Chimay

The boot-shaped Botte du Hainaut region is rich in wooded valleys, villages, châteaux, and lakes. Towns here are small and untouristy. At the bottom of the "botte" is Chimay, a small town where time seems to have come to a standstill, but which still has a few surprises up its sleeve. It has a château, a mostly 16th-century church, a nearby monastery, decorous classical music concerts—and a racetrack for car and motorcycle races (June through August). Chimay was also the home of Froissart, the 14th-century historian whose chronicles furnished the background information for many of Shakespeare's plays.