4 best places to visit in Wallonia, Belgium with family and kids, into the wild

Wallonia, Belgium | City tour | Hiking | Wildlife Park | Underground Caves | Useful links

In Summer, it is the most happening time in Europe. The summer season is meant to welcome the golden sunshine after a series of rainy, grey, and moody winter clouds, especially in Belgium. Little did we know that it's going to be limited entertainment, travel, and fun during the summer of 2020. Yes, it's because of the pandemic.

It was in the August of 2020, a window of happiness opened up. The first lockdown was relaxed, and the people were allowed to meet & travel within Belgium. Although, air and cross-border traveling were restricted.

Two families, each couple with a toddler, needed some break after consuming several gigabytes of internetworking from home and rigorous online schooling. The kids were six and seven years old respectively, so one can imagine how much they're exhausted after lockdown at home since March!

Given that traveling was allowed, we planned a meeting to hunt for places to visit and plan an itinerary

The first question was obviously, where to go?

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If these points reflect in your mind, then you are in the right hands. Continue to read until the end for some wonderful travel tips!

I know the efforts required to plan an itinerary for short trips, especially when kids are involved. To make it easy for you, I have put together some introduction, highlights of the attraction, Don't miss activities, useful tips, links to parking, location, and online shops to buy entrance tickets. In the end, you'll also find the accommodation we stayed in. A bonus if you are a photography enthusiast like me, you'll find the best spots from the photos taken during the trip

Luckily, we are based in Antwerp, so the driving to any part of Belgium is under 120min. This cleared the way to focus on the places to visit. Below are the 4 places that we visited during our 4-day trip in the Wallonia part of Belgium.

• Day 1: City tour in Dinant, Namur, Belgium
• Day 2: Hike in the Ninglinspo River, Ardennes, Belgium
• Day 3: Relaxing day with a visit to a huge park in the Domain de Chevetogne
• Day 4: Cave and Wildlife Sanctuary, Domain des Grotte de Han, Belgium

We've shortlisted these places after an extensive search. In the end, it was one of the best aand short summer break-out vacations with the families.. 

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The beautiful and vibrant city of Dinant is located on the river Meuse, in the Belgian province of Namur. It is about 140km and 90min drive from Antwerp. It's about 100km from Brussels International Airport.

The city's history dates back to the middle age, and the first mention was in the 7th century. It was one of the most affected cities due to the First World War's aftermath when it suffered destruction, famine, and epidemics. The city is known for its fertile lands, agriculture, and metal works such as brassware.

So we picked two places to visit, one for learning an event from history and the second for engaging with nature.

A. Citadelle de Dinant 

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The best time to visit is in the afternoon, so you can spend some time inside the walking through the history, going back to the First World War consisting of the museum of weapons, the scenes from the life of Dutch garrisons where they forge metal works, weapons, the old style of kitchens and a bakery.

Don't miss it! One unique attraction of the Citadel is the walkthrough a crooked path of a collapsed shelter that suffered damage due to bombing during WWI. Wall wasn't restored, and the path is still standing strong even after it became slanting, defying gravity. The short 5min walk through the passage will test the balance of and the equilibrium of one's body against gravity, its unbelievable and adventurous experience. The time depends on the crowd and the speed at which everyone manages to move through the tunnel and not suitable for weak, pregnant, and person having heart problems.

Useful facts & links: Citadelle de Dinant

• Typical time spent in this attraction, including resting and lunch, is 2-3 hours
• Free car parking available at the top of the citadel. Link to parking in maps 
• Cafeteria facility available inside the Citadel premises
• Kids play area available
• It can be reached by foot, involves climbing 408 steps (dating back to construction in 1577) or hopping on a cable car which also offers a beautiful view of the city
• Entrance tickets to be purchased. Link to buy tickets
• Link to official website (English)

B. Musée de La Fraise(Strawberry Museum) & The Garden of Berries, Wépion

Wépion is a village located around 8km from Dinant, considered the strawberry capital of Belgium. The fertile land and sun exposure have made it the most favorable place for strawberry farming for 150 years.

Musée de la Fraise is one of the pioneers in strawberry cultivation and was started to preserve the local culture and heritage. It told the story of how the berry arrived in Belgium and the history of the Mosaic valley. Visitors can also enjoy the story of strawberry gastronomy, traditional tableware, art, and folklore.

Museum has a small boutique shop where visitors can buy several varieties of foods and drinks made from strawberries from the local farm. (see tips below for my recommendation).

Adjacent to the museum, there is "The garden of Berries" within 5min of walking distance. This was one of the fairyland for the kids, a gift from nature, where they can witness almost all the normal to exotic berries in one place. Kids can touch, feel, taste, and learn to recognize the different species of berries. In a good season, visitors can expect close to 15 varieties of strawberries.

One of the best place we have ever visited with kids!

Useful facts & links: Musée de La Fraise

• Typical time spent in this attraction including resting and lunch is 1-2 hours
• Free car parking available at the entrance of the museum. Link to parking in maps
• A boutique shop available inside the Museum. My recommendation to buy: Strawberry Beer, Strawberry liquor and Strawberry Gin
• The garden is opposite and within reach of 5min walk. You can eat all the edible berries and fruits, fresh from the plant, as much as you want but cannot take away
• Entrance tickets to be purchased. Link to buy tickets
• Link to official website

Fun-Fact: Day 1 total walking distance was close to 9km, along with kids

Day 2: Hike in the Ninglinspo River, Aywaille, Ardennes, Belgium

Ninglinspo river is a stream, and the river’s valley is considered the outstanding heritage area of Wallonia. It runs between Vert-Buisson and Noncevex (info source Wikipedia). Everywhere along the hike, the relaxing sound of the waterfalls flowing over the quartzite rocks and the healing fresh air and aroma of the forest is a paradise on earth.

The relaxing sound of mini waterfalls hitting the rock at Ninglinspo river. Ardennes, Belgium. Video by avpixels

This was a big retreat after lockdown within four walls at home looking at screens, endless video conferences, and binge-watching of Netflix series! 

We start the hike from the parking. There are various routes available to select from. you can find it on the map at the entrance of the car park. It is categorized based on the distance, altitudes, and difficulty levels such as climbing or waterfalls, etc. Each route has color code with shape, you can see these signboards along the hiking path and follow it. You can never get lost.

We took the blue rectangle route, and it turned out to be the best path along the river with the most natural playing relaxing sound of waterfalls (see video above), a little climbing (see video below), a breathtaking view overlooking the valley, and walk through the pine forest; finally, it’s a steep walk down to the parking lot. It was well balanced and an extraordinary experience.

Scroll down for the useful tips, location and useful links to reach this amazing place.

Photographs taken during the hike

Pictures can show the beautiful nature we had on either side during the entire hike, the fresh aroma of the forest woods and moist land, the soothing of the waterfalls hitting on the rock, the view from the top overlooking the valley. It was a retreat, and the kids enjoyed it the most during this trip.

Useful facts & links: Ninglinspo River Hike

• Make sure to wear comfortable and flexible clothing according to the weather. Good shoes will help to keep the feet light for long walks.
• I recommend to carry enough supply of water and some energy bars to feed your stomach as there are no cafeteria or water fountains.
• A binocular for kids will be very handy; we also took a compass to teach some navigations.
• It might be a good idea for kids to take spare clothes, just in case if they had to take a dip into the waterfalls.
• Link to location parking in maps. The parking area is small and limited, so we had to wait for at least 30min to get a slot. Tip: Go early in the morning
• There are no entrance tickets
• Link to official website
• Link to route map (only blue path, it’s a pdf booklet in the French language)
• keep up to date about opening hours/closed click here
• We found a lot of litter, especially cans, plastic bags, and some liquor bottles, including beer cans. My advice would be to carry your trashes all the way until the end and dispose of it in proper bins. Thanks for not littering in nature.

Fun-fact: According to Apple iPhone fitness app, the hike was 7.33km and with the kids walking full distance it took us 6 and a half n hour to complete the blue route.

We kept the day free of any big activities as the kids want to recover from the 7km hike along the river. So we called it a silent day. At the same time, it’s going to be boring to stay at the stay place. A few kilometers away from the place, we found this massive park built on a 453 ha estate. The place was private property, then the province of Namur bought it to open to social tourism.

For more details, please refer to their official website. The link below contains useful facts. (Use google chrome as the page is available only in French and Dutch).

I recommend this place for leisure and a relaxing picnic as a one-day trip if you are residing in Belgium. If you are a tourist to Belgium, this might not be a primary attraction but can fit in if you are looking for a free day in between.

Useful facts & links: Domain de Chevetogne

• Make sure to wear comfortable and flexible clothing according to the weather
• For kids, it might be a good idea to take spare clothes, a picnic mat, and water bottles
• There are restaurants inside the park, so no worries
• Link to location and parking in maps.
• An entrance ticket is required, and entry tickets can purchase tickets at the entry gate. For the price, details click here
• Link to official website



Fun-fact: Kids will have fun in the park and make new friends to play with.

Day 4: Domain des Grottes de Han (The Domain of the cave of Han)

Little did we know that we had chosen to enter into a paradise before we stepped inside. Heavenly, one word to describe the beauty and wilderness of this place.

There are two major attractions in this place.

A huge wildlife park with many animal species to excite the kids and a jaw-dropping 110-meter deep underground cave with a lot of stalagmites and stalactites.

Once you arrive at the parking lot, you have to walk a little distance to the entrance. From the entrance, you’ll have to walk a few hundred meters again, passing through some artworks and shops. Then you arrive at a train station, and a small tourist wagon coach will take you to the wildlife park entrance. Once you step out, you enter the world of flora and fauna. 

This wildlife park is filled with lots of animals to excite the kids. You can watch them closer. Among them, two of our favorites are the brown bear and the white polar arctic wolf.

There is a viewpoint at the top of the park that offers a magnificent view of the serene meadows at the foot and lush green forest below the clouds. The rope bridge around the edge of the viewpoint is amazing fun for kids. There are two trials, a short and long. After a short 3km, at the foot of the Boine hill, you can hop on a safari bus to continue further and get dropped at the station to go to the caves.

We arrive at the entrance of the cave. Here you will be grouped, and it will be a guided tour lead by a captain. The captain will explain the history of formation, highlights, and notable facts about the cave. The cave is stunning and mind-blowing to look at those stalagmites and stalactites standing tall; it is said that the cave was formed many thousands of years ago due to underground erosion of a limestone hill by the river Lesse. The cave was found in 1771, and some Bronze Age relics have been found inside.

The guided tour is about an hour and a half. In the end, you will enter a massive chamber several meters below the surface, which spans 150m across and a ceiling height of 127m. One of the greatest and important Don’t miss! of the attraction is the light and sound show. Simply fantastic. Watch sneak in the video below.

Useful facts & links: Domain des Grottes de Han

• Make sure to wear comfortable and flexible clothing according to weather, need to walk a lot if you decide to go around on foot. Distance should be around 6km. Find the map of the walking trail here.
• Hop on-off safari bus available inside the park
• It might be a good idea for kids to take spare clothes, a picnic mat, water bottles, and some energy bars and foods.
• There are cafeterias/restaurants inside the park, so no worries. We chose to see the wildlife park in the morning and return to the Cave to attend the evening session. There is a restaurant at the entrance to have some warm meal & soup.
• A binocular for kids will be very handy, and we also took a compass to teach some navigations.
• Link to location and parking in maps.
• An Entrance ticket is required, and the entry ticket can be purchased at the entry gate. For the price, details click here
• Link to official website
• For opening hours and shuttles information, click here

Hope you enjoyed the virtual journey so far.

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