The Ardennes Beyond the Circuit

The Belgian GP gives you three days in the Ardennes. The circuit fills those days — but it doesn't have to fill all of them. Thursday has no on-track sessions. Friday morning is free until FP1 at 13:30. Three towns within an hour of the gates are worth the detour, and each suits a different kind of half-day or full day out.

La Roche-en-Ardenne is 45km from the circuit — 37 minutes on the N68 and N89. A feudal castle founded in 844 AD sits on a rocky spur above a horseshoe bend in the Ourthe river, its towers visible from most of the town below. The castle (Rue du Vieux Château 4) is open daily in July from 10:00 to 18:00; adults €8.50, children €6.50. During race week, two things coincide: the Ghost of Berthe evening show runs from 4 July through 22 August at 22:00 (a ticketed sound and light production in the ruins), and the Grand Fireworks Display falls on 20 July. Neither requires a race ticket. The town also has the Musée de la Bataille des Ardennes — the Battle of the Bulge museum at Rue Chamont 5 — covering the winter 1944 fighting that centred on this part of the Ardennes. Open daily April through September; adults €12, children €6.

Below the castle, the Ourthe is flat and gentle and suited to beginners. Ardenne Aventures (ardenneaventures.com) runs kayak routes from 28 March through 1 November; the Axion route from Maboge to La Roche is 10km and takes around 90 minutes at €25 per person, with transport from the town included. For food, Chez Henri is the most consistent option for Ardennes cooking — regional ham, trout, marcassin — and draws strong reviews year-round. La Roche is compact enough that castle, museum, lunch, and river take a full day comfortably, or castle and lunch fit a Friday morning before getting back for FP1.

Durbuy is 46km from the circuit — 44 minutes via the E25 and N86. It holds a royal charter from 1331 granting it city status, which gives it a legitimate claim to being one of Europe's smallest cities at around 400 permanent residents. The medieval centre — cobbled alleys, a 17th-century castle on the hill (privately owned, exterior only), the Church of St Nicholas, and a dense cluster of terrace restaurants along the Ourthe — takes two hours to walk through properly. The Parc des Topiaires on the edge of town has 250 sculpted boxwood and yew figures across 10,000 square metres; open daily March through December, 10:00–17:00, adults €4.50. For something with more time in it, Adventure Valley Durbuy (adventure-valley.be) runs kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, and caving from the same base; kayak departures at 10:30 and 11:00, online booking only. For dinner, Le Sanglier des Ardennes is the town's Michelin-listed restaurant — Ardennes game, regional produce, reservation essential (+32 86 21 32 62). Durbuy is noticeably busier than La Roche in July peak season; arriving before 10:00 or after 16:00 avoids the worst of the crowds.