See photos (3)

Mons, UNESCO Route

Cultural in Mons
26.8 km
Touring cyclist
3h
Medium
  • Leave Mons to discover remarkable sites marked as UNESCO world heritage sites.

    Cycling is a wonderful machine for going back in time! It allows you to reach and gently discover places steeped in a moving history, at your own pace. This mild morning in Mons, there’s a great atmosphere. You’re far from the Borinage stereotypes: the city has changed and it shows in its urban development and its plethora of museums. From the Grand Place, your bike will take you to the belfry and Mundaneum in a...
    Leave Mons to discover remarkable sites marked as UNESCO world heritage sites.

    Cycling is a wonderful machine for going back in time! It allows you to reach and gently discover places steeped in a moving history, at your own pace. This mild morning in Mons, there’s a great atmosphere. You’re far from the Borinage stereotypes: the city has changed and it shows in its urban development and its plethora of museums. From the Grand Place, your bike will take you to the belfry and Mundaneum in a few pedal strokes. Continue to discover this heritage along the RAVeL towards the Grand Hornu. On approach to the site, you will enter another world, as if you’d opened some scenery doors built for the glory of capitalism. The Grand Hornu is isolated from the world on purpose. Everything has been thought up and designed for productivity. You can feel the historical significance of these places, as if cycling allowed you to immerse yourself, to take the time to observe and feel these places...
  • Difference in height
    196.35 m
  • Documentation
    GPX / KML files allow you to export the trail of your hike to your GPS (or other navigation tool)
Points of interest
1 Mundaneum
Within these walls a precious legacy of books, newspapers and documents are conserved, making up the Répertoire Bibliographique Universel recognised by l’UNESCO. Reach the Mundaneum by bike from visitMons.
8R7A3834.JPG Mundaneum - Mapping Knowledge - Word Spectrum par Chris Harrison.jpg
2 The belfry
A proud symbol of Montoise identity, El catiau was erected in the 17th century. Standing at 87 metres, it is the only Baroque style belfry in Belgium.
Copyright Gregory Mathelot - _DSC8584 - 001.jpg Beffroi Horizontal - Copyright visitMons - Gregory Mathelot.jpg Copyright Gregory Mathelot - _DSC2135 - 002.jpg Beffroi - Copyright visitMons - Gregory Mathelot.jpg
3 Grand-Hornu
Representative of 19th century industry, this former coal mine arose from a landmark project dedicated to productivity. The historical visit is completed by temporary expositions on design and applied and contemporary arts at the MAC’S. In this place there is therefore a synthesis between memory and a contemporary approach.
_DSC8236-VisitMons-GrégoryMathelot.jpg
4 SILEX'S
Located outside of the route, you can still reach it by doing ride 10. SILEX’S is a mecca of prehistory in Europe. In the Neolithic age, between 8,000 – 3,300 BC, numerous flint mines were dug there. The new facilities allow you to descend into this mine where large slabs of flint used to be extracted.
-®JL DUBOIS, Vue de la mini+¿re, Petit Spiennes.JPG
196 meters of difference in height
  • Start altitude : 59 m
  • End altitude : 59 m
  • Maximum altitude : 76 m
  • Minimum altitude : 24 m
  • Total positive elevation : 196 m
  • Total negative elevation : -196 m
  • Max positive elevation : 25 m
  • Min positive elevation : -43 m