Basilique des Saints-Pierre-et-Paul

The Ardennes


This impressive grey stone church has a netting-draped late-Gothic interior with fine 1733 oak choir stalls topped by cross-headed stags. The stag symbols reflect the legend of St Hubert, the saint whose grave here became a major pilgrimage site from the 9th century.

Audio-guided visits (in several languages) cost €1.50, or €2.50 including a climb into the roof eaves. The colourfully painted former abbey buildings directly north are now used as state archives. On the first Sunday of September (11am) and again on St Hubert's Day, the square outside hosts one of Belgium’s weirder religious ceremonies, as priests bless a menagerie of pets and farmyard animals.