Any advice on routes across southern Belgium?

Snowy

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In a couple of weeks I'm riding my 1972, R60/5 to Sippersfeld, Germany (north east of Kaiserslautern), for a long weekend. It'll be my first big and proper trip on the bike and I want to avoid motorways and tolls and enjoy pootling along decent roads. It's about 600km and I'm looking at doing the journey over 2 days once I leave the train at Calais late morning/lunchtime.

It would seem that southern Belgium is the most direct route but I don't know it at all and am hoping for advice on roads and places to include on the way and a good place to stop overnight if anyone has any tips? TIA.

Photo for dramatic effect......

tempImage6f9OKr.png
 
Snowy said:
In a couple of weeks I'm riding my 1972, R60/5 to Sippersfeld, Germany (north east of Kaiserslautern), for a long weekend. It'll be my first big and proper trip on the bike and I want to avoid motorways and tolls and enjoy pootling along decent roads. It's about 600km and I'm looking at doing the journey over 2 days once I leave the train at Calais late morning/lunchtime.

It would seem that southern Belgium is the most direct route but I don't know it at all and am hoping for advice on roads and places to include on the way and a good place to stop overnight if anyone has any tips? TIA.

Photo for dramatic effect......

View attachment 409227
Click to expand...
Nice bike!
 
Beautiful bike!

Regarding the route though, in my humble experience southern Belgium, if not all of Belgium, is best avoided and instead I would get over the border and transit across northern France. I’m sure others will have contrasting views but whenever I’ve had to travel anywhere in Belgium I’ve found it to be tediously busy, with uninspiring roads and dull villages and with very aggressive driving evident everywhere. As I say, others may well have different views but that has been my consistent experience and I try to avoid Belgium for those reasons
 
I tend to agree. In Holland we have an expression “ Belgium is the shit hole you have to drive through to get to France” which maybe harsh but is true. Belgian roads are normally poor as in quality and the towns a mess of uneven crappy housing.
The further south you go the worse it gets as the great Belgian “divide” is so visible….

There is one exception and that is the south east corner which makes up the Belgian Ardennes. That’s nice but the Ardennes spreads also into Germany and becomes the Eifel as well as France

I’d avoid Belgium but head south east through France.
Wessie is an expert on France although many others know the Calais region quite well from day trips or short weekends
 
South Belgium (Wallonia) is full of good roads, all popular with motorcyclists of all ages and abilities on all sorts and ages of motorcycles.

You say you want to pass through the area. At a rough look, the route A to B (Calais to Sippersfeld) is roughly this:

IMG_0833.jpeg

Which is roughly 400 miles. Two days, I think you said, avoiding motorways… let’s go:

This is not too bad, but (depending on what time you leave Calais) I’d maybe take a motorway to Lille. That said, there’s not too much to stimulate the mind between Calais and roughly Tournai / Mons.

IMG_0834.jpeg

Then let’s look at this, which is about 450 miles:

IMG_0836.jpeg

On the latter, you could if you wanted, motorway to say, St Quentin. It all depends on time available to you.

Where to stay? I’d say anywhere, roughly halfway along those lines. Look at a map, even Google and trace the rough line along to find a place. They won’t all be crap and the hotelier won’t throw stones at you, just because you arrive on a motorcycle.
 
Last edited:
Do you have any interest in cycling?

If so, you’ll be passing reasonably close to Oudenaarde, south of Ghent and west of Brussels. This is the epicentre for the spring cobbled classic races with lots of famous climbs. On the BM you could easily take in a few of those, should it interest you.
 
Mad Hatter said:
Beautiful bike!

Regarding the route though, in my humble experience southern Belgium, if not all of Belgium, is best avoided and instead I would get over the border and transit across northern France. I’m sure others will have contrasting views but whenever I’ve had to travel anywhere in Belgium I’ve found it to be tediously busy, with uninspiring roads and dull villages and with very aggressive driving evident everywhere. As I say, others may well have different views but that has been my consistent experience and I try to avoid Belgium for those reasons
Click to expand...
Dito!

Road surfaces are very often shite too. Including feck-off potholes on the motorway that I have encountered on my way to Italy in 2014, damaging my car in the process.

I have ridden and driven in Belgium on a number of occasions, I can’t say I have fully enjoined my experience on every occasion. Some sections/areas are a ok, but majority are a miserable affair and frankly the country is unkempt. A bit like Blighty is today.
 
EVskij said:
Dito!

Road surfaces are very often shite too. Including feck-off potholes on the motorway that I have encountered on my way to Italy in 2014, damaging my car in the process.

I have ridden and driven in Belgium on a number of occasions, I can’t say I have fully enjoined my experience on every occasion. Some sections/areas are a ok, but majority are a miserable affair and frankly the country is unkempt. A bit like Blighty is today.
Click to expand...
Yes. When i rode to Poland last year of all the countries i passed through Belgium had the worst roads, I’d even go as far as to say worse than the UK roads! Pot holes everywhere and roads that had been completely neglected for years and even roads made up of cobbles!
 
As Grant said, the South East part of Belgium is probably the best bit about the country.
Unless you do not wish to miss out on some fruity beers or are mad about Belgian waffles for brekkie and indulge in some Pâté for nibbles along the way, I’d stay on the French side of the border for the majority of the journey until you reach the Ardennes area.

Something like this.

IMG_6054.jpeg
 
Mad Hatter said:
Beautiful bike!

Regarding the route though, in my humble experience southern Belgium, if not all of Belgium, is best avoided and instead I would get over the border and transit across northern France. I’m sure others will have contrasting views but whenever I’ve had to travel anywhere in Belgium I’ve found it to be tediously busy, with uninspiring roads and dull villages and with very aggressive driving evident everywhere. As I say, others may well have different views but that has been my consistent experience and I try to avoid Belgium for those reasons
Click to expand...
Thank you Mad Hatter. Your humble experience is far greater than my none at all experience.
 
grantmac said:
I tend to agree. In Holland we have an expression “ Belgium is the shit hole you have to drive through to get to France” which maybe harsh but is true. Belgian roads are normally poor as in quality and the towns a mess of uneven crappy housing.
The further south you go the worse it gets as the great Belgian “divide” is so visible….

There is one exception and that is the south east corner which makes up the Belgian Ardennes. That’s nice but the Ardennes spreads also into Germany and becomes the Eifel as well as France

I’d avoid Belgium but head south east through France.
Wessie is an expert on France although many others know the Calais region quite well from day trips or short weekends
Click to expand...
Thank you grantmac. That's really helpful (y)
 
The Other PaulG said:
Do you have any interest in cycling?

If so, you’ll be passing reasonably close to Oudenaarde, south of Ghent and west of Brussels. This is the epicentre for the spring cobbled classic races with lots of famous climbs. On the BM you could easily take in a few of those, should it interest you.
Click to expand...
Yes, most definitely! I hadn't thought of taking in the climbs (y)



EVskij said:
As Grant said, the South East part of Belgium is probably the best bit about the country.
Unless you do not wish to miss out on some fruity beers or are mad about Belgian waffles for brekkie and indulge in some Pâté for nibbles along the way, I’d stay on the French side of the border for the majority of the journey until you reach the Ardennes area.

Something like this.

View attachment 409352
Click to expand...

Awesome. Thanks

Wapping said:
South Belgium (Wallonia) is full of good roads, all popular with motorcyclists of all ages and abilities on all sorts and ages of motorcycles.

You say you want to pass through the area. At a rough look, the route A to B (Calais to Sippersfeld) is roughly this:


Which is roughly 400 miles. Two days, I think you said, avoiding motorways… let’s go:

This is not too bad, but (depending on what time you leave Calais) I’d maybe take a motorway to Lille. That said, there’s not too much to stimulate the mind between Calais and roughly Tournai / Mons.


Then let’s look at this, which is about 450 miles:

On the latter, you could if you wanted, motorway to say, St Quentin. It all depends on time available to you.

Where to stay? I’d say anywhere, roughly halfway along those lines. Look at a map, even Google and trace the rough line along to find a place. They won’t all be crap and the hotelier won’t throw stones at you, just because you arrive on a motorcycle.
Click to expand...
Brilliant Wapping, as always. thank you....
 
Snowy said:
Brilliant Wapping, as always. thank you....
Click to expand...

Welcome.

The Wallonia Tourist Board, works really hard to promote motorcycling in the huge region. This is in stark contrast to many other areas and hotels, who have actively ditched promoting motorcycles, in favour of ‘greener’ pursuits. Support them while you can…. Or get a bicycle…. Or walk!
 
When riding in Belgium Ardennes, which are really lovely and an under-rated biking area, we take the motorway to Namur, as northern Belgium is not particularly inspiring on a bike, then head south to Dinant. As Wessie says, Dinant is a decent town with plenty of eating options, and a nice Citadel which makes for an interesting couple of hours tour if you have time. Personally I'd stay outside of Dinant.

Anywhere south of Dinant is a nice ride if you stay off the main roads. Ditto the little sticky-up bit of France around Montherme. Then head across Luxembourg towards Trier and continue east to Sippersfeld.
 
I'd take Motorway to Mons then peel off down to Rocroi on non motorway roads, then follow the winding road along the river to and through Montherme (not a bad place to stop) and onto Bouillon (a good place to stop) then on to Bertrix and across to Luxembourg going via Esch sur Sure and onto Vianden and over the border into germany.

The first 2 hours are on Motorways, but IMHO you're not missing much ad it gets you to the nicer stuff faster, you can also head down the A26 in France and then cut East to meet this route around Rocroi if you preferred.
 
Anyone tripping over this thread, might find this useful:

Wapping

Thread 'GPX - Wallonia Tourist Office - Suggested routes'

At long last I have sorted out the Wallonia (south of Belgium) tourist office’s suggestion of routes and got them into one place.

Somewhat confusingly perhaps they have two separate websites. These, whilst interlinked, do not match exactly. However, I’ve done my best to get the routes into one folder, containing to two sub-folders.

The two websites are:

...
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Luxembourg is worth a quick bumble through.

The road following the river en route to Echternacht is very nice
 
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