Namur

“Half chic, half straightforward and unassuming”

According to the words of the famous Benoit Poelvoorde, a true “chwè” (the name given to pure-bred people from Namur), “Namur is a town of contrasts: it is extremely middle class, and yet besides that extremely bedraggled”. Translation: despite its status as the capital of Wallonia, Namur has been able to retain its small-town – or even large village – charm, with all the pleasant appearance that implies.

Here no one is really fussed and everyone knows one other. “If you fart in your apartment and go out 2 hours later, everyone at the vegetable market knows what you had to eat at midday,” concludes the actor. You should probably avoid broccoli and flageolet beans then.

A town centre with a human dimension

Located 60 km to the south-east of Brussels, Namur is a former Roman city at the meeting point of two rivers: the Sambre and the Meuse. The town is at the heart of Europe and the Regions, through its hosting of the Walloon institutions but also as a true driving force of digital and cultural development.

Families, pensioners, students and young professionals live there alongside one another in perfect tranquillity and make the most of the opportunities offered by a town centre that is accessible and pedestrian friendly. With over 800 shops, we can say that its commercial offering is dense and diversified, as is its culinary and cultural offering: cafés, restaurants, museums, galleries etc.

In less time than you would need to say it, you will fall for the charms of its rivers, riverbanks and cobbled alleys. The town is also full of points of interest for tourists, with its Roman and medieval remains (including the famous citadel of Namur, a must see).

Easy travel

While the cliché is that those from Namur are often teased for being slow (their drawling accent does not help), the town does however allow you to move around extremely quickly. It is located at the axis of several national and international railway lines and the motorway is at the entrance to the town. We should not forget that 370 kilometres of footpaths and cycling paths have been marked out to facilitate green tourism.

Double K: at the cutting edge of creation and innovation

Namur is a member of the UNESCO network of creative towns and cities. Not bad, huh? The town also has an incubator: TRAKK, a hub dedicated to the cultural and creative industries and to the digital sector. It provides start-ups with guidance, studios, offices and co-working spaces. Coworking Namur is another very cool collaboration space.

KIKK Festival – an event promoting digital and creative cultures – is held every November. And with a major urban overhaul, Namur fits in with the Smart City dynamic, and it is ranked 2nd in the Belgian Smart Cities rankings. Smart indeed!

Namur – the unmissable experiences:

• Take a walk on its marina with a view of the citadel, on hot summer evenings.
• Climb up to the citadel on foot, the best way to discover the town by getting a bit of elevation (and muscle tone). Or if you don’t feel brave enough, take the cable car.
• Set off on a journey to discover its gastronomy (Wépion strawberries, avisances, fricassées, snails) and the many regional beers.
• Try out the lawns of its many parks (Parc Reine Fabiola, Parc de la Plante, Parc Astrid, Parc de l’Étoile, Parc Louise-Marie, the Arboretum, etc.).
• Revel in its festival programme: FIFF (International French Language Film Festival), Verdur Rock, Namur en mai, Esperanzah, etc.).
• Not to forget, of course, the unmissable “Wallos” or Fêtes de Wallonie, an institution that livens up the whole town on the third weekend in September. There is nothing like it if you want to meet people, celebrate and drown all the rest out with litres of Péket gin.