Belgium
DESTINATION GUIDE
Nestled in the heart of the beautiful Ardennes region and surrounded by coniferous forest is the historic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, home of the Belgian Grand Prix.
HIGHLIGHTS
Get on on your bike and explore this beautiful region on two wheels! With over 1,400km of picturesque disused railway tracks, scenic byways and canal towpaths, the RAVel path network – Reseau Autonome des Voies Lentes (autonomous network of slow paths) – has special value in the Ardennes as it gives access to a beautiful but otherwise impenetrable area, on flat trails that never have more than a 2% gradient.
Try the Spa-Stavelot route which was once the 44A railway line that connected Spa to Gouvy in Belgian Luxembourg before shutting down in 1974. The 22km route takes you through upland forest, granting lovely distant views and passing directly above the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Today there is a modern thermal spa complex on a hill above the town with panoramic views, and linked to the centre of the charming municipality by a funicular railway. After all that cycling in the Ardennes, bathing in the warm healing waters is just the ticket.
Belgium is also a hit for chocolate lovers! Considered to be the finest in the world, Belgian chocolate is made with a minimum of 35% cocoa as dictated by a law dating back to 1884 to prevent the use of low-quality fat sources to bulk out the chocolate’s composition, thus ensuring the integrity of this most important export.
In 1912 a man called Jean Neuhaus, who owned a pharmacy in Brussels, found a way to make chocolate even more delicious by inventing the praline (Belgian truffle) – a shell made from chocolate and filled with ganache, buttercream, nut pastes and other sweet fillings – changing the way people consumed chocolate forever.
The Jean Neuhaus store is still in its original location in Brussels and is considered a must visit if you’re in the Belgian capital. But if you can’t make it there, then La Chocolaterie Darcis in the town of Verviers – a short distance from the circuit – is a museum devoted to all things chocolate.
You can watch the chocolate craftsmen at work, taste some samples and even channel your inner Willy Wonka and sign up for a chocolate making course to learn how to make your very own creations.
Housed in the impressive vaults of the old Abbey in Stavelot is the Musee du Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, a small but perfectly formed collection of historic cars and motorbikes, alongside changing temporary exhibitions, all retracing the fascinating history of this most famous of racetracks, both past and present.
If all of that racing memorabilia has stirred up the wannabe F1 driver in you, then head back to the F1 circuit and test those skills at the kart track located inside this most iconic of venues.
Due to its proximity to many transport hubs in nearby neighbouring countries, the Belgian Grand Prix has always been a popular choice for F1 fans in Europe.
Surrounded by misty fairytale forests, pretty historic villages and towns and steeped in an equal measure of triumphant and tragic motorsport history, Spa is on the bucket list of most racing enthusiasts. Especially those who don’t mind a bit of rain…
Fun Fact
It’s called Spa for a reason, and since Roman times people have visited the town to benefit from its highly mineralised healing water, originally ingested as drinking water as it was thought to have curative powers for all manner of ailments. The Roman naturalist and philosopher Pliny the Elder is said to have commented on the water’s “ferruginous taste” that he believed purged the body and cured fevers, and the Spa brand of water has been bottled and exported worldwide for over 400 years.
WHAT TO EAT
As befitting a small country bordering several others, Belgian cuisine is somewhat influenced by that of its neighbours – France, Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – but still with its own unique identity.
With a population of over 11.5 million, Belgium boasts an incredible 141 Michelin starred restaurants, reinforcing the reputation of the high quality of both ingredients and cooking in this densely populated country.
One hotly contested culinary crossover that the Belgians have emphatically claimed as their own, is the French fry or frite.
Widely available at restaurants and ‘friteries’ across the country and doused in customary mayonnaise, this unassuming deep-fried strip of potato is considered a national dish of Belgium but is the subject of much debate as to the nature of its origins, which the French believe lie with them.
We should all be thankful to whoever invented them, for there is no greater pleasure than a cone of freshly cooked golden potato smothered in cool, creamy sauce eaten with a wooden fork.
