Ste Cécile, Chassepierre, Florenville (Ste Cécile, Chassepierre, Florenville )

À Sainte-Cécile

A - Walking

The Muno RAVeL

Breathe in the smell of hay and wild flowers borne along by a warm breeze as you cycle along this lovely green path between Sainte-Cécile and Muno, a remote village at the gates of France.

The more daring among you may want to continue along the waymarked route towards Jamoigne, enjoying the narrow roads of Gaume, passing through Chassepierre, Florenville and Moyen.

 

Practical details

Distance: 8 km

Difficulty: easy

Time: 1 hr

Start: the RAVel starts in Sainte-Cécile, on the other side of the N 83.

 

À Chassepierre

B - Walking

The Daviha tour along the Semois

Imagine a charming village bordered by peacefully flowing river. Welcome to Chassepierre!

The Daviha tour walk explores the area around the village. From Chassepierre, this route crosses a pretty bridge over the Semois. Here, you will not meet any traffic. It’s as if time stands still: so don’t hesitate to stop at one of the many picnic benches dotted along the walk and delve into your bag of cheese and sausage. Take your time: coming to Chassepierre is a chance to recharge your batteries. Every year, this village of artists hosts a street festival that is unique in Europe.

 

Practical details

Distance: 5 km

Waymarking: yellow diamond

Difficulty: easy

Time: 2 hr

Start: just after the centre of the village, towards Sainte-Cécile, cross the Semois bridge.

Did you know?

At the base of the church, a footbridge leads you to the Fairies’ Cave (Trou des Fées), the entrance to an underground landmark that is said to lead to Carignan in Meuse.

À Florenville

C - Church of Our Lady of the Assumption Voir sur la carte

Its belvedere and its bell tower with 48 bells are accessible if you climb 220 steps! It’s worth the effort, because the view from up there is truly outstanding.

À Florenville

D - The landscape interpretation centre Voir sur la carte

The beauty spot, seen from the Tourist Office, is an extraordinary book opening up onto the Gaume Lorraine. It provides the keys to unlock the region’s secrets and all its riches.

About the landscape interpretation centre

À Florenville

E - Les Chocolats d’Edouard Voir sur la carte

With a prior booking, it is possible to visit the chocolate-maker’s workshop and even spend time in his company and help him with his work.

À Orval

F - The Abbey Voir sur la carte

On the fringes of the Gaume, the warm limestone colour of the Cistercian Orval Abbey radiates an atmosphere of peace. The vicissitudes and shocks of history have not extinguished the flame that brings life to Orval, a haven of peace that remains distanced from the hustle and bustle of the modern world. 

The abbey Voir sur la carte

In 1070, exhausted travellers arrived in Orval: a long journey had brought them from southern Italy to this deep forest of northern Europe. The local lord, Arnould de Chiny, offered these monks part of his estate to build a monastery and a church. Curiously, the first monks left the site after 40 years, for unknown reasons. A small community of canons continued with the construction work. It was a huge task: they asked for help, and requested to join the Cîteaux order, which was expanding rapidly at the time. Dependent on the community of Bernard of Clairvaux, the monks completed the abbey in around the year 1200. For five centuries, the abbey led a discreet existence. The story could have come to a end in 1789 when the revolutionary troops destroyed the sumptuous abbey. A hundred and twenty-five years later, the ruins rose from their ashes when the Belgian government decided in 1913 to rebuild the site. The new monastic complex was inaugurated in 1948.

Did you know?

In the 11th century, monks left Cluny Abbey and wanted to live apart from the world, in an isolated region: this was to be Cîteaux! The new order spread throughout Europe. Opposed to the luxury of the Cluniacs, the Cistercians adopted austerity and the rigour of a life devoted to prayer and manual labour. The Ardennes offered them untamed and remote land. “Trees and stones will teach you what you can never learn from masters…” (Saint Bernard).

À Chameleux

G - Meet and savour Voir sur la carte

‘Le Chameleux’

The local bistro, ‘Le Chameleux’, lies in a green setting at the heart of the vast Orval forest. Its recipes have been passed down through four generations. The speciality of the house is trout, an absolute delight. And then there’s the famous vinaigrette, enhanced by the personal touch of the chef, who also holds the coveted Ambassadeur d’Orval label! Because every year, the Ambassadeur d’Orval is awarded by the famous abbey to the cafés and restaurants that best meet the criteria of Presence, Service and Creativity. Lying opposite a lake and the ruins of an old Gallo-Roman staging post on the Reims-Trèves road, built in 45 BC under the reign of the Emperor Claudius, ‘Le Chameleux’ has a spacious, peaceful, sunny terrace. It is also the starting point for several forest walks, as well as a short after-dinner stroll to the tiny, picturesque French village of Williers, perched on a spur barred by a wall, no doubt built in Celtic or Roman times. This village, with its single, widening street, is well worth a visit.

Walking Voir sur la carte

From the ‘bistrot de terroir’, enjoy an amazing walk in the great Gaume forest. Why not continue as far as Orval Abbey on foot, approaching this great church from a different angle.

 

Practical details

Distance: 11.5 km

Waymarking: blue diamond

Difficulty: average

Time: 3 hrs

Start: in the hamlet of Chameleux, start at the Gallo-Roman camp.

À Florenville

H - Tourist reception site Voir sur la carte

La Maison du tourisme du Pays de la Semois entre Ardenne & Gaume

Esplanade du Panorama, 1 - 6820 Florenville

+32 (0)61/31.12.29

info@semois-tourisme.be

www.semois-tourisme.be

Open all year round

Low season : from 9am to 6pm (from 10am to 4 pm Sunday)

July ang August and Easter holidays : every day from 9am to 7pm and each Friday from April to October

Closed 25th December and 1st January

À Florenville

I - Sainte-Hélène brewery Voir sur la carte

Sainte-Hélène is the name of a beer, but also of a street in the small village of Orsinfaing. This is where, working in an old barn, Eddy Pourtois tinkered around, adapting second-hand equipment to build his brewery! The man with golden fingers, advised by the brewer monks of Orval, manages to brew Gaumette, a white beer with an alcohol content of 5.2% and Sainte-Hélène, an amber beer with an alcohol content of 8.5%. He has won his wager. The traditional brewing methods are adopted to produce beers of character using noble ingredients: barley malt, hops, water and yeast. Having moved to Ethe, Eddy Pourtois continued his gustative research and in 2008 he launched a low-fermentation beer, a Pils! This was a first in the province of Luxembourg. The Sainte-Hélène beers are refermented in the bottle or in barrels, unfiltered and unpasteurised, guaranteeing a unique taste and smell!

Sainte-Hélène brewery is now located in Florenville.

More informations :

rue d'Arlon, 17B - 6820 Forenville

+32(0)61/46 45 43

À Chassepierre

J - Tourist information site

Section locale du SI de Florenville

rue du Breux, 3 - 6824 Chassepierre

Tél. : +32 (0)61/31.24.74

À Muno

K - Tourist information

Syndicat d'initiative de Muno

rue de l'Enfer,1 - 6820 Muno

+32 (0)61/32.00.19

jabertaux@hotmail.com

Open every day in July and August from 2pm to 5pm

the rest of the year, open by appointment only