Things to do in Belgium

Half a century ago, the Belgian Ministry of Public Works rolled up its sleeves to build an industrial road between a factory and a nearby freight station in Hainaut.

The concrete remains of the Cimenteries Alexandre Dapsens are perhaps the oldest witnesses to the technique of prestressed concrete in Belgium.

Dozens of historic lime kilns stretch along the banks of the Scheldt between Antoing and Tournai. They evoke the heyday of the cement industry in the region.

The monumental coal preparation plant of Beringen is the showcase of the Beringen coal mine. Yet the four wings of the complex were threatened with demolition for years. However, in 2023, the be-NATURE project was given the green light.

In the early twentieth century, a water tower was erected near the Treignes border station to supply the steam locomotives running between Charleroi and the French border.

Mariembourg station, today the terminus of railway line 132 between Charleroi and the Belgian-French border, has a spacious water tower in store.

The Koppenberg in the Flemish Ardennes is not only the setting of the Tour of Flanders but also forms the background of railway line 85 between Leupegem and Herseaux near the French border.

The ten-kilometre-long railway line 102 cut through the Borinage and connected several coal mines between Saint-Ghislain and Frameries.

The former grandeur of Charleroi still resonates in Art Deco buildings and modernist gems such as the colourful newspaper kiosk by architect Léon Coton.

Unlike the Belgian cities of Liège, Antwerp, Ghent or Brussels, Charleroi never hosted a World Fair. Therefore, the smaller-scale Universal Exhibition of Charleroi in 1911 was no less ambitious.