You may have already seen the famous blue stone of Tournai, Belgium, without realising it. Alongside textiles, it is an export the city is famous for, an integral element of cathedrals and monuments built across Europe over the centuries. But to see Tournai itself is another matter.
A place important enough to attract the attention of a number of iconic monarchs (Clovis, Louis XIV, Henry VIII), and once the capital of France, Tournai became the burial ground for the founder of a Frankish dynasty and was fought over by the great powers of Europe from the Romans to the Spanish Catholics of the inquisition era, from the Germans, to the Dutch to the French. It is also the only city in Belgium once owned by the British and to have sent MPs to the British parliament – Henry VIII even came here and built a round garrison tower in his name, currently scaffolded and needing renovation.
Appropriate perhaps, because today, Tournai itself feels like a tourism Queen-in-waiting. When I visited in late August, its paved streets and squares were quiet, bracing perhaps for its upcoming big weekend, featuring its well-known procession and giant effigies, once thought to ward off the plague.
Contemporary design on the map
Tournai’s streets are peppered with Art Nouveau gems, discoverable on a bespoke trail the city has put together, alongside a new “Arts and Design in the City” interactive route that has seen contemporary works make a rather more delightful incursion into the cityscape than the military troops of the past. Showing how the city is a breeding ground for artists, it can be completed in under three hours, leaving plenty of time for serendipity to do its work too.
Arriving by train, the first of those artworks can be spotted in front of the neoclassical station. Created by artist Christophe Lorenz, two giant yellow rabbits lounge on a grassy lawn – a reference to the rabbits eaten on January’s “Lost Monday” (Lundi Perdu), a day marked by a special recipe featuring one of the most sustainable meats on the planet, slow cooked in beer, and traditionally eaten on the first Monday after Epiphany. After you’ve contemplated the fate of these furry “friends who are never lost”, don’t miss the blue stone mosaic pieces by artist ALI, embedded in the pedestrian pathways of Place Crombez.
Approaching the historic centre, the “Four Kings of Tournai” is a colourful mural by Loraine Motti, highlighting how the city was once a seat of Frankish power for the Merovingian dynasty depicted here. Try the Totemus app, with whom the city has partnered to create a treasure hunt that takes a playful approach to the contemporary artworks, with a “spot the difference game” opening your eyes to the mural.
Elsewhere, artworks are spottable both overhead and underfoot. See the “Bridge of Reflections” (Passerelle aux Reflets) that crosses the River Escaut (Scheldt) that the Sun King himself, Louis XIV, turned into a canal, sanitising the city’s waterways and contributing to its ability to export its famous weaving and stones. And at the Fine Art School, founded in 1756, spot the red parkour-like figures, climbing the walls of the evening art school, who suggest that access to art is for everyone.
Gems of the historic centre
While you’re in the historic centre, the Tourism Office is a light airy space, with a wealth of information and offering a short, fun film on the city’s complex history. From there you can start the art and design trail if you haven’t already, or head to the extraordinary cathedral, a testament to Tournai’s development since Roman times, and the Belfry, which is Belgium’s oldest and part of the city’s UNESCO-listed heritage. There are plenty of places for lunch in the nearby squares.
If you’re in the mood after lunch, why not drop into Tournai’s lovely Natural History Museum with its butterfly and reptile houses? And at the Fine Art Museum next door, designed by none other than the godfather of Art Nouveau, Victor Horta, you can see the only works by Manet in Belgium; one of them, considered his first ever Impressionist piece, was so precious to the artist that he kept it for himself until his death. Be quick though, if art in frames is what rocks your boat: the museum is closing in 2025 for renovations likely to last around four years.
Follow the river to the northwest of the centre and you’ll find the Pont des Trous or “Bridge of Holes”, a structure over the river dating right back to the 13th century. The name refers to the arches and holes through which the Escaut flows, not the numerous works it has undergone, after it was blown up in the Second World War and, more recently, adapted to modern river traffic. It is one of Belgium’s most important pieces of medieval military architecture.
Canals, ramparts and more art
Walk the river to the southeast to the Quai du Luchet d’Antoing, where the Escaut, still a working canal today, has recently been widened to better accommodate freight barges, and you’ll find further street art pieces: a Mondrian-like structure that casts colourful shadows on the canal banks, and a series of coats-of-arms adorning an underpass near a military barracks turned refugee centre.
Take a detour via Le Parc St Jean, a shady spot filled with bicentennial and older trees and you’ll spy the vestiges of the city’s old ramparts, harking back to the throbbing medieval heyday when it needed to protect its wealth. Then turn back to the station via another art installation, the Elleiba (the French word for “bee” spelled backwards). The bee is a Tournai emblem because, in the 17th century, the grave of Childeric the First, who was King in 451 AD, was discovered in the city centre, containing a hoard of 300 tiny golden bees. Today’s homage to the 1500-year-old treasure is a golden organic form in the middle of a roundabout, representing, if you like, the inside of a bee hive. Try a coffee or a juice at Barista, which has a good view of the piece.
You can learn more about all the works mentioned here and about the hive of history that is Tournai by scanning the QR codes displayed near each work or by heading to Visit Tournai’s website.
