Belgium will always be incomplete without Bouillon .
Bouillon is a town that manages to nail the best bits of the Belgian Ardennes. Which could be said to be at the heart of Trappist country.
Lying at the center of a triangle drawn between the holy trinity of Chimay, Rochefort, and Orval it has the dark forests and ravines, steep hills and cliffs – all peppered with castles, abbeys, and wild tales. More of the castle, than the town it’s well known for the medieval Bouillon Castle, overlooking the Semois River. For many centuries the peninsulas created by the river were ideal for defense, Bouillon a city at an important strategic crossroads between Reims, Liège, and Aachen. The location that’s always worth a visit.
Dive in:
Bouillon is a town in southern Belgium, near the French border.
The chateau lies high on a ridge overlooking the town and the River Semois,The views over the long loops at Bouillon are divine. This mediaeval town will definitely take you to the age of gold coins.
Address to reach the castle :Esplanade Godefroid de Bouillon 1, 6830 Bouillon
Check out our list for making your visit an escapadious experience:
Bouillon Castle
The Castle of Bouillon on the rocky neck of Semois’s river loop has more than a millennium of history to tell. After a short walk through the cozy streets of Bouillon, you’ll arrive at this magnificent castle. This is a full-sized, perfectly maintained, medieval castle, not mere ruins. It has been used for over 1,000 years, and there is so much to see and learn. Many areas and corridors, almost like a maze filled with interesting and historical places. You can have an audio guide, giving you details about the various places. What you’ll enjoy the most is the view from the top, the arrowslits, the long subterranean, the torture chamber, the oubliettes, and the dungeon. The falconry show is worth seeing. It involves different sorts of birds of prey and highlighting their characteristics. One of the birds, in particular, is very impressive, they call it Spartacus, The birds fly low and close to the public head. The falconers are very funny, engaging and seem to genuinely care about the animals. You will greatly enjoy the show. The castle is a good piece of history and knowledge that anyone would appreciate.
Musée Ducal
Museums are always on the move.
Near the castle of Godefroid de Bouillon, the Ducal Museum overlooks the Semois and occupies two listed buildings between the Middle Ages and the first crusade.
Located in an old building, the interior is ultramodern, beautiful colors “young” and attractive, posters everywhere, and multilingual fact sheets. The middle-aged part of the museum remains a fascinating mystery because there is more than the war, a whole craft town is a wealth of places. It has beautiful development of objects, many paintings. On the top floor, the attic, part of the iron industry in Bouillon.
Do not hesitate to push the door of this old building.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Crêtes de Frahan
You can’t get enough of the Semois river’s beautiful, elongated meanders there’s another staggering viewpoint in the village of Rochehaut, looking south to the hamlet, Frahan. It is a Belgian hamlet in the former commune of Rochehaut, located on the territory of the city of Bouillon in the province of Luxembourg in the Walloon Region. If you didn’t have enough view of Semois river then hikers put your shoes on here is a nice challenging hiking route in the bis with brisk climbs and walking over rocks. This pretty hamlet was once famous for its tobacco plantations. You can survey the scene and its dramatic wooded backdrop through a coin-operated scope, picking out old tobacco dryers and little farms. Crêtes de Frahan is one of the nicest hiking trails in Belgium.
Animal Park Bouillon
Up the slope to the east of the town, there’s a zoological attraction laid out in the hilly countryside. Animal Park Bouillon is a large animal park with a lot of animals in a beautiful forest, it’s not expensive. They have a lot of animals you won’t see in other zoos in Belgium. Also, it is nice to walk in the Ardennes. Here, in wooded paddocks and enclosures, are more than 500 animals from a big diversity of species, among them zebras, tigers, wallabies, white lions, reindeer, pygmy goats, mandrills, llamas, ostriches, highland cattle, baboons, emus, and capybaras. Especially for kids, there’s a large adventure playground laid with soft woodchips and adapted to the hilly terrain. There is a cafe which is a nice place for a drink and possibly a small bite. it’s always a pleasure to experience seeing the different species of kingdom Animalia.
La Brasserie de Bouillon
How can you leave bouillon without Bouillon beer? La Brasserie de Bouillon has a complete range of Belgian beers, quality beer, rum and whiskey tasting evenings, lots of information on Belgian beers, their breweries, and their stories. The Brasserie de Bouillon is a case in point. It was started only in the mid-1990s, following a successful branch into beer-brewing by a couple running a local produce shop – Nathalie and Jacques Plugin. The brewery now has four regular ‘craft’ beers on its book, each with its imaginative twist to the traditional Belgian beer-making craft.
The Brasserie de Bouillon have tried their hands at a witbier with a difference – their Blanche de Bouillon is a more fulsome white than usual, spicier, sourer, and a tad more alcoholic. A great refreshing summer-time brew.
