Dinant, Belgium - Citadels, Saxophones and Rivers
Have you ever heard of Dinant, Belgium? Dinant is a small city in Belgium and quite the hidden gem. And it was one of my favorite stops on our week in Belgium and the Netherlands. Known as the birthplace of the inventor of the saxophone, Adolphe Saxe, I had seen photos of Dinant and decided it needed to be included in our itinerary. So we set off from Brussels to see the city on the Meuse River with granite cliffs behind it. It didn't disappoint.
The plan was to take a 2 hour train ride, explore the city and head back. Easy day trip, right? Unfortunately the tracks from Namur to Dinant are being repaired so we had to train to Namur and take a bus - a very crowded bus - on to Dinant. Once there, though, we forgot about the crowded bus and strolled across the Meuse for some refreshment at an outdoor cafe on the river. There are several restaurants with outdoor seating and we chose Cafe de la Croisette. A snack and some beverages were what we needed to keep going and it was off to the Citadel above the city for some history and views.
Citadelle de Dinant
You can climb steps - 408 steps dating back to 1577- to get to the Citadel. (Official name: Citadelle de Dinant)Or you can take the funicular. We chose the latter, paid our 20 euros per adult - which included the cable car, entrance to the Citadel and a cruise on the River Meuse.
The Citadel sits on the Rock of Dinant and has always been an important place to the city. You can tour the fortress and learn its history: the looting of Dinant by Charles the Bold in 1466, the bayonet fights between French and German in the Great War and the massacre of citizens in 1914.
The views from the Citadel 100 meters above the River Meuse are outstanding - there's a patio to take photos from - and you can also learn about garrison life.
Notre Dame de Dinant
Notre Dame de Dinant, or The Collegiate Church of Our Lady of Dinant, is a 13th century gothic style cathedral located on the banks of the River Meuse. Replacing a Romanesque church which collapsed in 1228, we were able to walk inside the church and view its stained glass window, the markings on the pillars where flood waters hit and take a seat to take in the unique cathedral.
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| Flood water markings |
A Festival and Adolphe Saxe
Right outside the church the city was having a festival with a choir of men singing, a band playing down the main street and large walking puppets walking around Dinant.
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| Who's under there? |
After all that excitement we decided to follow the parade and walk down the main street of Dinant. We stopped for ice cream and took in Adolphe Saxe's house. Yes, the inventor of the saxophone! The saxophone is one of only a few instruments still in use today that was invented by only one man. Quite the claim to fame and Dinant takes full advantage of that by placing saxophone models on the bridge over the Meuse and by hosting a jazz festival every year.
It was a fantastic day trip to Dinant. And it was my favorite place we visited in Belgium. (I think that Belgium is very underrated) I can highly recommend a visit here - food by the river, a citadel on a rock, a very cool cathedral and the birthplace of the saxophone. What more could one want?
How about you? Have you been to Dinant?
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