12 Best Sights in Tournai, Western Wallonia

Without doubt, the crowning glory of Tournai is its magnificent cathedral, which soars over the center and remains one of the great sights of Belgium. Its existence dates back to the 5th century, though work on the current building began some 700 years later, first in the Romanesque style, then becoming more Gothic as construction progressed. Its exterior is breathtaking, etched in blue stone with a huge rose window (replaced in the 19th century). Parts are still being renovated now but visitors are free to wander most of the interior, including the Tresor (Treasury), which contains, among its relics, tapestries, and the vestment worn by 12th-century saint Thomas Becket, a former Archbishop of Canterbury. 

An eclectic wonder of a museum spread over a pair of gabled 17th-century houses. Its rooms narrate a life gone by in Tournai. Some items seem almost inconsequential, but when added together they paint a fascinating picture, as subjects skip from death, printing (Tintin publisher Casterman was based in Tournai), porcelain, and hats, to dog wheels (yes, there’s a canine-powered butter churner), football memorabilia, Belgium's first frites stall, and plenty more. 

By the late Middle Ages, Tournai was a wealthy bishopric and a fine prize for any European superpower. It's no surprise that its history is one of constant siege and invasion, as it swapped French, British, Spanish, Austrian, and German rulers for much of the past 500 years. As such, this unassuming two-floor military museum is the finest source of history on the city, backed by weapons and uniforms from the ages. Strangely, the 18th and 19th centuries remain untranslated, but most exhibits are in English, and coverage of the wars of the 20th century are superb, particularly the German and Allied bombing campaigns that leveled the city in 1940, 1943, and 1944. Photography from that era shows just how much of Tournai has been rebuilt.

Even the building is a work of art. Opened in 1928, this museum was designed by Victor Horta, doyen of the Art Nouveau movement, though war interrupted the original commission and by the time he returned to it, his tastes had shifted to a more sober Art Deco style. The airy interior features fine works by Tournai's own Rogier van der Weyden and Flemish greats Peter Paul Rubens and Pieter Breughel. A particularly eye-catching piece by the Mouscron-born Rémy Cogghe, of a bar brawl gone wrong, is wonderfully fraught with drama. The showpieces are mainly French or Dutch, including scribbles by Toulouse-Lautrec, a sketch by Van Gogh, and works by Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, and a pair of paintings by Edouard Manet—perhaps the real gems here. A lack of any explanation in English doesn't diminish this fine collection.  

Wrought in magnificent blue stone, Tournai's UNESCO-listed belfry is the oldest surviving example in Belgium. It dates back to AD 1188, when the town was granted the charter of municipal liberties by King Philippe of France. Only in the 16th century did it gain a carillon (now 55 bells strong), as its purpose became more social. This was one of few buildings to escape the bombing of World War II; however, it has recently been closed for renovation. Visitors can still only climb to the first floor, though its upper floors should reopen after 2022. 

This forest adventure park has plenty of tree climbing, as well as two of the largest ziplines in Belgium, tree houses, escape rooms, geocaching sites, and a subterranean world to explore. Outdoor fun for kids. 

The grandiose main square (well…triangle) is wrapped by elegant 17th-century guild houses, each still flying the flags of the old guilds. These now contain a stream of terraced cafés and bars. But in the early days of Tournai, this was a very different place. For a long time, it was a cemetery, and the Église Saint-Quentin, with its 12th-century nave, is thought to date from that era. It was only when work on the town belfry began in 1188 that this area become the heart of the newly crowned city. 

North of the river are some fine examples of Gothic and gabled Romanesque houses that escaped the blanket bombing of the city center in the 1940s. Waking maps can be found in the tourism office, or just head to rue Barre Saint-Brice where you can admire prototypes of the Flemish stenen (stone) style of architecture and a 15th-century Gothic manor house.

You won’t learn much here unless you speak French, but the addition of a large vivarium to this cramped hall of taxidermied animals (dating back to 1828) makes it a far more entertaining prospect. Very-much-alive spiders, scorpions, tortoises, and lizards can all be seen as part of an international breeding program for rare species. 

Between the 15th and 18th centuries, Tournai was famed for its tapestries. This converted neoclassical mansion holds some fine examples of the craft in its small collection, and it is also a workshop where tapestries are made and restored. The only downside is the lack of any explanation in English.  

The River Scheldt (known in French as the "Escaut") once gave Tournai a vital route to the sea, making it a thriving medieval trading hub. The Pont des Trous (Bridge of Holes) was built as a fortified bridge in the 13th century to defend this vital waterway, and remains one of only three examples of its kind left in the world. Having said that, it was largely destroyed in World War II, only to be swiftly rebuilt with a larger arch to allow for modern transport barges to pass. At the time of writing, it was being enlarged again, despite vociferous public outcry. It is a great spot to watch the barges drift on by.

A fascinating relic from the only time that England, driven by the ambitions of young Tudor king Henry VIII, invaded what is now Belgium. He captured two French cities before moving on to Tournai, which was seized in the Battle of Guinegate. Just a year later, Henry's advisor, Thomas Wolsey, would sue for peace, and England kept Tournai. This tower was built to house Henry's troops in 1515 and was part of a larger citadel. Under Henry's rule, the town maintained a representative in the English parliament, but locals never took to their new owners and it proved costly to maintain a town so far from Calais. In 1519, Tournai was sold back to the French for 600,000 gold crowns (a huge amount).