The complete medieval Namur city walk: in the shadow of the citadel

Admittedly, there are good city walks in the medieval center of Namur... But in my opinion they are (too) incomplete.

That's why we have this own city walk that visits all the sights of the historic center of Namur. And admittedly, they are sometimes a bit further apart. But it's worth walking a few hundred meters through a meaningless street to still experience an aha moment .

For those who also want to do the combination with the citadel park, there is a marked walk here that is an extension of this walk.

Start at Namur station .

We walk through the garden of Hôtel Kegeljan-Godin, the former town hall, past some interesting buildings to the Eglise Saint-Joseph de Namur with its former monastery. With the old Saint-Jacques church, a former relay hospital for pilgrims on their journey to Santiago de Compostela , this area is well equipped with religious buildings.

We take a detour to discover the Bietrumé de Namur ( the joker caramel) in the Maison des Desserts . We also arrive at the Eglise Saint-loup , a gem of the Baroque art of the old southern Netherlands. We pass the old Jesuit monastery that was converted into the Royal Athenaeum.

If you want, you can visit the Musée des Arts décoratifs on the left, which is housed in the former Hôtel de Groesbeeck and has a beautiful garden . This brings us to the Cathédrale Saint-Aubain , which was destroyed in 1740 by a great flood of the Sambre! She is said to contain fragments of the real cross and thorns of Christ , brought from Constantinople in 1206.

On the way to the Parc Louise-Marie we pass the stately "king's mansion" or "government palace". Be sure to visit the artificial limestone cave in the park! This park is also home to the Jean Chalon Garden. Outside the park we arrive at the Chapelle Notre Dame du Rempart, dedicated to the patron saint of Namur.

We now largely follow the banks of the Sambre, but deviate briefly to the Arsenal of Namur , a work by Vauban. The Notre-Dame Seminary and Episcopal Palace are hidden behind walls (but perhaps a visit to the seminary's Religious Library could be a solution).

We return to the center through the Porte de Sambre . We pass the cable car station to the Citadel Park and arrive at the picturesque marché aux légumes where the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste attracts all the attention with its baroque tower. We cross the place de l'ange to the Belfry and see the impact of the 213 bombs that the Americans accidentally dropped in WWII in the surrounding facades.

In the former Bourse de Commerce, now the Palais des Congrès, we can admire the Art Deco bas-reliefs . Behind it is the Théâtre Royal , one of the last and most beautiful in Europe , decorated in Italian style.

Along the Tour Marie Spilar we come to the former Halle al'chair, in complete contrast to De Delta in terms of architecture. It is recommended to take a break at the mouth of the Sambre in the latter... The Porte de Sambre-et-Meuse is the only reference to the past.

We descend again to the banks of the Sambre to avoid the busy road on the way to the old Herbatte district. We pass the confluence of the Sambre and the Meuse. On the other side of the Meuse we see the silhouette of the former Le Saint-Gilles hospital , now the seat of the Walloon Parliament.

At Le Cheval Bayard we leave the bank to discover the statue of the stilt walkers at the former "Porte des Ardennes" . The fight for the golden stilt has been a tradition in Namur for 6 centuries.

The Eglise Saint-Nicolas houses several large paintings that are reproductions of famous works by well-known painters (such as Rubens' 'Descent from the Cross' ). We pass the Église Notre-Dame d'Harscamp and the Institut Notre-Dame with its long facade in neo-Louis XV style. Located at the back the neo-Gothic chapel of the Sacred Heart of Mary , erected for the beatified Julie Billiart but unfortunately not open to visits.

We are now in the part of the city where the Caserne Leopold with the former cadet school is located. Today, the African Museum with its important collection of African objects is housed in the former guardhouse of the barracks. The Grand Manège of the former first Lancers Regiment was also part of the barracks.

A little further we arrive back at the station , the starting point of the walk.

Be sure to consult the information about the sights once you are there . They explain what you will see!

01/2024