222 BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG REGION BY REGION

the Musée d’Archéologie et

du Folklore, housed in an

18th-century townhouse,

with antique furnishings and

a lace collection.

E Centre Touristique de la

Laine et de la Mode

Rue de la Chapelle 24-30. Tel (087)

307920. 
        

        10am–5pm Tue–Sun.

        
        

        & 9 7 http://www.aqualaine.be
        P Musée des Beaux-Arts et
        de la Céramique
        Rue Renier 17. Tel (087) 331695.

        
        

        2–5pm Mon, Wed and Sat,

        
        

        3–6pm Sun. & http://www.verviers.be

        
        

Spa q

28 km (17 miles) SE of Liège.

Road Map E3. * 10,500. £ @

n Place Royale 41; (087) 795353.

http://www.spa-info.be

The heyday of Spa was in the

18th and 19th centuries, when

the well-to-do came here to

take the waters, turning the

town’s name into a generic

term for water therapy. Spa

retains a leisurely grandeur,

with its Neo-Classical Hôtel de

Ville, the original, now dis-

used baths and the casino. Six

springs can still be visited,

including the Pouhon Pierre-

le-Grand, housed in an

elegant stone pavilion built in

1880. The modern Thermes
      de Spa (Baths) are at the top
      of a hill, accessed by cable
      railway. Spa also has three
      intriguing museums. Sharing
      the same location at the Villa
      Royale are Musée de la Ville
      d’Eaux and Musée Spadois du
      Cheval: the former has a col-
      lection of antique, intricately
      painted wooden souvenirs
      (jolités), while the latter is
      devoted to horse-racing and
      carriages. The enterprising
      Musée de la Lessive takes a
      historical look at laundry.

 Thermes de Spa

Colline d’Annette et Lubin.

Tel (087) 772560. # daily. &

7 http://www.thermesdespa.be

P Villa Royale

Avenue Reine Astrid 77b.

Tel (087) 774486. # Sat–Mon.

¢ Dec–Feb. & 7

E Musée de la Lessive

Waux-Hall, R de la Géronstière 10.

Tel (087) 771418. # Jul–Aug: 2–

6pm daily; Apr–Mar: weekends. &

Limbourg 8

27 km (17 miles) E of Liège.
Road Map E2. * 6,000. £ @

Set on a rocky spur above
a hairpin bend in the River
Vesdre, Limbourg developed
after 1033 as the fortified cap-
ital of the Duchy of Limburg,
a historic region between the
Meuse and the city of Aachen.
As the vestiges of the city walls
testify, Limbourg was a military
stronghold, besieged on many
occasions – notably in 1578
by the Spanish, in 1675 by
French king Louis XIV and in
1715 by the Austrians. Today,
the upper town – where little
has changed since the 18th
century – is picturesque, with
tree-lined cobbled streets and
window boxes full of flowers.

Verviers 9

20 km (12 miles) E of Liège.
Road Map E3. * 53,000. £ @
n Maison du Tourisme du Pays de
Vesdre, Rue Jules Cerexhe 86; (087)

307926. http://www.verviers.be

Straddling the River Vesdre,
which was vital to the textile
industry, Verviers is adorned
with numerous fountains and
water features, and calls itself
the Walloon Capital of Water.
Belgium’s industrial revolution
began here in 1799, when the
English entrepreneur William
Cockerill (1859–1932) estab-
lished steam-powered woollen
textile mills. This history is
remembered in the exhibits of
Centre Touristique de la Laine
et de la Mode, set out in a
restored Neo-Classical wool
factory. The Musée des
Beaux-Arts et de la Céramique
has a major collection of por-
celain and art. There is also

Theux 0

20 km (12 miles) SE of Liège. Road

Map E3. * 11,000. £ @ http://www.

theux.be

The attractive town of Theux

developed in the shadow of

the medieval Château de

Franchimont. The town was

sacked by Charles the Bold,

Duke of Burgundy, in 1468,

during his conquest of Liège.

The castle was reinforced in

the 16th century by Erard de

la Marck, Prince-Bishop of

Liège, but fell into ruin after

the 1780s. Theux is also noted

for its remarkable Église

Sts-Hermès-et-Alexandre. A

hall-church built from the 9th-

century onwards in Gothic and

Romanesque styles, its naves

have rare, painted, flat ceilings.

Environs

Banneux, 6 km (4 miles) to

the west, is a major pilgrimage

site, where in 1933 appari-

tions of the Virgin of the Poor

revealed a healing spring to

11-year-old Mariette Beco.

E Château de Franchimont

Allée du Château. Tel (087)

530489. 
        

        Apr–Oct. & 9 -

        
        

        http://www.chateau-franchimont.be

        
        

One of many picturesque fountains

in the original spa town

Moated entrance to the atmospheric ruins of Château de Franchimont

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp271–3 and pp297–9