The Ardennes form the south-eastern part of the Kingdom of Belgium. The country's only low mountain range borders the Eifel to the east, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the south-east and France to the south and south-west. The Ardennes, with their hills between 150 and almost 700 metres above sea level, belong to Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium. The routes in Wallonia do not have an alpine character, but it is all ups and downs; the countless climbs are rarely long, but often all the more poisonous. The extremely difficult one-day classics "Flèche Wallonne" and "Liège-Bastogne-Liège" pass through the region in spring.
There are only a few of the much-vaunted railway line cycle paths called RAVeL in the entire region. Sometimes they are well signposted and easy to ride, other times the route is absolutely adventurous and nonsensical. In general, the infrastructure for touring cyclists is not very good in this region, which is so crazy about road cycling. Routes marked as cycle paths on the maps do not (yet) exist in reality, and you can only dream of consistent and comprehensible cycle path signposting. However, this is not really tragic, as there are numerous tiny, mostly well-paved roads, and there is virtually no traffic on the side roads - the Ardennes are nowhere near as densely populated as the rest of the country.
Best time to travel
May to October. In spring, it can be uncomfortable, as the television pictures of the spring cycling classics have shown often enough. Overall, the climate in the Ardennes is a little harsher than in the rest of the country. It rains less in autumn than in spring, and the colourful foliage of the forests makes the region even more attractive.
Journey
Car:
By car, you usually travel to Liège via Cologne and Aachen on the A44 motorway. If you are travelling from the north, you can also cross the Dutch border at Venlo and travel to Liège via Maastricht (A73, A79 and A2). If you are travelling from the south, you can take the A1 past Trier and then the German A60 and finally the Belgian A27 and A3 motorways.
From the Ruhr area, it's a stone's throw. From Berlin and Munich, it is almost 700 kilometres to Liège.
Railway:
By train, almost all routes run via Cologne and Aachen. From Aachen, ICE and Thalys trains travel to Liège at lightning speed, but it is not yet clear when the high-speed trains will also transport unpacked bicycles. The regional train takes about an hour from Aachen via Welkenraedt - with one change - to Liège.
Accommodation
Liège:
Pentahotel Liège, Boulevard de la Sauvenière 100, 4000 Liège, Tel.: + 32 4 221 77 11, https://www.pentahotels.com/fr/hotels/liege/hotel-information/
Dinant:
Castel Pont à Lesse, Rue de Pont-à-Lesse 36, 5500 Dinant, Tel.: +32 82 22 28 44, www.casteldepontalesse.be
Bouillon:
Hotel de la Poste, Place Saint-Arnould 1, 6830 Bouillon, Tel.: +32 61 46 51 51, www.hotelposte.be
La Roche-en-Ardenne:
Hostellerie La Clairefontaine, Rue de Vecpré 64, 6980 La Roche-en-Ardenne, Tel.: +32 84 41 24 70, www.clairefontaine.be
Food and drink
Frites are omnipresent in Belgium - and some of them are gigantically good. The best are usually to be found at the "baraque à frites", the small frites stalls that can be found on every corner. There is a variety of sauces - some of which are adventurous by our standards. Just try them...
But Belgium is anything but a fast-food country. A multitude of Michelin stars shine above the gourmet temples of Wallonia. Food and drink are highly valued in the region. Ardennes ham is a delicacy; the best is said to be found in La Roche-en-Ardenne, at "Bouillon et Fils" (www.maison-bouillon.be).
The sausage and game specialities are also not to be sneezed at. In Liège, you should try the special meatballs (boulets à la liégoise), which are served with a "sauce lapin" (with Sirop de Liège). And afterwards, you can either enjoy the flavoursome Herver cheese or, if you prefer something sweet, a Liège waffle, coques de Dinant (a kind of gingerbread or honey cake) or some of the first-class chocolates. The region is famous for its beers. The dark Trappist beers contain up to 10 per cent alcohol. The Kriek (with cherries) or the Framboise (with raspberries) may take some getting used to. The "Blanche", the Belgian wheat beer, is first class.
Language
French is spoken in Wallonia. Information is often provided bilingually, i.e. also in Dutch. German is even the third official language in Belgium due to a small German-speaking community (0.6% of the population) near the German-Belgian border, but hardly anyone speaks German beyond the border region.
Excursion tips/sightseeing
Towns such as Dinant, Durbuy and La Roche en Ardenne are small works of art, all three are located directly on the route. Liège is the undisputed cultural centre of Wallonia; the new "La Boverie" Museum of Fine Arts, which is well worth a visit, opened in 2016. For those interested in culture, the Renaissance castle Chateau de Jehay with its extraordinary art collection is just one of the many manor houses in the region that are well worth a visit. The Belfry of Namur (not on the route) is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, as are the historic collieries of Grand Hornu, Bois-du-Luc, Bois du Cazier and Blegny-Mine. Belgium is also the land of flea markets, antique markets and flea markets.
Bicycle service
Liège
Galeries du Cycle, Quai de la Boverie 78, Tel.: +32 4 223 6632, www.galeriesducycle.com
Near Dinant
Rem-Bike-Evasion, 71, Rue de la Molignée, 5537 Anhée, Tel.: +32 496 868194, www.rem-bike-evasion.be
Near Bouillon
VRV Bike, Rue des Moissons 28, 6380 Rochhaut, +32 474 771152, www.vrvbike.com
La Roche-en-Ardenne
Ben Bikes, Avenaue de Villez 13bA, Tel.: +32 498 347956
Information
Belgium Tourism Wallonia-Brussels, Stolkgasse 25-45, 50667 Cologne, Tel: 0221/277590, www.belgien-tourismus.de
On the Internet
www.ratgeber-belgien.de, www.belgium.be, www.beauxvillages.be, www.la-roche-tourisme.com, www.durbuyinfo.be, www.bouillon-tourisme.be, www.visitezliege.be
Literature and maps
Maps:
Michelin 534 Regional Benelux, Belgium South, 1:200,000, 8.99 euros.
A good supplement are the RAVEL maps in dark red (Province de Liège), green (Province de Luxembourg) and orange (Province de Namur), each at a scale of 1:100,000. They are available in many local tourist information centres or can be ordered before your trip from Belgium-Tourism in Cologne.
Travel guide:
DuMont-Reise-Taschenbuch Belgium, 17.99 euros, www.dumontreise.de
The complete article was published in Trekkingbike issue 2/2017. You can download the issue in the Trekkingbike app (iTunes and Google Play ) or in the DK-Shop order.
