Routes (49)

Back Map

• The Doudou route

  Follow in the footsteps of Saint George and the dragon through the symbolic architectural and artistic heritage sites of Mons.

  • 
    01 h 30 m

    easy

  Longueur du parcours: 1.33 km

• Moneuse route: miller’s son - Quiévrain

  This route takes you in the footsteps of Antoine-Joseph Moneuse, the famous bandit and Captain of the Chauffeurs du Nord. You’ll go back to the figure’s origins, from his childhood in Saint-Vaast up to his arrival in our region. This will also be an opportunity to talk about the mills. Indeed, himself a miller’s son, Moneuse lived at a time when mills dotted our rural landscapes. Along the way, you’ll find some remnants of them but others have unfortunately completely disappeared. So you’ll sometimes have to close your eyes and use your imagination. Have a good walk and watch out... bandits are about. Route created and put together by Hauts Pays natural park Illustrations Claude Renard

  • 
    01 h 30 m

    medium
  • 
    45 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 5.9 km

• Lens - The Land of Corentin

  Au nord de Mons, Lens est ceinturé d'une belle et paisible campagne à sillonner à vélo.

  • 
    02 h 10 m

    easy

  Longueur du parcours: 22.37 km

• Quiévrain, at the country's edge

  A route that takes in the traces of a rich history, unique to these cross-border regions. Leave Quiévrain by taking the RAVeL, a former railway line, which in the 19th and early 20th centuries was the economic artery of Borinage where coal transited. At the wind farm, the route forks and descends down to the Hauts-Pays. The flags in the landscape mark the memorial of the terrible Battle of Audregnies, in August 1914. Here is Audregnies and its magnificent treed square, the largest in Belgium. And the Dufrasnes bakery fits perfectly in this little village. Having slipped a loaf of delicious artisan bread into the backpack for a picnic, we return to the frontier, following the age-old path, one of seven Chaussées de Brunehaut which crisscrossed a whole section of Europe in the Middle Ages. Roads that united people before letters... And Quiévrain, at the gates of France, is at their crossroads.

  • 
    04 h 00 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 10.15 km

• Quevy, a Misunderstood Land

  Despite Quévy being so close to Mons, time seems to have stood still in this eternally charming place. The first few kilometres of this route snatch you into highly attractive countryside, with its long red brick farmhouses. Here they’re in harmony with the area’s soothing, calm side. You’ll be cycling with a smile on your lips as far as Aulnois. Hedges and groves still dot Quévy. The farms and streams you continuously cycle past will make you yearn after the next hamlet; you’ll be carried away by small roads that offer new scenery at each turn. It will change radically when you enter the Sars-la-Bruyère woods. Luckily, you’re riding and yellow spots dot the ground. Daffodils herald nature awakening. From Genly to Bougnies, the sun is already warming the atmosphere. At which point you’ll want to drop your bike and give yourself a nap in the middle of the field. It will be a well-deserved rest after this 30km ride through a little-known but interesting region.

  • 
    03 h 00 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 31.05 km

• Quévy-le-petit, on the paths of the wind turbines

  The soft relief of the Quévy territory invites you to explore on foot this beautiful countryside where wine is produced! Here, time passes peacefully. The stress of the big city seems far away when you discover the village of Quévy-le-Petit. The route will go right to the heart of this peaceful countryside, along a superb path that goes to Bougnies – it’s a somewhat dreamy scene of a country landscape, with everything harmonious and tranquil. The paths and minor roads navigate between the vast croplands of this still agricultural country. On the horizon, a colourful palette extends until it is out of sight. The wind turbines gracefully churn in the endlessly blowing breeze. Following the shadow of their blades, we come to the Domaine du Chant d’Éole, posed as an island in the middle of fields. Crossing the limestone ground, we follow the Chardonnay grape vines. At the end, like a beacon, the church of Quévy-le-Petit stands out against the ochre and yellow crops in the background.

  • 
    02 h 10 m

    easy

  Longueur du parcours: 8.45 km

• Colfontaine route

  Here’s a bike tour that explores the many facets of Colfontaine. Its narrow streets, its history with Van Gogh, the coal mine of Marcasse, its forest and its heritage... You start by coming from Mons via the Ravel!

  • 
    01 h 30 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 14.65 km

• Saint-Ghislain - Green country

  This pretty ride, which takes you to a canal and a magnificent wood, winds its way through unspoilt countryside, at a stone’s throw from Mons.

  • 
    02 h 10 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 22.24 km

• Colfontaine, beautiful woods

  The nice walk lets you discover the Colfontaine Woods – the great rows of beech trees are magnificent! At first the path runs along the big woods, we enter via the GR which travels between the birches, a species that has established itself in the mining ground. To the left, we can still see an old slag heap, now covered by exuberant nature. At the foot, a new dyke prevents major flooding, after heavy rain, of the valley. A hill and here we are at the wide path. Under the canopy, the light is diffuse – what majesty is exposed! The tranquillity of the place should not let us forget the exploitation of this forest in the 19th century. In 1842, Henri Degorge, the founder of the Grand- Hornu mining site, decided with the help of the landscape architect Séquenard to develop wide aisles to ensure that the woods were used. Wandering through it, who would imagine that this forest was a human creation?

  • 
    02 h 30 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 6.56 km

• Shopping - The food lover’s walk

  Take this shopping tour and treat your taste buds to the gourmet foods on sale!

  • 
    02 h 00 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 2.05 km

• Honnelles - In the Footsteps of a Poet

  The poet Emile Verhaeren liked relaxing in the Hauts-Pays, a bucolic land which is very pleasant for walking or cycling. To the southwest of Mons is a rural area that opens its heart to whoever cycles across it: welcome to the Hauts-Pays! The gentle terrain and peacefulness of this sparsely populated region bring serenity. Departure in Audregnies and its beautiful square where the road joins the RAVeL, which is interrupted shortly after Onnezies. Here a more forested track begins, towards Caillou-qui-Bique. In summer, the path causes little problems but in winter the often muddy roads is a challenge to cyclists. Just after the Emile Verhaeren space, beautiful villages dot the route. Roisin, Meaurain and Autreppe are all names that sing of the Hauts-Pays, a little-known region but one with some magnificent romantic landscapes. From Montignies¬sur-Roc, the narrow road joins the castle and the pond which are in harmony with the landscape. You will comb through groves and meadows, an idyllic picture of a country landscape where all is harmony and tranquility: an atmosphere that Verhaeren has so well described.

  • 
    02 h 20 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 20.83 km

• Mons, UNESCO Route

  Leave Mons to discover remarkable sites marked as UNESCO world heritage sites. Cycling is a wonderful machine for going back in time! It allows you to reach and gently discover places steeped in a moving history, at your own pace. This mild morning in Mons, there’s a great atmosphere. You’re far from the Borinage stereotypes: the city has changed and it shows in its urban development and its plethora of museums. From the Grand Place, your bike will take you to the belfry and Mundaneum in a few pedal strokes. Continue to discover this heritage along the RAVeL towards the Grand Hornu. On approach to the site, you will enter another world, as if you’d opened some scenery doors built for the glory of capitalism. The Grand Hornu is isolated from the world on purpose. Everything has been thought up and designed for productivity. You can feel the historical significance of these places, as if cycling allowed you to immerse yourself, to take the time to observe and feel these places...

  • 
    03 h 00 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 26.84 km

• Blaugies, between two worlds

  A route that runs between fields and woods, to the discovery of a lovely valley and an industrial heritage. Far from the stereotypes, the Borinage is a green country. Blaugies is a village that lives with the rhythm of hay-making. We move along the country paths, towards the Saint-Ghislain woods which from the 19th century had been the border between two worlds, less than a kilometre apart. On the hand, that of small-scale farmers, on the other, the mine. We are aware of it treading through the woods, here on clay soil, there on coal dust... In the woods, the stream plunges us into a wild world – we even surprise a deer. And yet, going up the path, on the right are found the ruins of the Sauwartan mine, witness of an era when dust, pollution and noise invaded the woods. So things justly return – near the ruins, daffodils appear in season. The black of Borinage is no more...

  • 
    02 h 30 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 7.28 km

• Ouvrir les Murs - Circuit Gare

  Dans ce deuxième parcours "Ouvrir les murs", nous mettrons en évidence les aspects liés à la présence militaire, aux équipements collectifs, à la gare et à la liaison gare-Grand-Place. Un autre circuit est consacré à l’habitat, à la rivière, l’eau potable et l’hygiène, et à l’espace du boulevard." Ce parcours a été mis au point par l’équipe de Sauvegarde et Avenir de Mons et d’Ouvrir les Murs, en liaison avec l’exposition de l’été 2015 et le livre : Mons 1865-2015, Ouvrir les Murs (édition Mardaga). Les rues du centre ville de Mons sont sinueuses, souvent étroites. Mons a en effet gardé en grande partie sa structure médiévale. Cette structure tranche avec celle des voiries proches des boulevards, larges et de structure rigoureuse, qui furent construites après le démantèlement en 1861-1865 des fortifications dites « hollandaises ». Dans ce deuxième parcours, nous mettrons en évidence les aspects liés à la présence militaire, aux équipements collectifs, à la gare et à la liaison gare-Grand-Place. Un autre circuit est consacré à l’habitat, à la rivière, l’eau potable et l’hygiène, et à l’espace du boulevard. Jusqu’en 1865, Mons, ville fortifiée, est restée enfermée dans des fortifications successives (françaises, autrichiennes, hollandaises...). De 1861 à 1865, le démantèlement des fortifications va offrir à la ville une vaste superficie pour son développement. Ce développement était souhaité depuis longtemps, et préparé dès le milieu du 19e s.. Ce parcours va vous faire percevoir l’importance de la présence militaire dans la ville au 19e s., la contrainte de la présence des équipements collectifs dans une ville où l’habitat est aussi dense, et les problématiques liées à l’arrivée du chemin de fer. La création d’un nouveau pôle économique, les questions liées au lien entre la Gare et la Grand-Place, et le problème de la création d’un nouveau mur pour la ville, celui des voies de chemin de fer sont aussi abordés. Nous verrons comment la Ville a abordé ces problèmes et comment aujourd’hui encore, certains de ces problèmes cherchent encore des solutions. Nous passerons d’abord par le Marché-aux-Herbes, centre d’activité économique très important, rejoindrons la Croix-Place pour voir l’ampleur de la caserne Major Sabbe (ex- Guillaume), le quartier de la Grande Pêcherie, puis toute la zone de la ville qui était occupée par l’armée et par les hospices. Nous rejoindrons l’ancien tracé de la rivière Trouille, puis le quartier de la gare, où nous verrons l’importance économique de ce quartier depuis l’arrivée du chemin de fer. Nous reviendrons vers la Grand-Place en passant au pied du Beffroi, où se trouvaient l’Asile et la prison.

  • 
    02 h 00 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 2.58 km

• Shopping -The experience walk

  Venez faire votre shopping autrement! Pourquoi autrement? Parce que vous trouverez un large choix de boutiques de qualité aux produits originaux. Parce que vous pourrez profiter de notre magnifique patrimoine pour embellir votre balade. Parce que le coeur historique regorge de bonnes adresses gourmandes. Parce que vous découvrirez le charme de nos 8 quartiers commercants à l'ambiance unique. Tout simplement parce qu'au centre-ville de Mons, une expérience shopping que vous ne trouverez nulle part ailleurs vous attend.

  • 
    01 h 30 m

    easy

  Longueur du parcours: 1.77 km

• Frameries, land of memories

  Magnificent route through the mining countryside of Borinage, today become green and very nice. Soon after leaving the PASS, we come into a land steeped in history. In the 19th century, Borinage experienced its incredible Industrial Revolution. In 23 mines and 63 shafts, 20,000 workers laboured in difficult conditions. Seeing the remains on the road, such as this slag heap of Belle Couple, our imagination lets use delve in this other time. Further on, the trail meanders around a birch grove, covering a former colliery. At the edge, fields and meadows lead us towards little houses that seem crushed by the mass of the Héribus slag heap. On the slope, butterflies and birds circle around us. Today, the slag heaps are havens of peace for wild fauna and flora. Nature has provided a sweet revenge for the work of men...

  • 
    05 h 00 m

    hard

  Longueur du parcours: 16.22 km

• Sirault, the chapels route

  The Sirault region is certainly one of the most pleasant to explore on foot, with its peaceful rural side. Leaving Sirault, the consolidation path meanders across the fields. Facing us, on the ridges, stands the bell tower of the church of Neufmaison. The village collects around it the typical elements of the villages in the region – long farms and magnificent wood barn doors are all elements that charm us throughout this route, bathed in the ambience of yesteryear... Moving away from the village, the road makes beautiful arabesques in the middle of the meadows. Discoveries continue – at each turn we discover a new panorama, a new broad landscape, through the paths crossing through groves or enclosing a chapel, such as that at Ifs, dedicated to Saint Hubert. Back to Sirault where a friendly local bistro, the Noir Bonnet, is waiting for us...

  • 
    03 h 00 m

    easy

  Longueur du parcours: 8.9 km

• Discovering the sanctuaries of abbeys

  Starting at Grand-Place, come and discover the former refuges (see the definition below): of the French Hasnon Abbey, a large building in the classic Mons style from the first half of the 18th Century; of Liessies Abbey, which dates back to 1633 and which was re-arranged in the 18th Century; of Bélian Abbey, a rich building erected circa 1775 according to plans drawn up by Charles-Emmanuel Fonson; of Aulne Abbey, established in the private mansion of the knights of the Order of Malta, in the second half of the 18th Century; of Bonne Espérance Abbey, a vast building featuring 18 spans on two coated levels from the middle of the 18th Century; of the Saint-Denis-en-Brocqueroie Abbey, a listed monument and a large Louis XIV of France-era building

  • 
    03 h 00 m

    easy

  Longueur du parcours: 3.36 km

• Moneuse route: the Houlette massacre - Honnelles

  This route takes you in the footsteps of Antoine-Joseph Moneuse, the famous bandit and Captain of the Chauffeurs du Nord. During this walk, you’ll relive this dark day of 22 November 1795. At that date, one of the most bloody events to have hit our region took place: the Houlette massacre. Moneuse was soon suspected of being the perpetrator of this heinous crime that killed nine people. But the truth is never simple ... Through the fields and paths of Roisin and Meaurain and the French village of La Flamangrie, you’ll have to cross the Franco-Belgian border several times where our region was torn between Austria and France, recalling a troubled period of history. Have a good walk and watch out... Bandits are about. Route created and put together by Hauts-Pays natural park Illustrations Claude Renard

  • 
    02 h 00 m

    medium
  • 
    01 h 00 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 9.76 km

• Boussu, au fil de l'eau

  A route that glides along the Haine, in the heart of a wetland, on of the most unexpected natural reserves in this industrial region. Start in the greenery of the park of the Boussu chateau where there is a magnificent reed bed. Here we are in the heart of a wetland of over 760 ha that the water board will allow to dry out. Continue this tour along the water, cutting through the levees – with natural filtration, the Saubin is a good example of natural clean up. From these peaceful landscapes, we return to the most austere tailing dumps of shafts 7 and 8 of Hornu. These black mountains, immense, witness to the mining activities that prevailed there. Like the RAVeL along the old Warquignies station, which housed all the skips from the mines – 42 tracks, rotary hubs – nothing is left... Just before reaching the centre, a short detour to the left brings us to the Desevaux brewery.

  • 
    03 h 30 m

    medium

  Longueur du parcours: 10.52 km

fr nl