‘NEC SPE NEC METU’

104 km Cycling network

20 Experienced give guides will give A range of tours

30

Aalst's ‘national’ dish: 'smoutebollen' with beef stew sauce and pickles

‘Neither hope nor fear’ | The motto of Philip II. Adopted by Aalst residents as their city's slogan. wigs in carnival shops 15,000

76 km Walking network

136 Steps to climb the belfry

10 Forest and nature areas

Showpiece = urban park

1953 = First Carnival Prince appointed

Welcome to the Grote Markt, with its eye-catching UNESCO-protected belfry and the oldest remaining aldermen's house in the Low Countries. It is faithfully guarded by Dirk Martens, a pioneer in the art of printing. To the left of the belfry, you will find the Borse of Amsterdam – a meeting place for the Catholic party in the time of Daens. The white building on the right-hand side is the historic city hall, home to the city festival hall and wedding hall.

In ‘t Gasthuys – Urban Museum, you will literally be walking along Aalst's oldest paths. This former hospital has been transformed into an exhibition space. There, you can analyse Aalst's unique DNA and the legacy of well-known people from Aalst, such as priest Adolf Daens and painter Valerius De Saedeleer. At the carnival exhibition, you can immerse yourself completely in Aalst's carnival atmosphere.

St Martin's Church is beautiful religious heritage in Aalst. Here, you can admire the painting ‘Christ Appointing St Roch as the Patron of Plague Victims’ by Pieter Paul Rubens in its original setting. Priest Daens celebrated his first mass here in 1873. The restoration works on the church began in May 2003 – a project that will continue to run until 2027.

Welcome to Utopia, the Aalst resident's living room. The building houses both the main library and the Academy for Performing Arts. This place has a rich history: in the past, the building served as a cloister, barracks, military prison, interment camp and court building. At the side of the building, you will find the stature of writer Louis Paul Boon.

You can escape the busy city for a while and relax in the city park, the Gerstjens and the woods of the Kravaalbos. The city park was built in 1915. With more than 100 different kinds of trees, a range of ponds, a skate park, sports courses and playgrounds, literally anyone can be in their element here. Along with the adjoining Osbroek nature reserve, this is a real paradise for walkers and joggers.

The former factory site of Schotte has been transformed into an ultra-modern sports complex, where you can go stand-up paddle-boarding, canoeing and river-biking. Or will you dare to climb the factory's chimney – the symbol of industrial heritage in Aalst?