WESTERN WALLONIA 185Ornately decorated interior of the
Hôpital Notre-Dame à la RoseFormal gardens adding to the grandeur of the well-maintained Château d’Attre
Mahymobiles 2
Rue Erna 3, Leuze-en-Hainaut;
16 km (10 miles) E of Tournai. Road
Map B3. Tel (069) 354545. £
Jul–Aug: 10am–5pm Thu–Mon;
Apr–May and Jun–Sep: 10am–5pm
Sat, Sun and public holidays. & 7
Some 270 veteran and vintage
vehicles, mainly cars, are on
display at this museum, set in
an old factory. They are cho-
sen from over 1,000 vehicles
assembled since 1944 by the
collector Ghislain Mahy. The
earliest dates from 1890. Also
on show are historic motor-
bikes and bicycles, toy cars
and the paraphernalia of past
decades of motoring.
precious gold- and silverware.
A cloister, chapel, herb gar-
den and ice house all add to
the picture of this community.
The town of Lessines was
famous for its quarries pro-
ducing porphyry, a flecked,
deep-red stone used for archi-
tectural sculpture. The open
pits can still be visited.Ath 3
42 km (26 miles) E of Tournai.
Road Map B3. * 27,000. £
@ n Rue de Pintamont 18; (068)
- _ Ducasse (4th weekend
in Aug). http://www.ath.be
A busy industrial town, Ath
comes alive during its famous
festival Ducasse, when giant
figures are carried through
the streets (see p33). This
Parade of the Giants is cele-
brated all year round at the
Maison des Géants. Set in the
Château de Cambier, an 18th-
century mansion, it explores
the folkloric background of
the giants, Ducasse itself and
parallel traditions elsewhere
using film and pictures.
E Maison des Géants
Rue de Pintamont 18. Tel (068)
Tue–Fri. - = http://www.
maisondesgeants.be
Hôpital Notre-
Dame à la Rose 4Place Alix de Rosoit, Lessines; 10 km
(6 miles) N of Ath. Road Map B2.
Tel (068) 332403. n Rue de
Grammont 2; (068) 333690.
# early Apr–late Oct: 2–6:30pm Sat,
Sun & public holidays. & 8 3pm
Tue–Sun. 9 7
http://www.notredamealarose.comFounded in 1242 by a French
princess called Alix de Rosoit
as a refuge for the poor, sick
and needy, this establishment
ran as a hospital, and more
recently as an old people’s
home, for nearly 750 years,
until 1980. Today, its tranquil
convent buildings, dating from
the 16th to 18th centuries,
serve as a museum, presenting
the work of the institution.
There are wards, beds, medical
instruments and details about
medicines, the pewter dishes
used by patients, Tournai por-
celain used by the sisters, a
library of 2,000 antique books,
paintings and sculpture andChâteau d’Attre 5
Avenue du Château 8, Attre; 5 km
(3 miles) SE of Ath. Road Map B3.
Tel (068) 454460. # Jul–Aug: 1–
6pm Sat, Sun and public holidays;
Apr–Jun and Sep–Oct: 2–6pm Sun
and pub lic holidays. & 8 http://www.
chateauxduhainaut.beThis elegant château, built in
1752 in French Neo-Classical
style, still contains its original
decoration, furniture and
furnishings. The suite of
sumptuous rooms evokes the
Rococo tastes of the era. It also
has a large park, crossed by
the River Dender, that includes
a ruined belvedere, dovecote,
Swiss chalet, bathhouse and
the remains of a celebrated
marvel of the 1780s known as
the Rocher (Rock). This is an
artificial mound, with a castle-
like hunting plat form on top.Environs
Pairi Daiza, 5 km (3 miles) to
the southeast, is a large, child-
friendly zoo set in the former
domain of the Château de
Cambron-Casteau.O Pairi Daiza
Domaine de Cambron, Brugelette.
Tel (068) 250850. # late Apr–early
Nov. & 7 0 - =
http://www.pairidaiza.eu