Thuin

The municipality of Thuin (roughly pronounced TWAYNg) consists of the lower town (ville basse) and the upper town (ville-haute) plus a number of surrounding villages and the country-side in between. Lobbes is a nearby independent municipality. In the centre of Thuin, buildings in the upper town are generally older than those in the lower town.

• Thuin tourism information office

  phone: +32 71 59 54 54
  address: Place du Chapitre
  Free wi-fi is available in the tourism information office.

By train

• Thuin Railway StationThere are trains to Thuin from the Charleroi-Sud railway station. The trip takes about 20 minutes. The frequency is every hour on week-days and every 2 hours on weekends. One could also do a day-trip from Brussels. The trip would take about 95 minutes each way including waiting for a change of trains at Charleroi-Sud. The station building at Thuin no longer has any railway functions, but tickets can be bought from vending machines. There are a few waiting shelters along the platform.

• Lobbes Railway StationThis station serves the small nearby town of Lobbes.

By car

By car from Charleroi: Take N90 westbound to N54 westbound to Rue d'Anderlues (N59) south to Thuin.

The central area of the town is about ½ km long and ½ km wide. Thus, getting around the central portion is easy by foot although the streets between the lower and upper portion of the town can be steep.

In the centre

• BelfryThe belfry, dating from the 17th century, has been named a . A splendid view on the Thuin area can be seen from the top. If you don't feel like climbing the Belfry, you can still get a good view from Place du Chapitre, the square beside the Belfry.

• North WallThe medieval wall offers a good view of the Sambre Valley. On the wall, next to Place du Chapitre, an old cannon nicknamed Le Spantôle can be seen.

• Grand-RueThere are a number of older buildings along this narrow street in the upper town.

• Hanging GardensThe charming Hanging Gardens on the southern flank of the Thuin hill can be visited on foot, following a path enhanced by several explanation signs.

• Notre-Dame d'El VaulxIn this church in the lower town there is a 12th-century oak statue of sedes sapientiae (our lady of wisdom). There is a vaulted passageway under the choir.

• Tram Museum

  phone: +32 71 37 00 05
  address: Rue du Fosteau 2A
  Specializing in the history of the Belgian Vicinal tramway system. This includes a museum tramway with 3 routes. One route runs through the streets of the lower town to Place de la Ville-Basse. A second route runs to the nearby town of Lobbes. Until 1983, both of these routes were part of a much longer route used by electric trams that extended to Anderlues and Charleroi. The museum created a new route for diesel trams by converting a few kilometers of a former standard gauge railway line to metric gauge.

• House of Printing

  address: Rue Verte 1B
  The museum houses a collection of printing tools. There are demonstrations of production of paper, manual typesetting and printing.

In the outskirts

• Aulne AbbeyThe 7th-century abbey, now in ruins, and its green setting are well worth a visit.

• ZeupireA 25-ton menhir.

• RagniesThe neighbouring village of Ragnies is a member of the most beautiful villages of Wallonia association. The old Saint Martin church is of particular interest.

• Biercée Distillery

  phone: +32 71 50 00 50
  address: Rue de la Roquette 36, 6532 Ragnies
  It is located in an old farm. A guided tour explains the art of traditional distillation. The shop offers the full assortment of the local spirits. In a former barn, there is also a restaurant decorated with old enamel signs, named La Grange des Belges (, ).

• Fosteau CastleIt dates from the 14th and 15th century. Its French gardens and pond are a haven of calm, while the interior of the castle harbours a permanent exhibit of ancient furniture and a small pharmacy museum.

• Saint Ursmer Collegiate Church

  address: Rue de l'Église 1, 6540 Lobbes
  The oldest church of Belgium was part of Saint-Peter Abbey, which does not exist any more.

There are walking and biking trails around Thuin including a trail along the museum tram line to Biesme-sous-Thuin.

• Mini-golf of Aulne

  phone: +32 71 51 88 78
  address: Rue Émile Vandervelde 288, 6534 Gozée
  Near the ruins of Aulne Abbey, you can play mini-golf along the Sambre.

Events

• The Saint-Roch March (which is on the List of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage) takes place every year, during the third week-end of May. People wearing military uniforms (mainly from the Napoleonic era) march through the streets to the sound of drums. They also fire blanks, so ear plugs might be useful, in particular for young children.

There are several eating establishments in the lower and upper town areas.

• Relais de la Haute Sambre

  phone: +32 71 59 79 69
  address: Rue Fontaine Pépin 12, 6540 Lobbes
  A 15-room hotel with a restaurant. The restaurant (, ) offers Belgian-French cuisine (price for a meal: 20-50€).

• Thuin Post Office

  phone: +32 22 01 23 45
  address: Place du Chapitre 7

• Charleroi: an industrial city with a few museums that are worth a visit.
• Binche: a medieval walled city, where one of the most famous carnivals of Belgium takes place.
• Mons: the capital of Hainaut, with its historical centre and its museums.
• Beaumont: a small town in the countryside.