TOP 10 PLACES TO SEE & THINGS TO DO IN TOURNAI IN ONE DAY
Just like
Leuven, I went off to the farthest point from the city-centre which doesn’t
have any opening hours. It is always my go-to plan for day trips when I
start early and none of the places of interest is open in the centre of
the city. It is better to finish off the distant ones earlier which would
also save the short travel time in the middle of the day.
TOURNAI FORTIFICATION WALLS
My day in Tournai started with Pont des Trous. As I said in the last post, Tournai was a very important city during historical and medieval
times. There were 2 fortification walls around Tournai - the first one
very close to the city-centre and a 2nd one almost at today’s R52
highway or city border. These were built time & again throughout
history. The ones still remaining belong to 12th C CE & later.
PONT DES TROUS
Pont des Trous literally means the Bridge of holes and this was
part of the outer wall! It was built in 1281, across the river Scheldt.
This was one of the major entry point to the city that had to be
safeguarded and obviously, was attacked several times, esp in 1340 by
Edward III of England.
Also See: My fashion photoshoot at Pont Des Trous on my other blog, Fashion Panache
Till date only small ships and boats can pass through. Climbing this is
not possible. However, R52 highway bridge runs parallel and very close
to this and the view of the bridge from here is definitely worth
it!
Where is Pont Des Trous (on Google Maps): Pont des Trous
Pont Des Trous Opening Hours: 24x7
Pont Des Trous Tickets: Free
HENRY VIII TOWER IN TOURNAI
However it was only by 1513, that Tournai was captured by the English
under Henry VIII (yes, the same guy who brought major reformations in
Christianity, who married 6 times, whose wife Anne Boleyn was beheaded
in the
Tower of London)! A part of the outer fortification wall also includes a tower
called Henry VIII Tower. In the whole of history, Tournai
was the only Belgian City that was even under the English! However, it
was under restoration when I went. Even otherwise it is not possible to
enter the tower. This is in the Parc Henry VIII, located very
close to the railway station.
Where is Henry VIII Tower (on Google Maps): Henry VIII Tower
Henry VIII Tower Opening Hours: 24x7
Henry VIII Tower Tickets: Free
NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL - UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN TOURNAI,
BELGIUM
By this time, it was around 10:00 AM and I headed to the city-centre to
Tourism Office. Tournai Tourism has come up with 2 short films.
One that explains the history of Tournai and another, all about the
Notre-Dame Cathedral (Heaven carved from Stone) which I watched and
headed to Notre-Dame Cathedral. Below is my link to my
detailed post about Tournai Notre Dame Cathedral, one of the 2 UNESCO
World Heritage Sites in Tournai, Belgium.
Where is Notre Dame Cathedral Tournai? Tournai Notre Dame Cathedral Opening Hours, Tickets: Read my article on
Notredame Cathedral, Tournai
Where is Tournai Tourist Office (on Google Maps): Tourist information centre
Tournai Tourist Office Opening Hours: 9:00AM to
12:30noon and 1:15PM to 5:00PM (Mon-Sat); Only afternoon on Sunday
Tournai Tourist Office Short Film Tickets: €2.10 per movie
(incl. in Tournai City Pass)
TOURNAI BELFRY - UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN TOURNAI,
BELGIUM
From the Cathedral, my next stop was the other UNESCO site in
Tournai, the Belfry. 56 Belfries all over France and
Belgium were brought under the wings of UNESCO in 1999 & 2005
CE. One of the 56 is here in Tournai, bang opposite to the
Cathedral.
Ever since those times, this was a market place and it still is! Yeah I
bought a couple of clothing here, haha! The current exterior is relatively
new, made in 19th C CE by Bruno Renard. It’s just by chance that the
Belfry is still surviving for us to see, coz in WWII almost everything was
destroyed by German bombing, but the Belfry stood with minor
damage!
Today the height can be scaled climbing 257 steps. There are 4-5 rooms enroute, however there aren’t any
chairs or details in them, but good to rest! Again, how difficult? I
pared it in my 8th month of pregnancy with a pause in those rooms! So
definitely not continuous as London monument or as tall as Berliner dom! Climbing this is totally totally worth it than any other place -
the view of the Cathedral from here is just too
spectacular! The major stop with seats is the Carillon with 55 bells, installed in
1535 CE. The 2 major bells are Bancloque and Timbre. I started
to climb by about 1:35 and went directly to the bells to hear the 2pm
bell. Here’s the mini video of it (above)!
Where is Tournai Belfry (on Google Maps): Belfry
Tournai Belfry Opening Hours: 9:30AM
to 12:00noon and 2:00PM to 5:00PM (closed on Mondays)
Tournai Belfry Tickets: €2.10 (incl. in
Tournai City Pass)
FORT ROUGE & OTHER PARTS OF FORTIFICATION WALL
Similar to the Henry VIII tower, few of the other towers still standing,
of the inner fortification wall too. One of them is the
Fort Rouge which is located in a garden inside
Eglise St.Quentin church! Sadly it was locked and I couldn’t
venture inside. The other fragment is also a part of the inner wall that I
spotted, in the N7 highway between Belfry to
Eglise St.Brice church!
Where is Fort Rouge (on Google Maps): Fort Rouge
Fort Rouge Opening Hours: 24 x 7
Fort Rouge Tickets: Free
SCULPTURE OF GABRIELLE PETIT
Behind the Eglise St.Brice church is the sculpture of Gabrielle Petit who was from Tournai, who served as a spy for Britain during
WWI. She was captured and shot dead and was later hailed as the
Belgian Heroine after the war.
Where is the sculpture of Gabrielle Petit (on Google
Maps): Statue of Gabrielle Petit
Fort Rouge Opening Hours: 24 x 7
Fort Rouge Tickets: Free
TOURNAI MUSEUMS
There are 8 major museums in Tournai incl Fine Arts, Folklore, Military
History, Natural History, Tapestry, Archaeology and Puppet Art. With the
time I had, I managed to visit Folklore Museum and Tapestry Museum. I
chose to miss the Fine Arts museum as being an Art
History major, I’d need 2 days just for the museum and to spend half an
hour there would be a sin!
The Folklore Museum itself is located inside a 17th C
building. In 3 floors, today it beautifully depicts how Tournai was in
1800s, with life sized dolls, old photographs, actual equipments and
recreated household/shop/entertainment set up!
The Tapestry Museum has a few fabulous tapestries of
15th-16th C CE. The rest of the museum in 3 floors, was contemporary
textile art!
Where is Tournai Folklore Museum (on Google Maps): Folklore Museum
Where is Tournai Tapestry Museum (on Google Maps): Tapestry Museum
Tournai Museums Opening Hours: 9:30AM
to 12:30noon and 1:30PM to 5:30PM
Tournai Museums Tickets: €2.60 each
(incl. in Tournai City Pass)
HOUSES DESIGNED BY VICTOR HORTA IN TOURNAI
My last stop in Tournai was close to the railway station - this house
designed by Victor Horta. Houses designed by Victor Horta in Brussels are under UNESCO. In Tournai, this building and the Museum of
Fine Arts were designed by him, but they aren’t under UNESCO though.
Also, this house too is a private property, similar to the ones in
Brussels and I only got to see it from outside!
Where is Victor Horta designed house in Tournai (on
Google Maps): Victor Horta house
Victor Horta House Opening Hours: 24 x 7
Victor Horta House Tickets: Free
TOURNAI NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM - Update Feb 2021
My first day-trip to Tournai was when I was pregnant. I recently
visited Tournai again to take Atyudarini to visit Notre-Dame Cathedral,
the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Tournai, Belgium. After the cathedral
visit, we headed to the Tournai Natural History Museum which
turned out to be amazing! In fact, Tournai Natural History Museum is the
oldest museum in Belgium to be opened to the public, much older
than the Brussels Natural Sciences Museum. This was founded in 1828 when
Belgium wasn't even formed but was under the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The current building is the former brewery of the Abbaye
Saint-Martin where they moved to in 1939.
This is a mix of Natural History Museum, aquarium and a bit of zoo as
well! The first section is 'evolution' with exhibits of life-sized animals
as well as some skeletons, right from Giraffe, to Hippopotamus, to
Pangolin, to monkeys, to various birds, to lion and more! The next section
is a small courtyard with enclosures for tortoises. This was Atyudarini's
favourite thing in the entire day. She literally got down to their level
and started communicating with them and let me tell you, the feeling was
mutual - the tortoises got close to her and started communicating as well!
The next section is an adorable butterfly area inside a mini tropical
greenhouse. It was fun to walk around and spot the butterflies. The most
fascinating one for me was of course the butterfly that looks like a dry
leaf! I may not have spotted it unless it was sitting on the glass!
Further ahead is the Vivarium (Aquarium) with many varieties of snakes,
other invertebrae and fishes. It is undoubtedly one of the best places to visit in Belgium with kids.
Where is Tournai Natural History Museum (on Google
Maps): Musée d'Histoire naturelle & Vivarium
Tournai Natural History Museum Opening Hours: 9:30AM to
12:30noon and 1:30PM to 5:30PM
Tournai Natural History Museum Tickets: €2.60 each (incl. in Tournai City Pass & MuseumPassMusees)
TOURNAI PUPPETRY MUSEUM (MAISON DE LA MARIONNETTE) - Update Aug 2021
Again I went on a very quick trip to Tournai, this time mainly to pay my respects to the Indian Soldiers of First World War buried in Tournai Communal Cemetery. Since we had a couple more hours in hand, I took Atyudarini again to Natural History Museum which she loved, and then we also stopped by at the Maison de la Marionnette (House of Puppets). The museum has 2 floors with the ground floor dedicated to puppets of Europe, incl. a theatre of Tintin, traditional Charlamagne string puppet, many Disney glove puppets and many more. But the first floor is what fascinated us all the more. It is dedicated to the puppets around the world, incl. a section dedicated for India! There were a Katputli dolls of Krishna, Radha and a few more as well as the shadow puppets of Tholu Bommalata. Atyudarini did identify Ravana quite immediately. There were also sections for Pakistani Katputli, Chinese and Japanese puppets.
Where is Tournai Puppetry Museum (on Google Maps): Maison de la Marionnette
Tournai Puppetry Museum (Maison de la Marionnette) Opening Hours: Mon-Fri: 9:00AM to 12:30noon and 2:00PM to 6:00PM. Only afternoons during the weekends.
Tournai Puppetry Museum (Maison de la Marionnette) Tickets: €3.50 (incl. in Tournai City Pass & MuseumPassMusees)
HOW TO REACH TOURNAI
Where is Tournai Railway Station (on Google Maps):
Tournai
Tournai is about 100km from Brussels on-road and takes about 1 hour to reach
by car.
Tournai is served by a railway station which is very well connected by
SNCB-NMBS Belgian Railways. Tournai and Brussels are connected by frequent
& direct trains and the journey time is about 1 hour. Here are
some ways to find
cheap Belgian train tickets.
All the places to see in Tournai mentioned above, are walkable from
Tournai Railway Station.
TOURNAI CITY PASS
Tournai City Pass can be purchased from the Tourist Office. There are 3
types - S, M & L.
- Tournai City Pass S - €4 - Belfry, 2 films at Tourism Office
- Tournai City Pass M - €5 - Belfry, 1 museum, 1 film at Tourism Office
- Tournai City Pass L - €10.40 - Belfry, 3 museums, 1 film at Tourism Office
TOURNAI ONE DAY ITINERARY
- Adults only: Notre Dame Cathedral, Belfry, Pont des Trous, Fine Arts Museum, Folklore museum and Tournai Archaeology Museum.
- If you have kids with you: Notre Dame Cathedral, Belfry, Pont des Trous, Natural History Museum, Maison de la Marionette
TOURNAI WEEKEND ITINERARY - TWO DAYS IN TOURNAI
- Day 1: Notre Dame Cathedral, Belfry, watch the 2 short-films at Tournai Tourism Office, Fine Arts Museum, Pont des Trous
- Day 2: Museum Hopping - Natural History Museum, Maison de la Marionette, Tournai Archaeology Museum, Folklore Museum
Henry VIII was all over the place for British and European history, the scamp. Belgium is such a lovely country, but I missed this. Beautiful art & building architecture, looks like a worthwhile visit.
ReplyDeletebeautiful capture.... lovely place.......
ReplyDeleteTournai looks like such a lovely place to visit. I'd love to see the bridges/arches/fortifications. I imagine hearing the bells much have been great - if a little loud! Saving this for my next trip to Belgium.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to Tournai, but it's good to know there are plenty of UNESCO heritage sites. Well done for climbing those 257 steps at the Belfry! At least there are plenty of rooms to rest in. I like the architecture there, so historic and iconic too!
ReplyDeleteThis looks looks so pretty; I remember visiting Belgium on a school trip and loved the quaint arches and bridges and architecture. Folk museums are always a great way of diving into a destination's history and heritage. I'd love to bring the kids here!
ReplyDeleteThe architectural beauty of Tournai is truly on a league of its own. Those fortification walls look so imposing. It is so interesting how elaborately these walls were built!
ReplyDeleteI had no idea Tournai was conquered by Henry VIII! It's amazing how far the English have spread their influence, even in Europe! This Belgian city is certainly charming with its UNESCO heritage sites.
ReplyDeleteBelgium is such a beautiful place with richness of it's history. I have always had plans of visiting Belgium and also have few friends over there who recently moved . Am gonna share this post with them . Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you gave a brief about the historic background of Tournai, and the places of interest there. The pictures look amazing and I would definitely love to experience the beauty of the place in person. Fortification walls have always caught my interest somehow.
ReplyDeleteTournai looks like just the kind of place we would have enjoyed, had we known about it when we visited Belgium. The story about the municipality and clergy was so interesting. Power play, always power play.
ReplyDeleteAgain what a picturesque place in Belgium that I may not ever see in person. Those wall fragments are especially precious in both history and beauty the way they were preserved.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like such a beautiful and amazing place to visit! I adore your gorgeous photographs!! Shell
ReplyDeleteHow was the food and the beer? I've only been to Belgium once, to Antwerpen, but the country seems brilliant for eating and drinking. I hope to get back soon with a friend, and towns like this full of stone buildings are always attractive.
ReplyDeleteTournai seems like an awesome place to visit! Loved your pictures. How many days would you recommend spending there?
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great place to visit. Tournai looks like the kind of place we would have enjoyed. and Those fortification walls look so splendid. It is so interesting how tehy elaborately these walls were built!!
ReplyDeleteTornai is such a pretty place. Full of history and a lot of cultural value - I would have loved this place. The Tapestry museum seems really interesting. I wonder why Henry VIII wanted to conquer and tarnish this beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteTournai looks really interesting. Those huge fortification walls have always attracted us and here the architecture too looks great. Your pictures are great as well. Will like to check this out once around
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a genuinely interesting place! Honestly, that belfry is fantastic, and very photogenic from a blogging perspective. I'd honestly never heard of Tournai before, so thanks for bringing it to my attention!
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