Towns and villages
Despite its considerable natural beauty, we must not forget that people live in the Ardennes, in charming and attractive towns and villages, some on easily defended hilltops and others on main roads or river banks. A number of awards and designations have been created to highlight the best towns and villages to visit: here are some of the main categories you may come across.
Celles, plus beau village de Wallonie (c) Laëtis
In France
Charleville-Mézières and Sedan are designated Villes d’art et d’histoire (Towns of Art & History): both offer guided tours and tourist trails to allow visitors to explore their exceptional heritage buildings.
The city of Bouillon
The city of Vianden
The city of Dinant
A village in the Ardennes
The remparts of Rocroi
The village of Limbourg, "plus beau village de Wallonie"
The village of Olne, "plus beau village de Wallonie"
Several villages are rewarded with labels
Givet, on the Meuse close to the Belgian border has been awarded the title of Plus Beau Détour de France (Most beautiful detour in France): for its exceptional landscape and its historic buildings, including the Charlemont fortress built for Emperor Charles V.
Signy-le-Petit (on the Belgian border with a fortified church) and Haybes (on the Meuse, destroyed in WW1 and rebuilt in traditional pink brick and slate roofs) have been recognised as Stations Vertes (green resorts): centres for countryside and nature tourism
Falaën, in the valley of the Molignée
There are two Petites cités de caractère (Charming small towns) in the Ardennes, a network created in 1975 in Brittany to help small communities with exceptional heritage buildings to protect and restore them and to help them develop cultural tourism initiatives to stimulate their local economies. The network was expanded to include the Ardennes region in 2014, and now includes Mouzon and Rocroi.
Mouzon has a splendid Gothic Abbey church and a twelfth-century fortified gateway, the Porte de Bourgogne. A museum shows visitors the processes involved in the town’s main industry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the production of woollen felt.
Rocroi one of only two entirely preserved sixteenth-century fortified towns in Europe. Ten streets radiate from its central square, allowing its garrison to reach their posts quickly to repel an attack. The town is surrounded by walls and earthworks in a distinctive star shape. It was laid out in 1555 and its fortifications were modified by Vauban, Louis XIV’s great military engineer, in 1675.
Rocroi is also a Village étape (Overnight stop village) along with Launois-sur-Vence.
There are also several local annual Villes et Villages fleuris (Towns and villages in bloom) competitions and the prizewinners are designated by signs with one to four flower symbols each year.
Rocroi, Village étape et Petite cité de caractère
In Belgium
Les Plus Beaux Villages de Wallonie (The most beautiful villages in Wallonia) is an association founded in 1994. Villages can apply for membership if they pass an inspection for the preservation and promotion of their heritage buildings and adhere to strict rules, you could say they are dressed in their Sunday best all year! The 31 member villages are:
Province of Brabant wallon: Mélin
Province of Hainaut: Aubechies, Barbençon, Lompret, Montignies-sur-Roc and Ragnies
Province of Liège: Clermont-sur-Berwinne, Limbourg, My, Olne and Soiron
Province of Luxembourg: Chassepierre, Mirwart, Nobressart, Ny, Our, Sohier, Torgny and Wéris
Province of Namur: Celles, Chardeneux, Crupet, Fagnolle, Falaën, Gros-Fays, Laforêt, Sosoye, Soulme, Thon-Samson and Vierves-sur-Viroin
More information, maps and photos can be found at www.beauxvillages.be
Namur was the first town in Belgium to be named a Ville en poésie (Town of poetry).
The annual Wallonie en fleurs (Wallonia in bloom) competition began in 2017 and the winning villages each year are provided with special road signs.
The village of Miwart, one of the "plus beaux villages de Wallonie"
In Luxembourg
There are no similar competitions or designations in the Grand Duchy, however many charming villages in the Luxembourg Ardennes are well worth a visit:
Clervaux, has grown up around its mediaeval castle, which today houses a photographic exhibition (The Family of Man, co-curated with MoMA New York).
Diekirch, has mostly been pedestrianised, making it a great destination for families with children to explore its museums and historic buildings.
Esch-sur-Sûre is overlooked by the ruins of its mediaeval castle, which can be toured with an audio-guide and is close to the Haute-Sûre lake, a haven for water sports and forest walks.
Ettelbruck is the gateway to the Ardennes and hosts many events for visitors throughout the year.
Vianden was a favourite holiday destination for the French novelist Victor Hugo. Today, visitors can explore its restored castle and its delightful historic buildings.
Wiltz hosts a broom festival in the spring and an arts festival in the summer. And its brewery is busy all year round making its famous beer to quench their thirst!
The village of Esch-sur-Sûre at night
