Holiday homes with fireplace in Belgium

Holiday homes with a fireplace are most popular in autumn and winter. After a walk in the Ardennes forests, through wet leaves and cold air, you come back in and light the fire. A simple pleasure, but exactly why people go on holiday: to step out of the everyday for a while.

In our listings you only find homes with a working fireplace or wood stove. No decorative fireplaces for the photos. Real fires, with firewood included or easy to find nearby.

The Ardennes are the fireplace region by definition. Chalets, farmhouses and stone cottages often have a hearth as the centrepiece of the living room. The combination of autumn-coloured Ardennes forests and a fire burning in the evening is one of the most distinctive Belgian holiday experiences.

The Campine and the Flemish Ardennes also have holiday homes with a fireplace or wood stove. Especially for a quiet weekend or a longer autumn holiday, a property with a fireplace is an excellent choice. The warmth and atmosphere a fire brings are hard to match with any other heating system.

An open fireplace has a visible hearth and fills the living room with warmth and atmosphere. Watching the flames dance, hearing the crackle, catching the scent of burning wood: that is what makes a real fireplace special. Its drawback is that a fair amount of heat escapes up the chimney. For a cosy evening by the fire, that is a small price to pay.

A wood stove is enclosed and burns wood considerably more efficiently. It releases more heat into the room and can keep going for hours with less fuel. Many Ardennes holiday homes combine both: an insert fitted to the fireplace, or a freestanding stove in a corner of the kitchen. Read the listing description carefully so you know exactly what you are getting.

The Ardennes are the obvious choice. Chalets and farmhouses around La Roche, Durbuy, Bouillon and the Semois valley frequently have a fireplace as the centrepiece of the living room. The combination of autumn-coloured woodland outside and a crackling fire inside is one of the finest Belgian holiday experiences you can have.