Dinant, a beautiful city full of marvels

Dinant is one of the most beautiful cities in Belgium. Despite its small size, there are many places in Dinant worth exploring, such as the birthplace of the famous Leffe abbey beers. Nowadays, the ancient monastery is home to the Leffe Museum “Maison Leffe”.

Dinant is located in the south of Belgium, in the French-speaking region of Wallonia and it is a municipality of Namur located near the river Meuse. It covers an area of about 90 km2, although the town itself is small and can be visited in a day. It is also only an hour and a half away from Brussels.

Historic Dinant

Due to its strategic location next to the Meuse River, Dinant was often exposed to battles and looting, so this area is quite full of history and buildings that bear witness to the events that took place in the city. During our visit, we were able to enjoy the beauty of the city and its incredible views, with the church and the citadel as the undisputed protagonists.

Maison Leffe

However, as we were on a beer-culture trip, you can guess that our favourite destination was Maison Leffe. This museum is dedicated to Leffe beers, which were formerly brewed at the brewery in the Abbey of Leffe in Dinant.

During the visit, you can learn about the history of Leffe beers, as well as their brewing process through various exhibitions and videos. In addition to this, the museum has a nice terrace with a van / taproom where we could enjoy a delicious beer. Definitely our favourite stop.

The Citadel and the cave

We also loved the city’s citadel, which is a fortress that can be accessed by a cable car or a steep staircase with more than 400 steps. Here you can learn about the history of the city, which was at the centre of a horrific episode of the First World War: from 21 to 25 August 1914, six hundred and seventy-four civilians died at the hands of the German army during the capture of the city.

At the citadel, you can visit replica trenches, weapons exhibits and a cemetery of French soldiers, among many other things. It is a highly recommended visit if you are interested in history and the First World War.

Our next stop was Grotte La Merveilleuse. This is a cave very close to the city centre. It was discovered in 1904, during the building works of the local railway from Dinant to Florennes. The cave is famous for its natural decoration, its mysterious well and its sloping stalactite. La Merveilleuse has three levels of galleries, from 155 to 100 metres, and can be visited without great difficulty.