Activities and walks in the Belgian Ardennes

What to do in the Belgian Ardennes

The Belgian Ardennes lend themselves to outdoor activities all year round: waymarked paths that follow the ridges or drop to the river, cycle routes on former railway lines, banks for fishing, forests where you can spend a night under the stars within the rules. This page gathers our activity guides and helps you choose according to your level, your time and the season.

Walking remains the most popular activity. The GR16 trail follows the Semois and links many villages; around Vresse-sur-Semois, several waymarked circuits offer loops of different lengths, from family strolls to more technical routes. Route details, difficulty notes and starting points are set out in each guide. Cyclists also have good terrain: RAVeL, quiet roads and mountain-bike trails, with sometimes demanding relief in the deep valleys.

Other pages are for those who want something calmer or more thematic. Trout fishing is governed by precise regulations and particular zones; bivouacking is allowed only under certain conditions that you need to know before pitching a tent; the tobacco route helps you understand a crop that marked the valley, along a trail of museums and drying barns.

Water sports have their own page, where we present paddling the Ardennes rivers by kayak. The other pages in this section stay on dry land, so that each guide remains easy to read.

Finally, two guides help you organise everything: an itinerary for a weekend in the valley, linking towns, viewpoints and local food, and a page on outdoor tourism in Wallonia, useful for understanding the regulations, labels and cycling routes.

Before any outing, check the weather, the state of the paths and any seasonal restrictions on the official sites cited in our pages, and let someone know your route. The durations given are rough guides: allow generously, especially with children.

Each guide cited here is written by the ArdennenBelgie.be editorial team from public sources and official documents. We name our sources, date our updates and say so when a piece of information cannot be confirmed. Our approach is set out on the page about our methodology.