The Strépy-Thieu boat lift – Strépy‑Thieu Boat Lift loop from Masnuy-Saint-Pierre

The Strépy-Thieu boat lift – Strépy‑Thieu Boat Lift loop from Masnuy-Saint-Pierre

Moderate

riders

The Strépy-Thieu boat lift – Strépy‑Thieu Boat Lift loop from Masnuy-Saint-Pierre

03:13

69.0km

500m

Road cycling

Moderate road ride. Good fitness required. Mostly well-paved surfaces and easy to ride. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: October 15, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

Get Directions

11.9 km

Bois du Beaupré

Forest

12.5 km

Smooth Tarmac Road

Highlight (Segment) • Cycleway

Prima sort tarmac. really nice route for high speed riding. It includes small powerhill.

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18.6 km

This lift is one of the finest technological feats of modern Belgian civil engineering. With its extraordinary dimensions, it allows new generations of boats to overcome a height difference of 73.15 meters, which makes it the largest boat lift in Europe!

Visiting this site is very interesting. On the eighth floor, a gallery leading to a cinema is devoted to the history of shipping.

Find all the information on canalducentre.be/fr/visites/llift-funiculaire-strepy-thieu

Translated by Google •

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18.9 km

Strépy‑Thieu Boat Lift

Highlight • Monument

The Strépy-Thieu lift is a double boat lift located in Belgium, on the Canal du Centre in the Walloon Region in the province of Hainaut.

Started in 1982 and inaugurated in 2002, it allows, thanks to its two independent ferries, the crossing of a height difference of 73.15 meters between the Escaut basin and a dividing reach towards the Meuse basin also including a section of the Brussels-Charleroi Canal, limited by the Ronquières inclined plane (to the north) and the Viesville lock (to the south).

Until September 18, 2016, it was the largest boat lift in the world, the date on which the Three Gorges Dam boat lift was inaugurated. Thanks to its unique ferry, the Chinese elevator now allows 3,000-ton ships to cross the 113-meter drop in 40 minutes, rather than three hours via the existing water staircase.

-- Source: fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascenseur_de_Str%C3%A9py-Thieu

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19.7 km

Thieu Drawbridge

Highlight • Bridge

There are benches all the way down. Good for a pause with Thieu Boat lift view

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25.6 km

Tree Tunnel

Highlight (Segment) • Natural

An enchanting road where tall, densely grown trees form a natural green tunnel. Especially in the summer months this route feels almost fairytale-like, with the sunlight softly filtering through the leaves and casting shadows on the road surface.

Translated by Google •

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