Location: Herstal
Top Things to do in Herstal
Top 10 Things to do in Herstal, Belgium
Herstal, formerly known as Heristal, or Héristal, is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liège along the Meuse river. Herstal is included in the "Greater Liège" agglomeration, which counts about 600,000 inhabitants.
Restaurants in Herstal
1. Opera Royal de Wallonie-Liege
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 149 reviews
Founded in 1967, the association Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège is largely subsidized by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, the City and Province of Liege. It is one of three major opera houses in Belgium. From the beginning, the institution occupies the Théâtre Royal de Liège, beautiful building loaned by the City of Liège (opened November 4, 1820). Its location in the heart of Liège and the Euregio, at the crossroads between Germany, the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and France, attracts a wide audience both Belgian and international.
Reviewed By DSC-NOVA - Fairfax, Virginia
We attended several Performances at the newly refurbished Opera royal de Wallonie and enjoyed every minute of it! The performance was first rate (the Italian sisters of Cav and Pag, set in production by tenor Jose Cura -- who also performed the lead in both of these short works.) It was magical!
The opera staff is friendly and goes out of its way to assist visitors; it was a delight working with them.
The opera house itself is not imposing in the foyer area; I'm not sure if the reconstruction is complete but it is very shallow and when we were there still covered with rough construction detailing. Inside the auditorium, it seems each seat must have good sightlines and the acoustics seemed wonderful.
Women's bathrooms, as is true in far too many places, were small and with too few stalls.
If opera is your thing and you are in Belgium when the Opera Royal has a production, it may well be worthwhile to visit and enjoy a wonderful evening of music.
2. Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 63 reviews
Reviewed By Tupelo010835 - Denton, TX
A young soldier from my wife's hometown in Texas is buried here so we've been trying to get here for quite a number of years. Finally made it and found his grave. She put a small American flag on his grave.
The entrance to this cemetery is particularly moving. After leaving the parking lot and walking past the entry building you suddenly walk up on the thousands of perfectly aligned markers. If this doesn't bring a tear to your eye, nothing will.
We were particularly impressed with the quality and the thoroughness of the battle maps that are on display inside the entry building. Someone (several someone's) surely spent a tremendous amount of time researching, planning and executing this spectacular display. The attached photos don't do it justice but it will give you the general idea until you are able to visit.
Rest in Peace young soldiers.
Highly recommended
3. Fort de Loncin
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 35 reviews
Reviewed By marcopretelli
Leaded by a voluntary that helped us to understand the fort, we visited the place. History is all around you and you can appreciate what it means. The place was really important during the WW I; but, in general terms, the story shows how useless is the war and all the instruments built to fight it. I live in Venice and all around the city there is a system of forts known as "campo trincerato di Mestre" to protect the city that didn't work in all its life: in both cases (Loncin, that worked but didn't save the life of its soldiers) and Mestre (that wasn't used at all and now is totally unfit to protect whatever you want) the result is that military expenses are useless...
4. Plopsa Coo
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 295 reviews
Reviewed By Badzeep - Eindhoven
Since 12 years, we visit the area regularly on a yearly base, even before the attraction park was there and it was just the lift and a few attractions.
We always enjoyed a drink on the Terrace down by the water. However, this is no longer possible as this is also being exploited as part of the park as well. Entrance is no longer possible without purchasing tickets, 25 euro a piece. Which was highly disappointing.
We did buy tickets, so my son could visit Plopsa coo. And although they have nice attractions, it's is simply not worth 25 euros. The park is quite small and does not offer a full day of amusement, in my opinion.
The previous system, allowing to buy wrist bands if you wanted to use the attractions was much much better.
5. Eglise St-Jacques
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 153 reviews
Reviewed By MrFourPoundsWorth - Crawley Down, United Kingdom
I like Church Buildings that have more than a nod to what Christianity is all about.
To that end I was delighted with the exhibition which was on display here, with various Bible passages and scenes providing the artists with their inspiration.
The bright Sunshine and simple high level yellow windows cast fabulous shades across the floor and seats.
6. Coteaux de la Citadelle
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 569 reviews
Reviewed By DSC-NOVA - Fairfax, Virginia
The Citadel in Liege refers to the remnants of the Liege fortification that formed the origins of this Belgium city. Much of the original stone framework has been destroyed; some has been incorporated into the modern city; another key section apparently was destroyed to allow the construction of a very large hospital toward the top of the highest hill. According to the blurb we read before heading off, the slopes are home to more than 60 historic monuments and five listed sites—but the spots are not particularly well-marked so identifying them is difficult. However, for those who need some fresh air and exercise, this place certainly fits the bill, especially since Liege is not known as a top-rated tourist destination and places to see and things to do can be somewhat limited.
So on one particularly fine, late September morning, armed with our trusty hotel city map, we decided to walk from the city center to the Citadel. We found absolutely no signs directing us to the place and were soon meandering around inside a quaint neighborhood featuring a narrow cobblestone road and no sidewalks—apparently some of the walls of the original fortress make up the backdrop. We didn’t pass anyone to ask for directions so we just kept heading upwards, assuming that eventually we would get the highest point of land and at least see the remnants in the vicinity. About 15 minutes in we found ourselves at the bottom of a steep set of steps without any markings. We climbed up and found ourselves at the Citadel park.
At the top is a large stone obelisk overlooking the town. We think the memorial was built to honor those who had been executed during World Wars I and II, but there is nothing explicit to verify. The memorial is simple and effective, the views of the city and river below pleasing. Behind the monument the space opened into a hiking area and so off we went to explore the entire space. Again we found no meaningful signs or directions and we passed only one jogger so we meandered until we reached the top, which is home to a very large, very populated, and very popular hospital.
We found no signs to indicate how to continue on to the other side of the park or, indeed, how to get back onto the Citadel’s hiking paths so we circumnavigated the hospital until we found an opening and trusted it to be the right path—at least it was going down. We also found—at last—an area map which indicated that there were two trails (purple and red) available but no indication which one we were on. We decided to just keep heading down and eventually noticed that every now and then a splotch of red paint would show up on a tree trunk or stone; eventually we were overtaken with school kids climbing of the path on well-worn shortcuts; toward the end was a teacher walking up the trail in high heels. We came out of the Citadel on school grounds (again, no signs) and made toward the general direction of where we thought the river might be—this was pretty much guesswork since it was difficult to find a reference point on the map. We might have given up and hailed a taxi but….this isn’t a tourist town so free-roaming taxis are not easy to spot. After a few missteps, we sighted the river, followed it for a way and then, and only then, saw a sign pointing to the city center.
We enjoy walking, especially in a nature zone, so except for a few moments of panic when we believed ourselves to be completely lost and heading out of country, we had a good time. A few signs would have been greatly appreciated. If you are not used to walking, ascending via the steps as we did might be a problem but there were no other folks around so definitely no need to rush. The downward trail had some steep spots to be aware of. In all, we spent around three hours (city center to city center). The only overview that we found was at the monument itself, where you can see most of the city and the river. We did not find any other identifiable points of interest (but then, we don’t think we did the entire loop so if we ever go back, we’ll try to do a better job of navigating to find all the gems others seemed to have found). Other than that, it is a pleasant walk.
7. Montagne de Bueren
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 961 reviews
Reviewed By Patricia M
It takes some good 10-15 minutes to go up the stairs (373) but it’s a good physical as well as intellectual exercise ( try to count the stairs or find the pattern). Then , once you are up, you’ll have magnificent views of Liège and river Meuse. If you don’t want to go down the stairs again, you can take Rue Au Perì, that will take you to the historical centre of Liège.
8. Eglise St-Barthelemy (Church of St. Bartholomew)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 167 reviews
Reviewed By Trainbleu - Brussels
St. Bartholomew’s Collegiate Church (“Collégiale Saint-Barthélémy” in French) shows a strange mixture of styles. It was erected in the 11th and 12th century in Mosan Romanesque style, but was remodelled thoroughly in the 18th century. The twin towers were rebuilt in 1876. Still, with its original colours restored, St. Bartholomew’s looks appealing from the outside.
The white-washed 18th century interior came as a surprise and, on the whole, we found it rather disappointing. However the stunningly beautiful medieval baptismal font, which was transferred here from the demolished church of Notre-Dame-aux-Fonts, is well worth the 2 euro charged. For that price, visitors can view a video presentation lasting 10 minutes and examine at leisure the scenes represented on the brass or bronze basin, which is resting on elegant oxen.
On the square next to the church (“Place Saint-Barthélémy”) there is an interesting sculpture in weathering steel by Mady Andrien called “Les Principautaires” (1992). It represents a flock of bishops looking down on dancing little figures symbolising the people of Liege. A clear reference to the city’s past. The Fountain in the centre of the square is a memorial for local gunsmith Dieudonné Lambrecht, who set up an intelligence network in the First World War and faced a German firing squad at the La Chartreuse prison in April 1916.
9. La Boverie
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 251 reviews
A fine arts museum and a centre for international Exhibitions, in partnership with the Louvre.
Reviewed By SeimenBurum - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Museum La Boverie is housed in one of the buildings that survived from the 1905 World Trade Fair. It was renovated between 2013-2016 and houses permanent and temporary Exhibitions . The permanent Exhibitions are a bit dull but when I visited there was a large exbition on comics for which Belgian and French artists are famous. There is a nice coffee shop with some food with outside Seating, weather permitting
10. Parc de la Boverie
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 295 reviews
Reviewed By evanderhorrified - Glasgow, United Kingdom
Small but very pleasant park by the riverside. A short walk from the modern Calatrava designed railway station and not far from Mediacite shopping centre. City centre proper not to far away either.
Lots of locals enjoying the park in good weather,walking dogs etc.
Newly refurbished art gallery looks good..I didn't have time to visit.
A nice place to stroll or sit and watch the world go by.
Try and find the almost tame rabbits sun-bathing on the riverbank.
Nice place in an attractive city.
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