Ultimate Travel Guide to Famenne Ardennes - UNESCO Global Geopark (Wallonia - Belgium)

As you may know, I'm always in a look-out to visit UNESCO World Heritage Sites wherever I go. It is funny but I actually hadn't known that UNESCO also has other branches - like Intangible Cultural Heritage (like beer culture in Belgium), Memoires, and many more! One such branch is UNESCO Global Geoparks (UGGp) network. I came to know about UGGp when I visited Domaine des Grottes de Han, which is one of the important sites in the only UNESCO Global Geopark Site in Belgium - Famenne Ardennes. So, soon after that, I started visiting the other places of interest in this belt and I'm not done yet, there are so many more places for me to visit, but here's what I know...

As the name suggests, like how UNESCO Natural & Cultural World Heritage protects places of Natural & Cultural importance, UNESCO Geopark protects places of Geographical Importance. The concept of Global Geopark came into being in 2001 and the first-ever global meeting of UNESCO Global Geoparks happened in 2004 with 17 European and 8 Chinese geoparks. Today there are 161 UNESCO Global Geoparks worldwide of which only one is in Belgium - Famenne Ardennes UGGp

A major portion of Famenne Ardennes, totalling to 911sqkm, is listed as UNESCO Global Geopark (UGGp). The strip of land is called the Calestienne which has a lot of limestone and similar rocks that can be easily eroded. There are 3 rivers here - Ourthe, Lesse and Lomme. The water currents in these rivers & their tributaries, corrode the rocks which create unique geological curiosities in the region! At many a place, the tributaries of the rivers run underground and then re-emerge again. These underground passages sometimes create caves overtime and today it is possible to go down some of these caves, to see it flowing several meters underground. 

Below are the details of the places to visit in Famenne Ardennes segregated by the communes they fall under. 

Durbuy is considered the smallest city in the world and is the home to the Durbuy Adventure, Durbuy Anticline and Durbuy Topiary. The historic city centre of Durbuy is also worth seeing. The next town Barvaux is where the annual Durbuy Labyrinth happens. Very close to Durbuy is Weris, which is the best-preserved megalithic site in Belgium. There is a museum called La Maison des Megalithes, there are 2 dolmens and several menhirs in the region. There is a dedicated cycling path that goes through them all. Apart from that, the village of Weris is listed as a plus beaux village de Wallonie (beautiful villages of Wallonia, Belgium). 

On the way from Durbuy to Hotton is the village of Ny, one more of the beautiful places of Belgium, plus beaux villages de Wallonie. In Hotton is the Grottes de Hotton, and Riveo, a river interpretation centre. 

Marche-en-Famenne is next in my list of places to visit in Belgium. Marche-en-Famenne is the capital of Famenne region and is a relatively bigger town. The most important thing to do in Marche-en-Famenne is exploring the town which won the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) in 2011, including spotting the ruins of the original fortified wall, medieval turrets, gothic buildings etc. Very close to the town is the Fond des Vaulx valley where the Trotti-aux-Fosses chasm is located, one of the geological curiosities of the region.  

The village next to it is Waha were Church of St.Etienne de Waha is located. It is unique because the church is historic, built in 11th C, has frescoes of 13th C, sculptures of 16th C and very modern stained glass windows of 20th C designed by Jean Michel Folon. A bit further ahead, on the way to Rochefort, is Chateau de Jemeppe which is not open to the general public currently. 

La Roche-en-Ardenne is the next big town after Marche-en-Famenne. This is one of the top tourist attraction for those who want to visit Belgian Ardennes. I'm hoping to visit here as a day trip from Marche-en-Famenne. Further to the south is Bastogne, an important World War II site.

While the town centre of Nassogne itself doesn't have much to see, it is a good base to visit the surrounding beautiful villages like Ambly and Grune (incl. Château de Grune and a 17th C water-mill). Another important place to see in the region is the Pierres du Diable (Devil's Stones) which are megalithic cysts with dolmens.

This is the first-ever place I visited in Famenne Ardennes region. It was when I visited here that I came to know of that something called UGGp existed. Domaine des Grottes de Han has 4 major places to visit, that paint the whole picture of the region - Caves of Han for the geology inside the caves, Parc Animalier (Animal Park) for the wildlife biology (incl Belvaux Chasm, a geological curiosity that's the inspiration behind the logo of Famenne Ardennes UGGp), Han 1900 for anthropology a century ago and PrehistoHan for the archaeology and studies about prehistoric humans & nature in this region. Very close to it is anticline of Wavreille. 

The village next to Han-sur-Lesse is Rochefort. The important places to visit in Rochefort include the Malagne Archeoparc, Grotte de Lorette, and Chateau Comtal (Rochefort Castle). The next village is Jamelle where the railway museum called Centre of Rail & Stone is located. Another site in this region is Lavaux Saint Anne, but it is located closer to Wellin (more details below).

Tellin & Wellin are southern-most regions of Famenne Ardennes. In the town of Wellin is the Lomprez water-mill, which belongs to 12th C and has been in use till 1920. Very close to Wellin are 2 of the beautiful places in Belgium - Sohier & Froid Lieu, 2 more of the 30 plus beaux villages de Wallonie. In the heart of Tellin is Causard-Slegers bell foundry which manufactured bells by lost-wax process & supplied to very many churches in Belgium, Germany & Luxembourg in 19-20th C. Very close to Tellin is the town Resteigne (one more of the plus beaux villages de Wallonie) which has a chateau & an abandoned quarry, but the main point is the between the 2 towns which lend a gorgeous panoramic view of river Lesse. This is one of the best spots for hiking in Belgian Ardennes. Further ahead is the cute little chapel of Notre-Dame de Haurt, perched atop a hill. 

Very close to the Tellin & Wellin, in the south, is the Euro Space Centre which gives an insight into space technology and astronaut life including walking on mars, rocket simulators, free-fall experience and more! 

I'm yet to visit this region. My idea is to go here on a 3-day trip, hopefully coming Spring, with Wellin as the base - a day for Wellin (incl Lavaux Saint Anne & Revogne - a 20km cycling loop), a day for Tellin & a day for Euro Space Centre.  

I'm yet to visit Beauraing and I'm hoping to visit there as a day-trip from Brussels. The main town of Beauraing is one of the important Christian pilgrimage sites in Belgium. There is also the parks of Castle of St.Pierre & St.Marie. In the outskirts of Beauraing are Revogne and Vonêche which are listed as the most beautiful villages of Wallonia. Revogne is located very very close to Froid-Lieu of Wellin. Vonêche is located 7km away from Beauraing and can be easily visited with a bicycle or e-bike. 

While geological curiosities are open to see throughout the year, it can get super cold in winters. Belgian Ardennes is also known for its snowfall! So exploring the region, trekking, hiking etc would be super difficult in the weather is freezing. The best time to visit Belgian Ardennes would be Mar-Nov. 

That said, Mont-Rigi is best visited in the coldest of the winter for it is the best place to experience snowfall in Belgium.

I visited Belgian Ardennes in multiple trips, some day-trips & weekend trips from Brussels. Each time to a different destination in the region. There are many luxury & comfort options of Spa Hotels, Durbuy Hotels, Marche-en-Famenne hotels etc, but if you're looking for an authentic Belgian rural experience, you'd have to choose a gite (holiday home) or Airbnb in the villages. 

Here are the reviews of the various hotels that I stayed in the Belgian Ardennes region - My stay in Spa was at Corsendonk Sol Cress Hotel. I visited Han-sur-Lesse while staying in Dinant at La Merveilleuse Resort. My stay in Durbuy was at Le Vieux Durbuy.