Cycling in Belgium – practical bike touring guide

Cycling is one of the most popular sports in Belgium. I lived there for 1,5 years, and on every Sunday ride, I would meet a group of road cyclists in lycra. Even though it lacks spectacular landscapes and pristine nature, Belgium is a perfect destination for bicycle touring. 

How to get there

Belgium has an excellent train network connected with the neighbouring countries and other EU countries. You can easily get there from Germany, France, the UK, or the Netherlands. 

Belgium is small. You can cycle the whole country by bike within a week, but if needed, taking a bike on a train in Belgium is easy.

You can book your tickets here (remember to add a bike supplement, it costs 4 euros). 

Weather

Make sure to bring a good rain jacket. Belgian weather tends to be gloomy, with about 200 days of rain every year.

Terrain

With the highest point at 694 m (Signal de Botrange), Belgium is not a mountainous country. Yet you will find some challenging climbs, especially in the Ardennes. 

Traffic rules

1. There is no legal obligation to wear a helmet.
2. After dark, your bike has to have white front light and red rear light. 
3. You have to use a cycle path if there is any.

Safety

Some cities have secure bicycle parking at train stations. In bigger cities, make sure to never leave your bike without a solid lock. Brussels is notorious for bike thefts, and I would never leave my bike on the street (even locked!) for several hours there.

Bike path network

Belgium has one of the most developed networks of bike paths in the world. Especially Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part) is a paradise for cyclists. And one of the best parts about them is – you can easily find your way around without a map.

All thanks to a Belgian mining engineer Hugo Bollen, who came up with an idea of knoopunten – a system of crossroads marked with numbers. Forget checking directions on your GPS and just focus on what’s around you!

How does knoopunten work?

1. Go to https://www.fietsknoop.nl/planner. Type in the start address and find the nearest point in your area. Let’s say we want to start from Antwerp train station. In this case, the nearest point is 13. That’s where we start navigating from. Click on 13 to start planning.
2. We want to go to Brussels and see Grand Place. Type the address in, and find the nearest point. Click on it.
3. Your route is now calculated.
4. Below the map, you will find a list of points you will go through. You can simply note them down on a piece of paper that you can stick to your handlebar. Now you can navigate phone-freely and take a well-deserved rest from the screen!

Cycling highways

In the Belgian region of Flanders, you will also find a network of Cycle highways (fietssnelwegen in Dutch). They are created to be the fastest way to get from A to B, so they are not always the most scenic ones. They lead the shortest route and are exclusively for bicycle traffic (in some cases also mopeds are allowed), so they are super safe). 

My personal highlights in Belgium

See the map with my favourite spots in Belgium here.

Cycling through the water and through the trees

Belgians have a great talent to create stunning attractions out of their rather dull landscape. What was once a humdrum, average lake, and a very regular forest is now visited by thousands of cycle tourists. Not every day can you cycle below the water mirror or up in the treetops.

In general, the whole region of Limburg is known for perfectly organised cycling trails. One of my favourite landmarks there is Reading between the lines, a piece of modern art in a shape of a church you can look through. You can arrive there for the sunset and then camp on a free campsite 100 meters away. 

Antwerp, Gent and Brugge

The famous Flemish trio will impress you with architecture and art. It will take you 2,5 hours on the fast speed bike lane F4 to get from Antwerp to Gent. From Gent to Brugge, take a relaxing route along the canal.

Brussels

The European capital is less touristy than the Flemish cities but has a lot to offer. For a long time, it was not a bike-friendly city, but luckily this has massively improved over the past years.

You can’t miss out on the Grand Place. (Interesting fact: if you pay close attention to the city hall building, you’ll realise that the door is not placed symmetrically. The legend says that the architect of the gothic building jumped off the tower when he realised this mistake. More likely, asymmetry occurred because multiple architects designed the building over a long time, and they all had to keep the boggy foundations in mind).

Take a trip to the European quarter and from there to the African Museum in Tervuren – it’s a lovely bike ride with a lot of greenery around. If you decide to visit the famous landmark Atomium, check out the nearby cemetery of Laeken. It is a hidden gem, with the royal crypts and stunning statues (among them Thinker by Auguste Rodin).

And if you want to escape the busy city life, you can cycle the Green Belt of Brussels or take a spin in the Sonian Forest – a Primeval Beech forest that has been inscribed to the UNESCO list.

The coast

Visit Knokke for the prettiest sandy beaches, Blankenberge for the unique 90s vibe, and Ostende for street art, forts and good food (try the famous Belgian mussels!)

Ardennes

Craving some hills and forests? The Ardennes, being the remnants of an old mountain range, are a perfect place for outdoor lovers. In High Fens Nature Park, you will find amazing bike trails, like the Vennbahn, an old railway on the German border. 

My personal favourites in the Ardennes are Bouillion in the Semois Valley, Lake Gileppe, Remouchamps, and Robertville. In the latter, make sure to visit Castle Reinhardstein, Cascade du Bayehon, Nose of Napoleon and Lake Robertville.

You absolutely cannot skip Dinant! You can get to the birthplace of saxophone via beautiful EuroVelo 19 leading along the river Meuse. This charming little town offers one of the best views in Belgium, with a citadel located on the steep, rocky cliffs and cute, colourful houses.

Doel 

Are you bored of idyllic chateaus and cute Flemish towns? This rather apocalyptic, semi-abandoned village near Antwerp has a completely different vibe. At the turn of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the local Flemish government decided to build an industrial port in the location of the 700 years old village of Doel.

Most people sold their properties and relocated, but some residents refused to leave, forcing the authorities to put the project on hold. Being a rather depressing place, Doel attracts disaster tourists and urbex amateurs.

Low-budget Accommodation

Belgium, like most Western-European countries, is quite pricey. I am always hesitant to spend 50 euros/night, knowing that in countries like Macedonia, Bosnia or Kyrgyzstan, this amount would allow me to stay five nights in a nice B&B. Luckily, there are many ways to make your bike trip in Belgium affordable, if you are on a budget.

Wild camping

Wild camping in Belgium is illegal. However, there is still a way for you to stay in your tent surrounded by nature for free, without risking a fine. Bivouac zones are small campsites, usually without any facilities (you can count on an outside privy on some of them). Bivouac zones are accessible for non-motorised tourists only and spread all around the country, both in Flanders and Wallonia. 

Important info:

• Some camping areas are only open over the summer
• Sometimes a reservation (free of charge) is required (however, from my experience, it is not executed). Best to always check the conditions on bivakzone.be

Welcome to my garden

Belgian are very often willing to participate in citizen non-profit initiatives. Welcome to my garden is one of them. It is like Couchsurfing or Warm Showers, but instead of inviting travellers to their homes, the hosts simply offer them a part of their garden to pitch a tent. Thanks to this platform, you can even camp in the centre of Brussels! 

Some hosts, especially in the deep countryside, only have profile descriptions in Dutch or French. Don’t hesitate to use Google Translate and contact them anyway! With over 2,3 thousand hosts in Belgium, you should easily find a place to stay and enjoy a truly Belgian experience.

Warm Showers

Warm Showers is popular among Belgians, with over 4800 users. Many of them are actively hosting, so finding a place to stay with fellow cyclists should never be difficult. 

Useful Resources

RAVel – an official website of network of bicycle paths in Wallonia with a route planner

Bivakzone – free campsites in Belgium

Knoppunten – a route planner usinge the system of Knoppunten

Fietssnelwegen – a website about cycling highways

Cycling in Flanders – a more sporty side of cycling, including information about the most famous climbs from the big cycling races

Visit Limburg – information about the best cycling routes in Limburg

Have you done bike tours in Belgium and can recommend some cool routes/places to visit? Let me know in the comments!

---