Ardennes Regional Nature Park

The Ardennes forms a wooded low mountain range in southeastern Belgium (much of Wallonia), northern Luxembourg and a small part of neighbouring France. It is the western spur of the Rhine Schist Plateau, a slate massif, which also includes the Eifel, Hunsrück and Taunus. The mountain range is a remnant of the Hercynian orogeny and was formed 390 to 300 million years ago.

This route is traced in the south of the Ardennes and crosses the Regional Natural Park of the French Ardennes. The natural park is known for the steep cliffs of the Pointe de Givet, the densely vegetated banks of the Meuse and Semoy valleys, the peat bogs and moors of the high plains of the Rocroi: the landscape has many surprising and contrasting faces. A cultural and natural heritage with a quality label: the Regional Natural Park of the Ardennes.

From Doha, we head to the beautiful city of Bouillon . The town of Bouillon is one of the most beautiful towns in the Ardennes and is of course known for the medieval castle that dominates the town beautifully. The history of Bouillon and the castle is inseparable from that of Godfrey of Bouillon , the famous knight who led the First Crusade in the Holy Land in 1096. Today you can visit the castle and it is really recommended.

From there, we will flirt with the Belgian and French borders before finally diving into France. We cross the border with the France at Bohan and drive on beautiful wooded and winding roads through the Regional Natural Park of the Ardennes. The wooded areas are interspersed with pretty villages. On this route, we frequently cross the river La Semois and follow La Meusse. The Meuse is still a small river here.

In Hargnies, we cross the border again towards the Belgian Willerzie. We continue the road in the wooded area to Transinne and a little later we pass Smuid. Here is a Dutch hotel, the Hostellerie des Tilleuls , a warm family hotel located in an old Ardennes farmhouse. We continue, we pass Saint-Hubert to Nassogne. Here you can have lunch in the middle of the village at the Brasserie - Restaurant Le Relais Saint Monon, Rue de Martel 3, 6950 Nassogne, Belgium.

After lunch, we leave Nassogne and are treated to a beautiful winding road through the woods. Here, too, the knees, or steps and running boards, can touch the ground again.

We now arrive at La Roche en Ardenne and we make a stop in this interesting place. PL. du Bronze is the place of the terraces and of course Le Petit Train is an apparition.

When we have restarted the engines, we move from a wooded area to a more open area with wide views of the hilly countries. The south-east of the Ardennes is characterized by the open environment with panoramic views. We now descend to the southernmost part near Virton.

We now continue west. Forests and open landscapes alternate and we return to the river La Semois. The last part towards Bouillon and currently Dohan (N884 and N865) is characterized by a beautiful winding road with good asphalt where still knees, elbows, steps and steps can touch the ground. (At the wheel of Mortehan) The fun actually begins after Gribomont. Arrived at the final point we can rest with a delicious local beer, the Godefroy Blonde or a Trappist beer, the Orval ... Delicious! It's fun.

Tip: Lovely quiet family hotel with a Flemish owner and Eddy's typical Flemish humor is the Ardennes inn .

If you find it too quiet, you can always move to Bouillon.

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