For a city trip both quirky and trendy, no hesitation: Charleroi, it is. With this 3-day program, you will discover its hidden gems over an extended weekend. While the city is mostly associated with its mining and industrial past, it has recently succeeded to reinvent itself and is sure to surprise you…
So come, explore the urban and artistic heritage of this Black Country. There’s street art, museums, amazing restaurants, unusual shops and offbeat city tours, all guaranteed to wow you.
Leave the car at home: the accommodation we recommend is close to the station and most of the addresses mentioned well withing walking distance. And should tiredness hit at any point, you can always jump on the tube or on a bus.
Friday: relax and enjoy a good meal
A new generation youth hostel
Getting off the train at Charleroi-Sud, simply take one of the bridges spanning the Sambre to reach your accommodation.
Trendy and modern, Charleroi Youth Hostel offers rooms for 2 or more, and each with a private bathroom: a really nice accommodation that won’t break your budget.
The bar, with its local drinks menu, billiards and sofas, is place to relax, chat and make new companions.
Treat yourself to a good restaurant
With a nice 13/20 awarded by Gault&Millau and more than affordable prices, Vilain, located in an old Art Deco building, will definitely delight your taste buds! The half-hour walk (or fifteen minutes by bus) from the Youth Hostel is perfect to open your appetite.
Antoine and Margot craft quality ingredient into a short menu presenting delicate, delicious dishes which can be paired with their favourite wines. It’s worth ordering a selection of small plates to taste as many recipes as possible…
Make sure to book beforehand.
Saturday: street art, great shops and art museum
Let street art Charleroi show you an alternative Charleroi
After a delicious breakfast featuring local products, take the aerial tube to Marchienne-au-Pont.
Look around you: vibrant graffiti and tags breathe life back into the concrete, rust and mining past.
To fully enjoy this street rt route, return on foot via the towpath: a 3.7 km walk, which should take, more or less, an hour. Plenty of time to be amazed.
You will find more mural in the city centre.
Regain your strength at lunchtime and go shopping
Back in the Charleroi-Sud station area, take a break at the Brasserie du Quai 10: a modern and friendly setting serving pasta, salads, burgers, meatballs, fish & chips... Power up before your afternoon adventures
Before leaving for the Upper Town, stroll some of these nice shops nearby:
- Wonderfriends : deco, fashion, jewellery and original gifts
- T-shirt Mania : t-shirts, stickers and other offbeat products for second-degree fans
- Librairie Molière : a temple of reading nestled in the former Hôtel des Postes
Time for avant-garde art
Fill up on culture at the BPS22, the Art Museum of the Province of Hainaut. The building alone, industrial on one side, ultramodern on the other is worth the detour.
There always is a temporary exhibition on: Until September 1, 2024, you can have a look at Amourable, an intriguing monographic gallery by Genappian Alain Bornain.
It’s now aperitif time. Before returning downtown, raise a glass or a cocktail at Carolopolitan.
Delicacies and local beers
No need to go far: just a few steps from your Youth Hostel, L’Atelier de la Manufacture Urbaine will prove quite a treat.
The Brasserie de Charleroi brewmaster paired each dish on the menu with the perfect beer: a Blonde du Pays Noir with the beef tataki and its chimichuri sauce, for example…
Some of the dishes appeal to the local terroir: the vitoulets with Asphalte beer, the duck breast and its strong beer juice, the carbonnade with beef cheek and LaM.U beer. Bon appétit !
Sunday: a photography museum and a fun urban safari
Immerse yourself in the world of photography
20 minutes by bus from your hotel, the Photography Museum is a real gem. Housed in the former neo-Gothic Carmel of Marchienne-au-Pont, to which a new contemporary wing has been annexed, this site is the largest in Europe devoted to photography.
Its permanent collection featured 800 photos presented first chronologically, then thematically. Its temporary exhibitions prove equally fascinating and make very well make you want to bring out your good old camera rather than settling for your smartphone.
Before leaving the museum, do take a stroll through its remarkable park.
Join an urban safari
Did you know that Charleroi was once voted the ugliest city in the world? This is a stereotype that Nicolas Buissart, organizer of Charleroi Adventure City Safari and lover of his city, wants to bypass.
This urban safari is atypical to say the least and resolutely flirts with self-deprecation: a ghost metro station, the most depressing street in Belgium, cafes in their original state, industrial wastelands, even a mining heap... Take it all with a good pinch of humour and discernment, this weekend will definitely prove that Charleroi has a lot to offer.
Remember to book well in advance, Nicolas's bizarre guided tour is quite successful.