Post card from Tournai, the Wallon city with 5 steeples

Belles Demeures 08 Oct 2018
Partager sur

The city with 5 steeples, Tournai, capital of the Hainaut region, to be visited during any season and discover its cultural and religious patrimony.

Enhancing the skyline of Tournai, the 5 steeples of the Notre-Dame cathedral stand out on a bright blue sky. © Jean-Pol Grandmont
Sommaire

A millenary city, Tournai offers to its visitors a primodial religious architectural patrimony. Just a few kilometers from the French frontier, it is ranked as capital of Western Hainaut. This very francophone town with its five steeples is surmounted by Romanesque towers and the 12th century Gothic nave of its Notre-Dame cathedral, with the Escaut river flowing through.

Tournai, the city with 5 steeples in Wallonia

Raise your eyes to discover it, the facades are subtly ornamented with stone lace, and there are countless churches featuring priceless works. Jacques, Jean, Quentin, Marie-Madeleine, Marguerite, Martin, Nicolas, all the saints have their place of worship, including the Bell Tower where the oldest Belgian clock rings regularly. Here, one also finds a multitude of museums.

City of Tournai, the Grand Place On the Grand Place, the gabled facades of the houses are lined up as though on parade, facing the rising fountains. © DR
City of Tournai, the Pont des Trous bridge Medieval and romantic, the Pont des Trous bridge enables to link both sides of the town embankments. © DR

Touring the museums and a festive ambiance

Dedicated to the Beaux-Arts, archeology, natural history, royal arms, tapestry or local folklore, the museums are filled with treasures. While respecting their traditions, the inhabitants of Tournai will lead you in their danses during carnival, a colorful procession that parades in the historical centre, escorted by « Giants ». Because in this region, revelry is a second nature…

City of Tournai City Hall In Tournai, the green spirit is very present with this park belonging to the abbatial palace of the Saint-Martin Abbey, reconverted into a City Hall. © DR

Tournai, a city to live in and to discover

Cet article vous a été utile ?

Pouvez-vous nous préciser pourquoi ? (facultatif)

Partager sur
Read more
Image
Ferrari F8 Spider, une sportive au caractère affirmé
Lifestyle
Once the lockdown has lifted, the Ferrari F8 Spider is ready to zoom down roads able to accommodate this no-holds-barred sports car, which can reach speeds of up to 340 km/h.