, it is home to the main European institutions, and is worth the stop. There's too much to list here, including plenty of museums, cathedrals, historic sites, eclectic bars and cafe's, and cultural activities to keep you busy for more than a few days! The city's tourism website is here: www.visit.brussels/en/
France
Paris is only a three and a half hour drive from Namur and Brussels and the sights of Normandy, including the American D-day beaches and cemetaries, and the picturesque Mont Saint-Michel, are about 3-6 hours away. If you're out in Normandy and have the time, we highly recommend that you go a little bit further west to Brittany's Celtic Emerald Coast and the medieval fortified city of Saint-Malo in particular.