H2olidays

France Passion Plaisance

Belgium

Discover the Flandres, a very welcoming and culturally rich region between France and Belgium. You’ll discover picturesque canals, meandering rivers and a landscape, which has been a source of inspiration to many famous artists.
You can easily access beautiful cities such as Brugges, Courtrai, Anvers, Bruxelles, Mons and Lille.

Eeklo

Eeklo is a small town located to the North-West of Flanders, in Meetejesland. It is situated on the deversion canal of the Lys and it possess typical, neogothic architecture from the second half of the 19th century.
Eeklo has become a city where it is nice to live and lots of people like to relax there.
This is the ideal starting point for a tour of the region, either by the creeks north of the city, the nearby coast of to visit the historical cities Chent, Brugges and Antwerp.

To see : Arboretum, belfry, museum of the old trades.

To taste : The cramique (brioche), spéculoos, waterzooï (speciality containing chicken).

To know : A legend tells that one could come to Eeklo in order to rdo "the head" if you did not like your character of physic.

Most Important : The natural reserve of Het leen with its 200 ha of wood and ponds.

Navigation :  You can cross many creeks, rivers and small picturesque channels. Throughout this course you can discover several port cities such as Brugge, Gent and Courtrai which are cities worth visiting.

One week 
Eeklo - Gent - Oudenaarde - Kortrijk - Eeklo : 156 km - 13 locks - 23 hours. 
Eeklo - Gent - Deinze - Brugge - Eeklo : 150 km - 4 locks - 26 hours. 
Eeklo - Brugge - Diksmuide - Ieper - Veurne - Eeklo : 227 km - 13 locks - 35 hours. 

Two weeks
Eeklo - Gent - Kortrijk - St Omer - Dunkerque - Veurne - Brugge - Eeklo : 373 km - 25 locks - 71 hours. 

Dinant -  Capital of the Walloon gastronomy

In the middle of the valley of the Meuse valley, a valley of fortresses and castles, is Dinant, small city where the slate roofed houses are all aligned. This is the motherland of Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone.
This charming, petite town of High Meuse has many delicious local specialities which are just waiting for you to taste them, such as the local fish, cheese, cakes...
In this mysterious area of legends, discover the castles, abbeys, citadels and churches who witnessed this regions lengthy and tumultous past.

To see : The abbey Notre-Dame of Leffe, descend Lesse River in canoe, marvellous the cave of Dinant.

To taste : the couque of Dinant (honey and whole wheat flour cake), the molignard (cheese with hard paste half), the crochon (little bread lined with local cheese, ham and cream), the mineral water of the sources Spontin, the “cassia”, the “dinantais” and other fruit cocktails.

To know : Dinant is the only town to have given its name to an craftsmen: the Dinanderie, copper working.

Most Important : the citadel of Dinant (a view of the Meuse, with historical Belgian and European life-sized models, visit the dungeons, the kitchens, the animated coaches, Arms museum and the ruins...)

Navigation on the Meuse :
You can navigate through a diverse natural environment of immense cliffs and large forests. There are plenty of castles and manors to see, and you will probably run into some roe-deers or wild boars! A cruise which will undoubtedly be full of surprises!

From Dinant :

One week one way cruise
Dinant - Pont-à-Bar : 112 km - 23 locks - 25 hours