Our properties in the Flemish Ardennes

Beyond the famous climbs there is a dense cycle-node network across the region, with the Hills Route as a signposted flagship trail. In and around Oudenaarde you can hire a bike or a racing bike to explore the climbs at your own pace.

Walkers have more than 850 kilometres of waymarked paths and a long GR loop through the whole region at their disposal. The three large forests, the Muziekbos near Ronse, the Brakelbos and the Kluisbos, turn blue-purple from mid-April to mid-May thanks to the wild bluebells, right in the heart of the cycling season.

Oudenaarde is the ideal base. Its late-Gothic town hall has a UNESCO-listed belfry, and the city museum MOU holds a collection of dozens of tapestries. The Liefmans brewery, famous for its Flemish Old Brown, has been brewing here for over three centuries.

In Geraardsbergen you will find the famous Muur, a local Manneken Pis and the protected matton tart. Ronse, with the Saint Hermes basilica, has one of the best-preserved Romanesque crypts in Belgium (from 1089) and the annual Fiertel procession around the town. From the Hotond mill on the highest hill in East Flanders you can see dozens of church towers on a clear day.

The Geraardsbergen matton tart was the first Flemish regional product to receive a European protected geographical indication. This light puff-pastry tart with curd may only be baked in Geraardsbergen and a handful of neighbouring villages.

To go with it, a regional beer: the Liefmans Old Brown and Kriek from Oudenaarde are brewed to a centuries-old recipe. In autumn many restaurants put game on the menu, and everywhere you taste the produce of the Scheldt basin.

April is by far the best month: the Tour of Flanders in early April, then the blooming bluebell forests. Anyone visiting then should book well in advance, as the region fills with cycling fans. Summer is pleasantly green, autumn calm with golden forests and game on the menu, and in winter you ride or walk the hills without the crowds.

The Flemish Ardennes are close to the cities. Ghent is only about 28 kilometres away, half an hour's drive or 35 minutes by train to Oudenaarde. Brussels is within the hour, and Kortrijk and Lille are within reach too. So you can easily combine a stay here with a city visit.