Tournai’s gorgeous triangular main square is ringed with cafes in fine gable-fronted guildhouses merrily flying guild banners. Kids play in ‘dare-you’ fountains beneath an axe-wielding statue of Princess d'Espinoy, the doomed heroine who led Tournai's eventually futile defence against a 1581 Spanish siege.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
22.01 MILES
Set on the grounds of a former Cistercian Abbey, this 65-hectare park is home to more than 5000 animals (including pandas, koalas, gorillas and lemurs)…
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0.09 MILES
Dominating Tournai’s skyline are the five spires of its remarkable cathedral, which survived WWII bombs only for a freak 1999 tornado to compromise its…
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20.89 MILES
Founded in 1242, this is Belgium’s only medieval convent-farm-hospital complex to have survived reasonably intact. Laboriously restored, it demonstrates…
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14.37 MILES
Inaugurated in 1892, Lille's illustrious Fine Arts Museum claims France's second-largest collection after Paris' Musée du Louvre. Its cache of sublime…
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27.77 MILES
No museum gives a more balanced yet moving and user-friendly introduction to WWI history. It’s a multisensory experience combining soundscapes, videos,…
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27.35 MILES
This superb museum mostly covers Mons' experience of the two world wars, though the constant sieges of this town's turbulent history are also mentioned…
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26.08 MILES
Probably the most-visited Salient site, this is the world’s biggest British Commonwealth war cemetery, with 11,956 graves. A huge semicircular wall…
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8.72 MILES
Started in 1785, this tiny affair is Belgium’s last traditional steam-operated brewery. This wonderfully authentic family enterprise is best known for its…
Nearby Wallonia attractions
0.02 MILES
Tournai's former cloth hall is the Grand Place's finest building, with an elegant gilt-detailed facade and a brick-vaulted interior that opens for…
0.06 MILES
Belgium’s oldest belfry is 72m high with a narrow 257-step spiral staircase that becomes even narrower higher up. There's a good multilingual display on…
0.07 MILES
This is a lovable and sizeable warren of fascinating city-relevant relics and ethnographic artefacts. It's all in French, but many of the cameo scenes are…
0.07 MILES
Église St-Quentin is a hefty Romanesque church with a 12th-century nave, posterior Gothic features and a striking red-tiled roof. When viewed from near…
0.09 MILES
Dominating Tournai’s skyline are the five spires of its remarkable cathedral, which survived WWII bombs only for a freak 1999 tornado to compromise its…
0.09 MILES
There are some impressive pieces in the treasury in the heart of Tournai's cathedral, including a fabulous 'Last Judgement' châsse (casket), a striking…
0.18 MILES
One of two towers preserved from the original 1202 city wall, this is a surprising sight at the end of a nondescript lane.