The best traffic-free bike rides around Steenvoorde

Café De Helleketel is ‘Travelling through Time’. Since 1895, get off your bike, because this is a mandatory stop for every bon vivant! This colourful folk café with its characteristic blue-yellow shutters is hidden between the hop fields and the rolling hills of the Helleketel forest. Since 1895, the doors of De Helleketel have already been opening for passers-by, poachers, hikers and cyclists. Inside, the ceiling is full of witch dolls (a nod to the name "De Helleketel", which means witch’s cauldron) and you will also find folk games such as the traditional stove game. Outside on the terrace, you sit among the bicycles enjoying a beautiful view. Tip: order an iconic, homemade Picon from the house here or a hearty 'boerestute' (a richly filled sandwich). Feel free to ask for café owner Lena; she is a real village figure and the soul of this magical place!

This chapel has a name for its patron saint that is literally on everyone's lips, yet few probably know the person behind it: The feast day of Saint Sylvester (San Silvestro) is on December 31st. He lived at the end of the third, beginning of the fourth century and was Bishop of Rome when Emperor Constantine, with the Edict of Milan – known as the “Edict of Tolerance” – recognized Christianity as a religion, and thus (at least temporarily) ended the time of bloody Christian persecution.

The Sint-Ackaarsbos in Houtkerke. In the local dialect and on old maps, this forest is also often called the Sint-Achaarsbosch. The name refers to Saint Acharius (Saint-Accaire), a 7th-century bishop who was venerated in this region (the old diocese of Tournai-Noyon). The name of the village itself literally means "the church in the wood (forest)". The Sint-Ackaarsbos is one of the last remnants of the large forests that formerly covered this part of the French Westhoek.

Nice Statue of Eliane Cossey (Poperinge, 9 December 1902 – London, 1942), known by the nickname Ginger, was a striking red-haired precocious child in the Belgian town of Poperinge during the First World War. The café "A la Poupée", an unpronounceable name for English speakers, on the main square grew under the name "Ginger's" into one of the most famous taverns behind "The Ypres Salient". The appeal of the young diva can be read in various diary excerpts and in the Visitors Book with compliments and drawings. Ginger krijgt eigen standbeeld https://www.hln.be/.../ginger-krijgt-eigen-standbeeld.../

Short climb/descent at the Helleketelbos.

nicest cafe in poperinge

It was from Steenvoorde that the Beeldenstorm spread rapidly throughout the Netherlands. In the church, you can still see a bell from the Laurentius Monastery. The Beeldenstorm began here with the shattering of all the statues and furnishings of this monastery. No trace remains of the monastery itself, located a few kilometers from Steenvoorde. Only a place name, Gallicized to Saint-Laurent, now a rest stop along the Lille-Dunkirk motorway, remains as a reminder. The church itself has a turbulent history. After falling victim to the Beeldenstorm in 1566, it burned down in 1576, was destroyed by the French in 1644, and was rebuilt in late Gothic style between 1660 and 1664. The tower dates from 1712, and the brick spire was built in 1890 and 1891. In May 1940, the church was again severely damaged. In 1950 it was restored.

Centrally located in Poperinge right next to the Hopmuseum. Enjoy a delicious regional beer on the terrace in the inner courtyard or try a snack in the cozy café. The bistro is located between cycle route junctions 16 and 46, the ideal stopping place during your bike tour. The historic Stadsschaal complex includes both the Hopmuseum and the museum café. The site originally belonged to the monastery of the reccolet fathers and until the late 1960s, hops were weighed, inspected, and pressed here. Dirk Frimout, the first Belgian in space, was also born here in 1941.