We are continuing south today. We left Hasselt at around 8 this morning and our final destination Reims in France. On the way, we have planned two stops. The first of them is Namur – the capital of Wallonia. The stop is to both stretch our legs, let Little A get some fresh air as well as explore one more town on our road trip.
Namur: Capital of Wallonia
Namur, in the Ardennes, has a long (and somewhat complex) history. The one construction that reminds me of this to this day is the citadel. Standing at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, it certainly is an impressive sight. The citadel is also where we headed right after parking our car near the railway station. The city center is quite compact so it did not take us many minutes before we found ourselves at the foot of the hill. Signs showed us the ”easiest” way to take with the pram. It might have been the easiest option but still not easy. The road was so bumpy that we sometimes carried Little A in our arms. It was, however, worth all the sweat and the tears, as the view over the town was spectacular. Little A didn’t seem to be too traumatized either.
The Citadel of Namur is one of the most amazing fortifications we have seen. Big parts of it still seem intact and the area around is large. It is a bit unclear whether the construction dates back to Roman times or 937. However, it has been rebuilt several times throughout the years.
We actually didn’t have time to see much more than the fortress. Fortunately, we crossed the city center on our way from and to the parking. So, we did get some time to at least catch a glimpse of Namur. The town felt really different than Hasselt and Tongeren, both language-wise and architecturally. We felt like we were in a completely different country! The old streets in the city center were buzzing and they were filled with cozy-looking tea houses, bakeries, and cafés. As well as book stores and stationery shops. It seems that this part of Europe has more small shops and stores, not everything happens online or in big supermarkets. I hope it will remain that way.
And the adventure continues…
Now we are approaching the French border and it is time for us to say Au revoir! Stay tuned for our French adventure.
Join us on the road through Europe here!
Pretty pictures! I’m from Belgium 🙂
Thank you. Belgium has been a positive surprise for us. There is so much to see and explore. 🙂
You were only 25km from meeeeeeeeeeeeeee !