A day for one: Vivien's Dinant day and Orval, August 2024

A week ago, on Friday 16 August, I spent the day with Vivien from Australia. She had booked the day on Viator. She was travelling through Europe on her own, so this was a day for one.

A day for one

I rarely run a day for one person. Most of my days are for couples, families or small groups. With one guest, the whole day becomes one long conversation, in the car and at every stop. Vivien and I really connected.

The plan went south, into the river valleys around Dinant, and then further south, almost to the French border. A castle, a cave, lunch, and an abbey.

Coffee by the castle

We started at Château de Walzin, a private castle on a cliff above the Lesse. You cannot go in, so you see it from across the river. We walked to my spot and I laid out coffee, tea, Belgian cookies and chocolate.

In her review, Vivien wrote about hidden places that locals go to. This is one of them. The spot is known locally, but nobody pushes it, so you often have it almost to yourself.

Underground at Lorette

Next came Grotte de Lorette at Rochefort. A cave guide takes you about sixty metres underground, on a visit of about an hour, with more than 600 steps. It is around eight degrees down there all year.

I do not go down with the guests. I use that hour to set out lunch, with local food from the region. Vivien called it “excellent catering with local delights”.

South to Orval

In the afternoon we drove south to Orval, a Trappist abbey almost on the French border. It is a long drive from Dinant, and worth every kilometre of it.

At Orval you see two abbeys side by side. One is the working abbey, where the monks live today. Next to it stand the ruins of the old one: Gothic arches, a cloister and the walls of a church, burned by French revolutionary troops in 1793. You can walk through all of it.

Then there is the legend. A countess, Matilda of Tuscany, lost her wedding ring in a spring here. A trout came up with the ring in its mouth. She called the place a valley of gold, a Val d’Or, and that is where the name Orval comes from. The spring still runs in the ruins, and the trout with the ring is on every bottle.

And then the beer. Orval is one of the five Belgian Trappist beers, brewed inside the abbey walls. The brewery was started in 1931, to pay for rebuilding the abbey. It is closed to visitors, so you taste it at the inn next to the abbey, with a view of the walls it paid for. The full story is in my guide to Orval.

The photos she did not have to take

Vivien also wrote that I helped her capture the moments. When you travel alone, you rarely end up in your own photos. So during the day, I took them for her.

An invitation to Australia

At the end of the day, Vivien invited me to visit her at home in Australia. She told me it had been the best day of her four-week trip through Europe.

I do not often run a day like this, for one guest. This one stayed with me.

In Vivien’s words

Vivien posted this review on TripAdvisor the day after, as Vivi.

Joris shared an unforgettable experience with me by bringing me to amazing hidden locations frequented by locals and even provided excellent catering with local delights. He was also very knowledgeable and I learned so much about local culture from his commentary. He even helped me capture the moments with some great photography. I would highly recommend this highly personalized tour and it was definitely worth the price.

Vivi, on TripAdvisor, August 2024

He even helped me capture the moments with some great photography.

Vivi, on TripAdvisor

A day like this

This day suits travellers who want the quiet south of Belgium, and it works just as well for one guest as for a few. It suits you less if stairs are hard for you, because the cave has a lot of them. And Orval is far south, so it makes for a long day in the car.

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 this, tell us your dates on the private page.