The best city hikes and walks in Plaines De L'Escaut Natural Park

Cathedral on the market square Tournai

Monument to the French, erected as a sign of national recognition by Belgium for the soldiers of Marshal Gérard who fell before the walls of the citadel of Antwerp in 1832. The siege of the citadel of Antwerp took place from 15 November to 23 December 1832, after the Ten Days' Campaign. The siege pitted the Dutch troops occupying Antwerp against the Army of the North, an expeditionary force sent by France during the Belgian Revolution and commanded by Marshal Gérard. When the Dutch withdrew from Belgium after this short war, known as the Ten Days' Campaign, they left a garrison in the citadel of Antwerp. This led to a second intervention by Marshal Gerard's Army of the North, which returned to Belgium with its army on 15 November 1832 and besieged Antwerp.

The church was built in the last quarter of the 12th century. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Romanesque choir was replaced by a Gothic choir with ribbed vaults. The bell tower was added in the 15th century. It served as a bell tower on the right bank of the river before that part of the city was added to Tournai. When a rectory was built next to the church, a fantastic discovery was made in 1653: the intact tomb of the Merovingian king Childeric I was discovered [2]. Due to its location close to the train station, the church suffered heavily during World War II. The interior, in particular, was irreparably damaged during German air raids. Restoration work lasted until 1954.

The original 13th-century wooden cloth hall was destroyed in a storm in 1606. Between 1610 and 1611, the building was rebuilt in various architectural styles: Gothic pointed arches on the ground floor, a Renaissance first floor, and Baroque gables. The courtyard with galleries from 1616 is Italianate. In 1881, the cloth merchants' building collapsed. It was rebuilt and became a city museum. After the fire bombs in 1940, the building had to be repaired. The facade was renewed during city restoration works in 1998. The building is a meeting centre and event hall.

Jules Marcel Lamoral Bara (Doornik, 3 August 1835 - Sint-Joost-ten-Node, 26 June 1900) was a Belgian liberal representative, senator, and minister.

The church of Saint-John the Baptist, in the heart of the old Chaufours district (lime kilns), consists of a Gothic tower with a stone spire from the 14th century (1365). The nave dates from the end of the 18th century (1780). The interior, in a style reminiscent of that period, consists of three apses decorated with altars and paintings. The choir is adorned with 18th-century woodwork and a 14th-century brass lectern. Source: tournai.be

A footbridge here connects the Tournai districts of Saint-Piat and Saint-Jean, separated by the Scheldt. From this bridge, you look out over the Quai des Poissonsceaux and see the 5 towers of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, a symbol of Tournai, rising above the city.

After the boutique "Le Loft" closed its doors in 2017, the former post office building stood empty for a while, until a restaurant based on a street food concept moved in in 2022... but it only lasted a few months. In May 2024, "Happy Days", a venue for birthday parties for children and young people, opened here. At the end of 2023, the City of Tournai had announced plans to temporarily house the Archaeological Museum (which had to be closed for safety reasons) here, pending the establishment of a specific 'History and Remembrance Centre'," (as can be read on notele.be), but it seems those plans did not go ahead (yet). Source: tournai.be, lavenir.be, dhnet.be