Strolls along the breweries

27/07/2020

Here are five walks that allow you to discover Belgian breweries and their surroundings, whether you travel on foot or by bike.

1. The Westmalle Trappists (Province of Antwerp): your 8-km walking route starts on the avenue of the Westmalle Abbey. You will cross a beautiful wooded area where squirrels leap from tree to tree. Although the abbey cannot be visited, a film showing the brewing activities will be screened at Café Trappisten.

2. The hop region (West Flanders): Poperinge is the capital of the hop country. More than 80% of the Belgian production of the plant that gives beer its taste, bitterness and aroma is grown here. During your beautifully scented walk (8-km route or bike ride 41-km cycle path), you will pass the hop museum, the Sint-Bernardus brewery and the Leroy breweries.

3. A round of Cornet (Flemish Brabant): in the north-west of Brussels, you can easily travel from brewery to brewery. Many are not open to the public, but the beers they produce can be tasted on the many terraces that line the 42-km cycle route.

4. Oudenaarde (East Flanders): four breweries are still in operation in the Flemish Ardennes, the cradle of a brewing tradition dating back to the 12th century. Choose between an 11-km walking route or the 36-km cycle path.

5. In the footsteps of Bruegel (Limburg): cross the Kempens Plateau and its idyllic landscape on a 49-km cycle route. At the local Martens brewery, you enter the largest brewery museum in Europe. Other local breweries can also be visited in the surrounding area.