Belgium Guide
Hainaut and Wallonian Brabant
South of Brussels, the western reaches of Wallonia comprise the province of Hainaut and the French-speaking portion of Brabant, Brabant Wallon. The area has its beauty spots to be sure, with rolling farmland and wooded hills dotted across the entire region, but industry sets the general tone, especially between Mons and Charleroi, where an industrial – and post-industrial – rash stretches between the two towns with precious little interruption. Nevertheless, tucked away here and there are a clutch of fascinating old towns, the beautiful ruins of a medieval abbey and several grand châteaux.
The highlight of Hainaut is Tournai in the west, close to the French border. Once part of France, it's a vibrant, unpretentious town, with a number of decent museums, some good restaurants and a magnificent Romanesque/early Gothic cathedral. East of Tournai, the agreeable town of Mons is also home to a fine church, but its appeal is more in its ebullient street life and hilltop setting.To the east of Mons, Nivelles, the principal town of Brabant Wallon, boasts an impressive example of religious Romanesque architecture in its church of Ste Gertrude, while the elegiac ruins of the Abbaye de Villers, on the edge of Villers-la-Ville, lie in a wooded valley just a few kilometres further east again.
To the south, the industrial and engineering centre of Charleroi is the biggest city in Hainaut, although few would call it pretty, it is gallantly reinventing itself as a city on the up. South of Charleroi, the rural Botte du Hainaut is named for its shape as it juts boot-like into France. Largely bypassed by the industrial revolution, the area is a quiet corner of the country, its undulating farmland and forests dotted with the smallest of country towns. Among them, Chimaymerits a visit for its castle and pretty old centre.
Highlights
1 Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Tournai One of the most stunning cathedrals in the whole of Belgium.
2 Grand Hornu A converted mining complex whose industrial architecture frames a first-rate contemporary art museum.
3 Binche Carnival Probably the liveliest, most colourful carnival in the country.
4 Abbaye de Villers, Villers-la-Ville The ruins of this Cistercian abbey comprise one of the region's most evocative sights.
5 Chimay A charming country town with a picture-postcard Grand-Place and enjoyable country walks.