At Marcinelle, beware of the many metal shavings and nails of all calibres at the disused Duferco-Carsid landing stage! A notorious site for punctures!

After the Charleroi ring road, cross the Sambre as far as Charleroi-sud station. Continue along the Sambre without leaving it, passing between the unforgettable factories as far as Marchienne. Cross the bridge, turn right to go under it and continue along the towpath to a footbridge. Then go straight on.

• From Charleroi-Sud trains <= >to Brussels, Antwerp, Thuin, Erquelinnes, Namur, Mons, Tournai, Maubeuge
• From Marchienne-au-Pont trains <=> Charleroi-Sud, Brussels, Antwerp, Mons, Tournai

Charleroi (Marcinelle) :

• The Bois du Cazier site :  ilisted on the UNESCO World Heritage List alongside Wallonia’s three other major mining sites, the Bois du Cazier illustrates the memory, conditions and immigration of the working class.
  Thanks to the awareness-raising work carried out around the Tragedy of 8 August 1956, no one can any longer ignore the power of this tangible and intangible heritage. The site comprises three museums.
• Museum of Industry (coal mining, steelmaking, glassmaking, metal and electrical engineering)
• Museum of Glass
• Museum of Fine Arts (notably industrial landscape paintings by Pierre Paulus)
• Maison Dorée (a notable example of Art Nouveau)

Charleroi (Mont-sur-Marchienne) : Museum of Photography (exceptional collection)

Charleroi (Marchienne-au-Pont) : chapel boat (right bank)

Markets :

• Charleroi (Marcinelle) Wednesday,
• Charleroi (Marchienne-au-Pont) Tuesday,
• Charleroi (Mont-sur-Marchienne) Monday.

• • Namur 
  • Floreffe 
  • Sambreville (Auvelais)

Trains :

• • from Namur : Brussels, Ostend, Charleroi, Liège, Maubeuge, Dinan
  • from Auvelais : Namur, Charleroi, Mons, Tournai, Brussels

• Saint-Loup church (17th c.), the most beautiful Baroque religious building in Belgium
• citadel (10th-19th century) +32(0) 81 65 45 00
• Félicien Rops Museum (1833-1898): paintings, engravings, drawings +32(0) 81 77 67 55
• treasury of the priory of Oignies: Mosan silverware
• Saint-Aubain cathedral, 18th century +32(0) 81 77 67 54
• 14th-century belfry
• former enclosure tower

Floreffe :

• abbey (12th-18th century) www.abbaye-de-floreffe.be
• baroque stalls
• dovecote
• moulin-brasserie: beautiful view of the Sambre from the terrace +32(0) 81 44 53 03
• domaine des grottes +32 (0) 81 45 12 31

Tamines: cemetery of those shot in 1914.

Markets :

• Namur (Saturday)
• Floreffe (Thursday)
• Auvelais-Sambreville (Wednesday).

Nearby: Annevoie-Rouillon estate – 17 km south of Namur (gardens classified as a major heritage site by the Walloon Region) +32(0) 82 67 97 97 http://www.annevoie.be/fr/

From Thuin trains <=> to Erquelinnes and Charleroi-Sud.

• Ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Aulne (12th–18th centuries)
• the imposing ruins of the abbey church, the refectory and the farm

Thuin :

• picturesque upper town (former refuges of the abbeys of Aulne and Lobbes, belfry)
• restored hanging gardens
• Local Tramway Museum
• Ecomuseum of river transport

Lobbes :

• Saint-Ursmer Collegiate Church (an outstanding example of Carolingian art in Wallonia and the oldest church in Belgium)
• Folcuin’s garden

Solre-sur-Sambre : fortified castle (14th century) surrounded by a moat

Merbes-le-Château : a church with a bulbous bell tower (16th century) featuring Mosan capitals.

Markets :

• Thuin, Friday
• Fontaine-Valmont, Tuesday
• Solre-sur-Sambre, Tuesday
• Merbes-le-Château, Wednesday

This cross-border stage has a continuous exclusive right-of-way, except on the few bridges. The route zigzags from one bank to the other. After the boulevard circulaire in Maubeuge, it crosses back over to the left side of the Sambre on a footbridge to enter the town.

Jeumont :

• gare numérique (former international train station – Paris-Berlin, Moscow, Copenhagen – refurbished as a platform for art and digital technology)
• Watissart leisure centre (supervised beach in summer)

Marpent :

• Notre-Dame-d’Ayde church (15th century) (wooden vaults) .
• bandstand
• Nature site on the cycle route: Portes des Marpiniaux (on the banks of the Sambre)

Boussois :

• Saint-Martin church (1926), known as Notre-Dame-des-Glaces (Art Deco glass cross)
• bandstand (concert bandstand type)
• glass memory space on the industrial past of Boussois

Maubeuge :

• Vauban’s fortifications
• Saint-Pierre-et-Paul church (André Lurçat architect)
• Notre-Dame du-Tilleul church (1864) with a metal framework
• the Salle Sthrau: an Art Deco jewel
• a lovely walk in a green and historic setting between the ramparts and the river Sambre
• the zoo

Markets :

• Erquelinnes, Friday afternoon
• Jeumont, Thursday morning
• Marpent, Tuesday morning
• Maubeuge, Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings.

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