Page 227 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

EASTERN W ALL ONIA  225

7 Eupen
21 km (13 miles) E of Blegny.
Road Map F2. Tel (03) 84635082.
* 19,250. £ @ n Marktplatz 7;
(087) 553450. ∑ eupen.be
The capital of Belgium’s German-
speaking community, Eupen is
part of the border-land Cantons
de l’Est given to Belgium by the
Treaty of Versailles after World
War I. From the town’s pleasant
River Vesdre passing under a flag-decked bridge at Chaudfontaine streets, a massive carnival erupts
to mark the start of Lent each
5 Chaudfontaine have been meticulously kept year (see p39). The Stadtmuseum
in working order and opened to (Town Museum), set in a late
8 km (5 miles) SE of Liège.
Road Map E3. * 21,000. @ the public. After an introductory 17th-century cloth-merchant’s
n Ave des Thermes 78 bis; (04) film, visitors don helmets and house, tells Eupen’s story,
3615592. ∑ chaudfontaine.be jackets to go down a shaft in a alongside local historic craft
lift cage. This reaches a depth products such as cloth, pottery,
Sitting prettily on a curve of of 60 m (197 ft) – a mere one- goldwork and furniture. On
River Vesdre, Chaudfontaine tenth of the full depth of this the northern edge of town,
is the site of the only natural mine. Guided by a former miner, the chocolate manufacturers
hot springs in Belgium. It first the tour offers a taste of the Jacques & Callebaut have a
developed its therapeutic noise, danger and harsh work- Musée du Chocolat, presenting
activities in 1676, when a ing conditions that the so-called the history of chocolate and
local landowner installed gueules noires how it is made.
rudimentary baths and (black faces)
proclaimed the water’s had to endure E Stadtmuseum
medical benefits. Today, at the coal- Gospert 52. Tel (087) 740005.
the main treatment face. The Closed for renovation; call for latest
centre is the luxurious Musée de information. & ∑ eupener-
Château des la Mine provides stadtmuseum.org
Thermes, a restored The tourist train at Blegny’s more of this history. E Musée du Chocolat
18th-century Musée de la Mine For a rural contrast, Rue de l’Industrie 16. Tel (087) 592967.
residence set in a a little tourist Open 11am–4:30pm Tue–Thu,
wooded park. At the interactive road train takes visitors on a 11am–3:30pm Fri. Closed public
Source O Rama museum, 50-minute jaunt through the holidays and during Carnival. & =
multimedia techniques provide local orchards and meadows. ∑ chocojacques.be
an edu cational exploration of
cold-water and thermal spas.
Belgian Spas
 Château des Thermes Chaudfontaine is one of two main spa towns of Belgium –
Rue Hauster 9. Tel (04) 3678067. the other one being Spa itself (see p226). At Chaudfontaine,
Open daily. & 7 0 = the water is naturally hot, while at Spa it is cold. It was Spa,
∑ chateaudesthermes.be
however, that first attracted visitors convinced of the medical
E Source O Rama benefits of mineral-rich waters.
Avenue des Thermes 78(b). Tel (04) They began arriving in 1550 and
3642020. Open Sun–Fri; school hols. soon established the town as
& 7 = ∑ sourceorama.com a destination for nobility and
royalty. Waters of both towns
6 Blegny-Mine are still believed to help sufferers
of various maladies, including
Rue Lambert Marlet 23, Blegny; 11 km rheumatism, gout and heart and
(7 miles) NE of Liège. Road Map E2. circulatory disorders. Until the
Tel (04) 3874333. @ Open mid-Feb– 1860s, visitors tended to drink
Easter & mid-Dec: weekends & the waters. Today, the centres
public hols; Easter–early Sep: daily. offer a full range of treatments,
& 8 9 7 0 - = from bathing in pools, saunas
∑ blegnymine.be and Jacuzzis, to steam rooms,
mud baths and beauty therapies.
The last coal mine in the Façade of the Pouhon Pierre-le-Grand Both towns also produce bottled
Province of Liège was forced spring building at Spa mineral water bearing their name.
to close in 1980, but parts of it

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