Holiday homes for hikers in Belgium

The Ardennes are Belgium's most popular hiking region, with routes along river valleys, through dense forests and past panoramic viewpoints. The High Fens offer a very different experience: open, bare and striking. The Semois valley and the Gaume are lesser known but no less beautiful.

A good walking holiday starts with a house that understands what hikers need: a drying room for wet clothes, a proper kitchen for a good evening meal and a comfortable bed to set you up for the next day. It is the small things that make the difference.

Belgium's GR trails are of excellent quality and well signposted. The GR 5, GR 15 and GR 56 in the Ardennes are particularly popular with walkers. The High Fens are unique in Europe and offer hikes through a protected peat bog. The Flemish Ardennes have rolling paths past farms and hedgerows.

Hosts in walking regions know their surroundings inside out. They can recommend the finest routes, know where the tricky sections are and how best to plan the return leg. That local knowledge is worth its weight in gold when you are walking in unfamiliar terrain.

The Ardennes are the most popular walking region in Belgium. Along the Ourthe and the Lesse, long-distance waymarked routes such as the GR 5 and the GR 15 lead through valleys, forests and along rocky ridges. Those who prefer quieter paths will find them in the Semois valley and the Gaume: a winding river landscape with little tourist infrastructure and trails that can feel entirely deserted. The High Fens are a world apart, open wind-swept peat bogs with a stillness that is hard to find anywhere else.

Anyone who prefers rolling woodland to open moorland will find a surprisingly beautiful walking landscape in the Flemish Ardennes between Ronse and Brakel. The routes here are shorter and less demanding than in the Ardennes proper, but the character of the area, with ancient hollow lanes, orchards and stream valleys, makes it very appealing for day walkers.

Location counts most. A property that sits directly on a waymarked long-distance path or local trail saves the drive or cycle ride to the starting point. You step out of the door in the morning and you are immediately on your way. Ask the owner whether the GR or a local route is accessible directly from the house: in some areas this is the norm, in others a genuine rarity.