The best MTB trails around Verlaine

The gravel pit is a rich site for photography enthusiasts or walkers who wish to stroll along well-maintained paths and observe birds in peace. It's a recommended spot for walkers and photographers. Please respect the guidelines, such as keeping your dog on a leash (even if some people think it's harmless to let their dog off-leash, be aware that animals have predatory instincts, which could scare away certain ground-nesting bird species like kingfishers) and refraining from swimming so as not to disturb the birds. Thank you to everyone who respects the guidelines, and I wish you a pleasant hike or a great photo outing 🙏.

Excavations are conducted year-round at Moha Castle, making it unique in Belgium. When I visited, two archaeologists were uncovering a wall that runs beneath the visible castle and likely dates back to the 12th century.

The castle is free to visit. At the foot of the rock, there's a visitor center where you can pick up a badge to open the gate. For €4, you can also get a brochure with information about the most important points. The castle is only open to visitors starting in April, but the friendly man at the visitor center let me in on February 27th... as far as you can even call it "inside" at this ruin ;-)

Quarries have been a major industry in this region for almost a century. In recent decades, further expansion projects have been planned here in Moha. These have repeatedly met with resistance from residents of neighboring Vinalmont, where the rural hamlets of Wanzoul and Roua are threatened by an expansion of the quarry's current infrastructure. During a public inquiry organized by the local government in 1997, the number of written protests (nearly 1,500) exceeded the total number of residents of Vinalmont (over 1,070). Source: Wikipedia

Former Cistercian abbey dating back to 1244. A beautiful circular courtyard with lodgings, a farmhouse, a watermill, and a lovely chapel. Now state-owned, it serves a variety of purposes. It houses the Cultural Heritage Department and the Hesbaye-Meuse Tourist Office. There are also reception rooms, a restaurant, and a museum dedicated to Cistercian life.

A complex of abbey buildings, a chapel, a dovecote, a mill, and gardens. It was a Cistercian abbey whose origins date back to 1244. Currently owned by the Labeye family, it has a lease agreement with the Walloon Heritage Institute. It now serves as a multifunctional training center, meeting rooms, restaurant, and museum of Cistercian life.

One of Liège's most beautiful castles, originating in the 11th century, completely surrounded by a moat. Striking are the checkerboard facades in limestone and brown sandstone and the pepper-pot-like turrets. Various owners succeeded one another over the centuries. For two centuries (16th-17th century), it was owned by the powerful de Merode family, who gave the castle its current appearance. They sold it to the Van den Steen family in 1720. The last descendant of the family, Count Guy vanden Steen, bequeathed it to the province in 1999. He was a sculptor, among other things, and many of his bronze statues still adorn the gardens. He did, however, incorporate a distinctive symbolism, depicting nude female figures mating with beetles. The 22-hectare estate also features an Italian ornamental garden with water features and bronze statues, a 19th-century vegetable garden with orangeries, a 19th-century icehouse, and many listed trees. The castle also has its own church within the moat on a peninsula. Over the centuries, the owners have amassed numerous curiosities that can be seen in the castle, which is now a provincial property and open to visitors.

It is a private place, but it sometimes opens its doors for group visits or specific events.