Our first day, July 2024
Our first day: Amy's day in southern Belgium, July 2024
Amy L. from New York, on her first trip to Belgium, spent a July 2024 day around Dinant with me: coffee by a castle, a deep cave and Rochefort beer and cheese at lunch.
On Wednesday 3 July, Amy L. from New York spent the day around Dinant and the Meuse valley with me. It was her first trip to Belgium, and she was travelling on her own. She had booked the day on Viator. It was the very first day of Belgium’s Wanderlust.
How the day was built
I picked Amy up in Brussels. She booked the day to see a part of Belgium she would find hard to reach on her own. So the day went south, to the river valleys around Dinant, with castles, a cave and Belgian beer.
Coffee by a castle
The day started with a walk through the countryside, to a view of Château de Walzin on its cliff above the Lesse. The castle is private and still lived in, so you see it from across the water, not from inside. Below it, kayakers float down towards Anseremme, where the Lesse flows into the Meuse. There I laid out coffee and cookies as a small picnic.
Down into the cave
The cave was Grotte de Lorette at Rochefort. The river Lomme carved these chambers out of the rock, and it is around eight degrees down there all year. The visit goes down to the bottom of the cave, and then you climb back up. Amy had not expected that climb.
Rochefort at lunch, then beer
Lunch was at a viewpoint, with Rochefort beer and Rochefort cheese, looking out over the countryside around Rochefort. The Abbey of Saint-Rémy has brewed Rochefort since 1595, and nobody may visit it. So the table is the only place to meet that beer.
Later in the day came Maison Leffe in Dinant. Leffe is an abbey beer, first brewed by the Abbey of Leffe in 1240. Then came Chimay, home of one of the five Belgian Trappist beers, brewed by monks.
In Amy’s words
Amy posted this review on TripAdvisor in July 2024, as la_directora from New York, NY.
I traveled to Belgium for the first time this month. And by far my best day in that country was the day I spent with Joris from Belgium’s Wanderlust. I signed up for the tour as a way of seeing a part of the country I’d be unlikely to navigate on my own. […]
This day is a beautifully curated collection of experiences that represents so much of what makes Belgium beautiful - the landscape, the architecture, the history…and the beer. :) The description of the tour that lists what the various experiences will be doesn’t do them justice. From walking through the countryside to get a stunning view of a riverside castle while having coffee, to driving around and seeing so much beautiful landscape, to exploring an incredible cave, to lunch from a picturesque viewpoint, to visiting a brewery and a monastery for delicious Belgian beer - each stop is more wonderful than you think it is.
And that is mostly because of Joris. He isn’t just a tour guide. He is a gracious host. When he says “we’ll have coffee by the river”, you might imagine a thermos and paper cup. You might not expect the beautifully laid out picnic of cookies and coffee. Lunch was equally charming and beautiful. And I mean, drinking Rochefort beer and eating Rochefort cheese while looking out over the Rochefort countryside is pretty stunning. So many moments in the day felt like they came straight out of a fairytale.
The one thing to be prepared for is if your tour includes the “explore a cave” activity, understand that this means climbing to the bottom of a 67 meter cave…and then climbing back up. It isn’t what I expected in my day. But in some ways I’m glad it wasn’t what I expected, because I might not have chosen it. And it was a truly unique experience I’m glad I had. My legs were just sore for several days afterward. :) It was entirely worth it.
If you are in Belgium and looking for a way to see things you won’t see on your own, a tour with Joris is a must-do. I plan to recommend him to other friends who travel in the area, and reach out to him when I have the chance to go back.
So many moments in the day felt like they came straight out of a fairytale.
Amy L., on TripAdvisor
A day like this
This day suits a first visit to Belgium. You see castles, a cave, the countryside and Belgian beer in one day. It is a part of the country that is hard to see on your own. It suits you less if a long climb down and back up is hard for you. Tell us before the day, and we build it around the stops that suit you.
What would a day like this cost today? Read what a private day in Belgium costs, and what is in it.
If you want a day like Amy’s, tell us your dates on the private page.
A day like Amy's
We run the Dinant and Meuse valley day as a private day for one party at a time. Pickup at your door in Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Bruges or anywhere else in Belgium. Tell us your dates and we build the day around you. Days run year-round on request, and you get a personal reply within 24 hours.
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