Going with the flow and UNESCO - Vhello - Le réseau points-noeuds en coeur du Hainaut

Level 3 – 22 km

Starting point

Strépy-Thieu Boat Lift
Rue Raymond Cordier 50, 7070 Thieu

Route description

With 19 UNESCO World Heritage sites and events and one property registered in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, Hainaut Province holds a Belgian record.

You will be starting your journey at the foot of the Strépy-Thieu boat lift (Ascenseur de Strépy-Thieu), the largest in Europe! This exceptional structure is open to the public and offers a visit full of discoveries. If the mood takes you, you can join a cruise and pass through the hundred-year-old boat lifts aboard a barge. A few miles away, you will join the historic Canal du Centre (Belgium) with its green banks. As you continue along the canal, admire the four hydraulic boat lifts – the only ones in the world in their original working condition! Then, pedal as far as the Port de Plaisance de Thieu and fill your lungs with fresh air in this charming marina. You’ll also be able to make the most of an incredible view of the old and new Canal du Centre. Finish off your ride by stopping off at the George Price Memorial, a place steeped in history. This monument is dedicated to the last Commonwealth solider killed in the First World War and was inaugurated in 2018.