Ronse - a must

From Zonnestraat, 9600 Ronse, Belgium
To Zonnestraat, 9600 Ronse, Belgium

Our route leads to Oudestraat, a slope that ends in a cobblestone strip. This slope has been featured in a large number of cycling competitions. Afterwards, we enter Malander Park, from here we have a beautiful view of Ronse. Before we return, we take a look to the right, where we see the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes. We return to the city along a walking path just outside the city.

We arrive back at Zonnestraat where the second part of the city visit begins.

In Wijnstraat, the first Art Nouveau house is already on our path. Further on, we see the dancing stones on the water, which used to be a central place in Ronse, a drinking place for horses. From here we head to the Grote Markt with the town hall, peace court, and the obelisk, the first public fountain. There are still two brasseries (Brasserie Harmonie and Café Local Unique) with a very well-preserved interior.

We head towards Bruul. Here we see a few murals that belong to the annual picturales (the murals are spread throughout the city, and we will encounter a few more on our route). Along the way, we see typical Art Deco houses, the statue "Domestic Concerns" by Rik Wouters, Hoge Mote, the reception and experience center Ronse and Flemish Ardennes, the textile museum MUST, the statue "Spring" referring to the fleeing Ronsenaar at the beginning of World War II, and finally the beautiful Spanjaardenkasteel and the most famous tree of Ronse, the red beech.

We proceed to the Sint-Hermesbasiliek (the Collegiate Church of St. Hermes, which was elevated to a basilica in 2019). Here we find ourselves in the historical heart of the city. "Vrijheid" was a city within the city until the French Revolution. Here, the canons determined the religious and civil matters. We encounter a few notable figures from Ronse: the Belleman, the statue refers to the Fiertelommegang, and Buunie, which symbolizes the juicy Ronses dialect, and the Naked Firefighter.

We arrive at the Passage, the former Sint-Maartenskerk, which has now been restored into a building centered around food and drink.

We continue our way to Fostierlaan. Here we see beautiful examples of houses with Art Deco elements.

We proceed towards the station, the oldest railway station building on the European mainland. Remarkably, the station has its facade facing the platforms. In front of the station stands the Ronsiese Zot, the symbol of the Bommelfeesten.

We go to IJzerstraat where at the end Villa Portois stands proudly, formerly the directors' residence of a textile baron.

Just further, we arrive at Sint-Martinuskerk. We leave this square via Barasteegje, an old factory alley.

With a small detour towards De Stadstuin, we see a statue of Ephrem Delmotte, composer and popular folk figure, founder of the Bommelfeesten. You can listen to his music at the listening post. If you head to the corner of the street, you'll see another beautiful pictural.

Soon we arrive back at the Grote Markt, where we can enjoy the local products of Ronse at one of the terraces.