River Meuse hosts a number of picturesque cities along its flow and what is really interesting is that they are all watched over by medieval Citadels, clearly showing the strategic importance of the river in the numerous events throughout the history of this region. We’ve visited three out of four cities hosting the Meuse citadels, Dinant, Namur and Liège (we are still missing Huy), all of them perfect weekend getaways. This time we will show you Namur, the capital of French speaking region of Wallonie. We visited the city during the September’s Fête de la Wallonie, so the city was lively and full of people. It’s a very vibrant and charming city with narrow streets full of shops, bars and restaurants. The city life is more focused around the main square, Place d’Armes, while the riverside and the area of the overlooking Citadel is much calmer. But since we prefer the livelier setup, we decided to first see the city center.
Things to see in Namur
We headed down the narrows streets of central Namur, window-shopping and enjoying the colorful umbrella decorations exhibited over one of the smaller Rue Haute Marcelle (probably there only during the festive season).
The central Place d’Armes was as well hosting a fair, so the square was really lively and full of people, but we managed to get our way around to explore the sights. The city is known for the Mosan architectural style, specific for its red or grey brick façade with limestone window frames and black rooftops.
The central Palais des Congres is a nice example of it, as well as the nearby Old meat market, now an Archeological museum. In the courtyard of the Palais the Congres, behind the vaulted passage, there is a remain of the 14th century bellower Beffroi, once part of the ancient city walls and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also, in the front of the Palais you can’t miss the famous snail monument, what is said to be the unofficial symbol of the city as it represents the slow and relaxed lifestyle of its citizens.
From there we headed towards the area of the old market, the Place Du Vieux Marché which is very popular place for food and drinks. Nearby, squeezed among the narrow streets we visited the baroque church of Saint-Loup, with the interesting interior decorations made of a combination of black marble and limestone.
Further along we went to see another example of Belgian Baroque, the only Baroque cathedral in the whole of Benelux, the Cathédrale Saint-Aubain. We finished our small city tour there and crossed the river Sambre to reach the area of the Citadel. We accessed the Citadel from its backside, climbing uphill towards the central Castle of the Counts of Namur. It’s quite a climb, so take your own time and pace. We stopped on our way up to relax and take some nice panorama photographs of the city.
The central area of the stone castle hosts a couple of restaurants and Guy Delforge Perfumery, convenient for a short stopover before your way down the hill. On the foot of the Citadel there is also a statue of a giant turtle, a Jan Fabre piece ‘Searching for Utopia’.
It’s also where our day in Namur ended, but we will certainly be back next year for the Walloon festivities and another glass of the local Maredsous abbey beer. While in Belgium you should always cheer to a good trip with a good local beer.
V&S