Le Village de Belvaux

Belvaux is a village of the Calestienne area where rare and fragrant flowers blossom. This small part of the Famenne, situated in the Lesse and Lomme Natural Park will enchant you with its splendid stone houses and luxuriant and preserved natural environment. The inhabitants of the village are dubbed the caracolis (Walloon for snails), owing to the fact that for decades they specialized in snail farming on an extensive scale. As you stroll through the village, you will discover on one of the riverbanks, an artistic representation of the caracolis created by the sculptor Stéphane Renard. During your peregrination, you will be able to note that pleasant discoveries in the village and in its surroundings are numerous: the chapel Saint Laurent dating from 1857 (with a choir representing angels clustering around the statue of the virgin), the old bread oven on the other side, the old mill which goes back to 1574, the Autel de la Nature (Altar of Nature), the Spring of the Hermitage also called Spring of Reveries because it witnessed numerous sentimental encounters. The Altar of Nature or Pupitre de Neufontaine is a stele erected by the philosopher and hermit Edmond d'Hoffschmidt. This curious character withdrew from the world after the unhappy outcome of a love affair, and hence onwards never ceased to be the talk of the town. He was alternately a philosopher, licentious hermit, poet, hunter, painter, councilor, benefactor of the poor, besides having many other interests. This generous and complex eccentric lived in the Château de Resteigne, which was formerly a castle of the lords of the area, the Barons d'Hoffschmidt, were he died on 12 March 1861. The main building and the carriage entrance tower of the façade are from the end of the 11th century. The façade is listed. Chasm of Belvaux: this is where the Lesse River enters the lime stone soil of the Boine massif by a staggering siphon some 50 meters deep. The river chose this subterranean route more than 100.000 years ago. This impressive natural site can only be accessed during the visit to the Wildlife Reserve. Starting from the small chapel, take the time to stroll along one of the 4 signposted walks taking you through the forest and discover the woodland Les Gauderies where the famous hermit of Resteigne lived or the Castle of Resteigne. Roadbook discovering villages and landscapes Discover our new roadbook which contains 9 fantastic walks through the Lesse Valley. This richly illustrated book is rife with anecdotes about the area, and is a great way to learn more about the area's typical geography and eventful past. Discover the Lesse Valley with these 9 loop walks around Celles, Gendron, Hour, Rochefort, Lessive, Wavreille, Vonêche & Froidfontaine, Javingue-Sevry and Revogne! Where to eat? Sleep? What to visit? You will find detailed information about walking, cycling & mountain biking, hotels, bed & breakfasts, restaurants, visits and events in and around Belvaux on this website! If you're looking to contact one of our Tourist Information Offices, please click here. With our free app “Explore Val de Lesse” you can download dozens of GPS trails (hiking, cycling, mountainbiking...) but also useful information about the area (Where to sleep? Where to eat? What can I visit?...). This app is available free of charge from the Apple Store & Google Play Store. For a lovely walk around Belvaux, we recommend you download : “Nature - Mountainbike trail Han-sur-Lesse - Belvaux - Wavreille" "Nature : Belvaux -Les Rouges-Gorges (the robins) "

Visit

French

Equipments

Contact

B-5580 Belvaux (Rochefort)

Itineraries around

Le Village de Belvaux

Les Bergeronnettes

VTT vert

VTT bleu

Horse riding trail Ave-et-Auffe - yellow

VTT rouge

Fond de Tion

VTT noir