The best city hikes and walks around Dinant

Lovely path with a winding route. Passage near wetlands. Recommended.

Visited by thousands of pilgrims every year, the town of Beauraing owes its fame to the events of the winter of 1932-1933: the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to 5 children in the garden of the Notre-Dame du Sacré Cœur boarding school Sisters of Christian Doctrine in Nancy. Between November 29, 1932 and January 3, 1933, Maria appeared more than thirty times to Fernande (15 years), Gilberte (13 years) and Albert (11 years) of the Voisin family and to Andrée (14 years) and Gilberte (9 years) of the Degeimbre family. On December 29, 1932, the Virgin Mary revealed her enlightened heart to the children, as a heart of gold glittering with rays. This vision would come to characterize Mary as Our Lady of the Heart of Gold, Virgin of the Heart of Gold, or Our Lady of Beauraing.

Georges Grard (1901-1984) was a sculptor born in Tournai, who lived and worked most of his life in Sint-Idesbald (by the sea). Female nudity and water/the sea are the most important themes throughout his work. Source: www.stichtinggeorgegradd.be

The castle, initially called "Château Sainfoin", was built in 1906 (in limestone) by Joseph Boseret, notary to King Leopold II. It was built on the site of an old farm, “the Sainfoin farm”, which was operated until the end of the 19th century. The U-shaped outbuildings were retained. Today the castle houses the Music Conservatory "Edouard Bastin", the Academy of Fine Arts, the municipal crèche of Ciney and the Youth Center... but previously it had very different functions: In 1963 the castle was leased to Entreprises Demarche and the Mattard family ran a luxury restaurant there, as well as a hotel on the top floor. Until March 1978 it was also the meeting place of numerous Cinacian associations. Source: https://www.ciney.be/culture-et-loisirs/patrimoine/chateau-parc-saint-roch

This exceptional site, located on the edge of the Parc Saint-Roch, includes a church (1805 m2) and a monastery (7113 m2) in Gothic style built in local bluestone. After the former monastery was used in recent years as a residence for the Canadian Marie-Jeunesse community, as a boarding school and then as a classroom for students of the Saint-Joseph Institute, the site has now been abandoned for several years. In April 2024, the municipal council decided to bring the whole thing back to life. A project for around a hundred homes is on the table, a collaboration between the three owners of the buildings on the site: the city of Ciney, the non-profit organization La Patrimoniale and the Diocese of Namur. Source: https://www.matele.be/ciney-un-projet-d-une-centaine-de-logements-dans-l-ancien-couvent-des-capucins

Neo-Gothic church, officially "L'église paroissiale de l'Immaculée Conception", was built between 1904 and 1906 on the grounds of the Sint-Roch park. The Antwerp architect Govaerts was inspired by the Capuchin Church of Izegem, which he had built shortly before. (The Izegem church has now been demolished - in 2022) Initially work progressed slowly due to the rocky nature of the terrain. The rocks extracted from the ground were cut into blocks and integrated into the construction. This method gave the church an almost 'fortress-like' appearance. The shell, in bluestone, was finished at the end of 1905 and the interior in 1906. To give the church a softer impression, the Gothic repertoire was drawn upon and it was given many pointed arch windows. Source: brochure "I Love Ciney"

Image from 2002, a late work in the oeuvre of the world-famous Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon (1934-2005). However little detail Folon may put into the facial expressions of his characters, the posture and appearance of this sculpture clearly suggests that the character is looking into the distance... and at the same time seems introverted.

This bronze statue of mother and child sits on a wall in front of the church of Saint Remaclus. The Antwerp artist Helene Jacubowitz (°1952) made it in 2005. More information about the artist: https://www.helenejacubowitz.com/