Along the waterway...

Our tiny region is packed with many great places to visit and has absolutely no reason to envy its much-loved neighbours... 

We devoted our first two sunny Saturdays of September to visiting a large part of the lush valley of Semois. You probably know this valley which used to be very popular with our grandparents, but is sadly forgotten by our children.  Well hidden in a breathtaking landscape, the Semois winds its way from Belgium to France and offers peaceful waters for swimming and sailing in complete peace of mind.

Of course, it was not possible for us to visit all of it, but we had our heart set on some of our favourites discovered when driving through or quite simply from childhood memories...

Bohan, Frahan, Poupehan, Alle, Rochehaut, Botassart and Bouillon were our favourite places... By car, on foot, and by canoe, but also by bicycle, or even on horseback, there are many ways to explore this region!

We opted for canoe in order to introduce our children to this athletic - and tiring - activity

In the heart of nature, swimming, picnics, the fauna and flora enchanted the children! In Récréalle in particular, it is possible to rent canoes at a reasonable price.

In Bohan, one of my husband's childhood memories, we tasted a wonderful Belgian beer and sat on the legendary Pierre à Marier (wedding's rock).

In Botassart, my childhood memory, we visited the mythical Giant's Tomb.

In Rochehaut, we walked around this tiny typical Ardennes village and ate some delicious wild boar.

To round it all off, a visit to Bouillon and its magnificent Fortress, a vestige of our past! In addition to all that, a falconry show delighted both young and old! Pure family pleasure!

A huge number of hotels, campsites and hostels offer you the chance to discover this wonderful region of the Belgian Ardennes! And, for sure, next year we will return for a long weekend in a campervan because none of us has ever done it!

Sorry about some of the photos but I dropped my superb camera in the Semois and, to cut a long story short, it's a goner... so a word to the wise ;-)

Ophélie