Page 306 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Belgium & Luxembourg

304  TR A VELLERS ’ NEEDS

SPORTS AND OUTDOOR
ACTIVITIES

Belgium and Luxembourg are well known Popular holiday activities are cycling,
for periodically producing a flurry of walking, kayaking and windsurfing, as these
exceptional sporting talent, such as the take full advantage of the hills, rivers, lakes
cyclist Eddy Merckx or the tennis players and coastline. Both countries have
Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters and David Goffin. promoted this by creating an extensive
There is a constant level of activity in all network of paths for the exclusive use of
fields of sport, especially soccer, water cyclists, walkers and riders, with links to
sports, cycling, golf, horse riding and judo. accommodation. Here is a chance not only
Visitors are always welcome to join in. to get healthy, but also have a holiday.

routes. Another useful land areas such as Nationaal
refer ence is the cycling Park Hoge Kempen (see p172),
promoter, Pro Vélo. Averbode Bos (see p166) and
Luxembourg’s equiv- Forêt de Soignes (see p169).
alent of the RAVel Luxembourg has a dense
network – Fédération network of paths, totalling
du Sport Cycliste over 5,000 km (3,100 miles) in
Luxembourgeois – has length. Many begin at a point
built some 575 km (355 accessible by train or car. The
miles) of dedicated popular Müllerthal Trail in
cycle paths, and plans Little Switzerland (see p254)
to double that length. has 100 km (62 miles) of
Cyclists dressed for the part in Belgium interlinked paths.
Cycling Hiking and Rambling
As a convenient mode of transport, Belgium and Luxembourg Marathons
a leisure pursuit and a major offer some of northern The biggest race in Belgium is
professional sport, cycling is big Europe’s most rewarding 20 km de Bruxelles, a half-
in Belgium. Consequently, there walks. The region is crossed marathon run by some 25,000
is no shortage of specialist by several of the marked participants in May. In the same
shops, bike-hire companies or transnational Les Sentiers de month, Luxembourg has a
cycle routes. The flat landscape Grande Randonnée (Long- full marathon. Known as The
in much of Flanders is ideally distance Paths). One of these Night Run, it begins at 6pm
suited to touring by bicycle. is the GR 5, which links the and may continue past midnight.
The Ardennes in Wallonia and Netherlands to the This event is coupled with a
Luxembourg present more of Mediterranean via Liège and half-marathon.
a challenge, with spe cial ist Luxembourg. Another, the GR
circuits for mountain bikes. AE (Ardennes–Eifel) includes
A number of long-distance the Semois valley (see pp232–3).
cycling routes cross this region. GR 56 crosses the Hautes
In Flanders, LF Routes (Landelijk Fagnes (see p227); GR 57 follows
Fietsplatform routes) take cycle- the valley of River Ourthe past
friendly paths between strategic Durbuy, Hotton and La Roche-
destinations. The RAVel network en-Ardenne (see p230) into
consists of five routes that criss- Luxembourg; GR 129 links the
cross Wallonia, and are reserved rivers Scheldt and Meuse; and
for bicycles, other non-motorized GR 12 joins Paris to Amsterdam
vehicles and pedestrians. The via Brussels. The RAVel routes in
roads tend to follow disused Wallonia are also open to
railway- and tram-lines and walkers. There are many other
canal tow paths. The longest, circular paths, for instance,
RAVel 1, goes east to west via around Bouillon (see p234),
Tournai, Mons, Namur and Liège, Rochefort (see p215) and
while RAVel 2 runs north to south Echternach (see p255): maps
via Namur and Dinant. Rando are available at the local tourist
Vélo pro vides infor mation offices. There are also marked Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg in the
about long-distance cycling paths for short walks in wood- Luxembourg City marathon

304-305_EW_Belgium.indd 304 18/10/16 3:03 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Practical template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.7)
Date 5th March 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm