Things to see at Dinant, Belgium

Strangely, Dinant is one of the underrated tourist attractions in Belgium. The most commonly visited places are Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussles. Dianant usually doesn’t fall in the list but I am glad my friend had strongly recommended visiting Dinant showing me the picture of the church and the citadel against the rocks and seeing the picture I knew I had to see it for myself.

Getting There:
Dinant, lies about 65 km south of Brussels and can be easily reached from Brussels by train (about 90 minutes) or by road (about an hour).  Please note that the train from Brussels separated at Namur and only a few coaches go to Dinant. Thus please check with someone on reaching Namur if you are on the right coach.

It is a small town and can be easily covered in a day.

Dinant Must-Sees

1. The Collegiate Church of Our Lady: This church with a 68m high onion-shaped tower and the citadel at the top of the cliff behind serve as the landmark image of Dinant. It was built as a Romanesque church at the end of the 12th century. When in 1227 a part of the rock behind the church destroyed the tower, it was partially rebuilt in Gothic Style and later the tower was added.
   

   

   

   

   

   

   
2. Citadel: The fortified citadel on the top of the cliff behind the Church, was first built in the 11th century to overlook and control the Meuse valley and was rebuilt and enlarged in 1530 by the Prince-Bishops of Liege. The French troops destroyed it in 1703 and in 1821 the Dutch troops rebuilt it in the present style. The citadel can be reached by road, by a cable car ride, or by a 420-step staircase and now houses Dinant’s Arms Museum. The museum has an interesting exhibition on the role Dinant played in World War II.
3. Charles De Galle/ Saxophone Bridge: You enter the town through this bridge. The bridge exhibits many saxophones painted by several countries of the European Union. Each saxophone is unique in itself.
   

   

   
4. House of Mr Sax (Entry Free) Adolphe Sax, the inventor of Saxophone, was born in Dinant on 6 November 1814. This house has a brief exhibit about him and the Saxophone. The more detailed exhibit is at the Musical Instruments Museum at Brussels.
5. Bayard Rock and the Legend: Just on the outskirts of Outside of the city is ‘le Rocher Bayard’ (the Bayard rock). It was separated from the main rocks with an explosion to provide passage for the French troops of Louis XIV after they had taken Dinant. However, as per the popular legend, the rock was split by the hooves of the giant Bayard Horse, when it jumped from here over the Meuse river when the four Aymon Brothers were fleeing from the troops of Emperor Charlemagne, sitting on the back of the single Bayard Horse.
6. Grotte La Merveilluise (Caves): Limestone caves with an interesting oblique stalactite that I would say is a must visit. I would personally give it the highest rating among the places to be seen at Dinant.

Other Interesting Places to See:

Town Hall: It was built on the residence of Prince-Bishop of Leige in1700 and rebuilt in 1924 and now stages various cultural events like jazz concerts and exhibitions. I love the sazophone sculpture in front of the building.

Tschoffen Wall: The owners were among the many civilians killed by Germans on 23^rd Aug 1914.

Cartoon Murals: Keeping in line with the Belgian fetish for cartoons, Dinant has interesting cartoons all over the town.