As promised, here are the little accounts from my trip to Belgium this summer. We start with my first stop among our Belgian friends, located in the south of the country, on the border with northern France, in those bordering areas tinged with two cultures. This region is called the Gaume and it is dotted with many villages of bucolic charm. Some even compare it to our own Provence, as the weather is apparently so mild compared to the rest of Belgium.
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Table of Contents
My stops in the Gaume region
Below, I invite you to discover my various stops in the Gaume region in Belgium and the places I recommend you visit if you are traveling to this Belgian area.
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Visiting the village of Torgny
Among these villages, I recommend the one of Torgny, very small but quite characteristic of the region.
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Visiting Orval Abbey
I also highly recommend visiting Orval Abbey in the surrounding area. This Cistercian abbey dating back to the 12th century has been remodeled and rebuilt several times, and today one can visit the preserved ruins at the heart of the current Trappist abbey.
The place is superb and it will allow you to taste and buy the famous Trappist Orval beer and, why not, its cheese as well (one variety of which is macerated in the beer, naturally). When you say Belgium, you say land of beer, everyone knows that. Be careful, however, the brewery and the cheese dairy are unfortunately not open to visitors.
The entrance fee is a bit high (€5.50 for a full-price ticket) but the visit is well worth the detour. You can also take advantage of a free guided tour in addition to your entrance ticket on afternoons in July and August, as well as on Sunday afternoons in September. I highly recommend it as it helps you understand the history of the abbey and the successive construction stages of the Orval estate.
Of course, you can finish your visit at the abbey shop where you can walk away, as we did, with your supply of Orval beer for the next few decades, and it’s certainly there that you will find them at the best price! You can also buy Orval cheese, whose beer-infused variety is sold by weight only on site. Calling all big eaters!
Orval 1, 6823 Florenville, Belgium
Find all my articles on Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia) below:
⇒ All my articles on Belgium
⇒ All my articles on Flanders
GENERAL INFORMATION ON BELGIUM
⇒ Brussels, the capital
⇒ Belgian gastronomy
⇒ Bed and Breakfasts in Belgium
MY ARTICLES ON FLANDERS
⇒ Bruges
⇒ Ghent
⇒ Louvain/Leuven
⇒ The Belgian Coast and Ostend
MY ARTICLES ON WALLONIA
⇒ The Gaume region
Photo credits: Mademoiselle Bon Plan Photos are not royalty-free, photographer's authorization required before any use
