2 Best Sights in Belgium

The landscape gets much prettier as you slip southwest of the city toward an area known as the Vallée de la Paix (Valley of Peace). The main reason to go is for the ruins of Aulne Abbey, which lie just 10 km (6 miles) from Charleroi. Its history dates back to the 7th century. In In its heyday, it was run by Cistercian monks. By the mid-1800s the last monk had moved on and the site became a hospice before being left to ruin. But with the demise of the abbey, so too vanished its beer-making roots, until they were resurrected in 1950 by a local brewer who followed the old methods of the monks. These beers can be tried at the nearby Brasserie de l’Abbaye d’Aulne, which also does good food. 

The Municipal Park is home to the remains of what was reputedly one of the finest castles in Belgium. A building first stood here in the 12th century, though by the time Marie of Hungary, a regent of the Spanish Netherlands, was gifted the land by Charles V, it had fallen into ruin. In 1545, she commissioned an architect, who took five years to rebuild it in the Renaissance style, at which point it was hailed as one of the great palaces of Europe. Yet he needn't have bothered. Barely a moment later, France's King Henri II had it burned to ground and its restoration ceased after Mary moved to Spain. Subsequent attempts were made to resurrect it, but by the early 1700s what was left was demolished. Only a few stray remnants survive in the park, which was built atop the remains and is still wrapped by the ramparts of the old city walls.