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Bargain Travel Europe guide to Europe on a budget for unusual destinations,
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DURBUY - BELGIUM ARDENNES
Prettiest Smallest Historic Town on the Ourthe River

Durbuy Chateau d'Ursel Ourthe River Bridge photoDurbuy has been a “city” since 1331, dubbed so by John the first of Luxembourg. For the longest time this trading town on the Ourthe River in eastern Belgium, at the northwest edge of Luxembourg province of Wallonia called itself “the smallest town on Earth”. Granted, it’s a small town, but you can find many smaller ones. It might better refer to itself as the prettiest small town. Or perhaps truly, the “luckiest”. While most of the other small towns in this part of the Belgian Ardennes were heavily damaged in Durbuy best tourist town Ardennes photoWWII, some almost destroyed, especially during the Battle of the Ardennes at the end of 1944 (see Battle of the Bulge WWII Belgium), the medieval town of Durbuy was mostly untouched. Early on in the occupation of Belgium, the Germans destroyed many of the bridges across the rivers, while leaving others intact for strategic routes. Durbuy’s bridge on the Ourthe was gone by the time the allies reached Belgium. While other towns suffered devastating battles for their bridges, Durbuy’s was already down and the town survived.

Durbuy Streets Belgian Tourist Village photoNestled in a steep canyon of thick trees Durbuy is a striking little journey back into time with narrow cobblestone streets through buildings and houses dating from the 16th and 17th Century constructed of the same light gray stone. Dominated by its story book looking privately owned castle at the end of the bridge where the Ourthe courses below the steep cliff of the 'La Falize', the narrow streets of Durbuy and its open town square are lined with brasseries and restaurants. Durbuy is a very popular Hotel La Caleche carriage Durbuy phototourist destination among Belgians, known for its fine food gastronomy. On a good weather weekend it can be pretty crowded, with car parking stretching down the narrow highway and strollers on narrow streets. For earth's smallest city, Durbuy boasts 27 restaurants, 19 hotels and 16 Bed & Breakfasts from the elegant Le Sanglier des Ardennes to the Hotel La Caleche "The Carriage" in the center square, where horse carriages clop visitors from bar to bistro, is one of Durbuy's most popular and best reviewed hotels. Across the river from the central town is the Durbuy Topiary Park composed of 250 boxwood trees sculpted into birds, crocodiles, mermaids and deer.

Marckloff Beer Durbuy photoAt the end of the foot bridge to the topiary park in the center of the village on the main Rue d'Ursel is the brewery restaurant of “La Ferme au Chene” serving The Marckloff Beer. Phillippe Marckloff established the second “free” brewery in Durbuy in 1550 and brewed a beer known for a few hundred years as “La Marckloff”. In 1989 the Trine family re-established the brand as a micro-brewery with a tasty rich amber beer served in the small historic bistro with a river view terrace. A good stop if touring Belgium's many famed small beer purveyors (see Orval Monastery and Trappist Beer).

Durbuy is about 40 minutes south of Liege. Other sites of interest near Durbuy are the megalithic era site at the village of Weris, a little tourist tram through the woods at Erezee , the Golf of Durbuy greens course where you can whack a ball through the thick Ardennes trees, the Chateau de Modave also known as the Castle of the Counts of Marchin, and the underground caverns Grottes de Hotton. © Bargain Travel Europe

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Durbuy

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SEE ALSO:

ROMANTIC HOTELS OF DURBUY

CASTLE LA ROCHE - JEWEL OF THE OURTHE


WATERLOO BATTLEGROUND MUSEUMS

FLANDERS FIELDS WWI MUSEUMS AND MONUMENTS

UNDISCOVERED MONS