← Namur Marathon·Day trip

Dinant: A Cliff, a Citadel and the Saxophone After Namur

A short train up the Meuse to a town squeezed between a limestone cliff and the river, with a bulbous church tower and a saxophone-lined bridge.

DurationDay trip
TransitSNCB train from Namur to Dinant, about 30 minutes
DepartsNamur station

After the Namur Marathon: Dinant

The Route: Namur → Dinant → Namur Logistics: SNCB train, about 30 minutes each way. Dinant station is a 10-minute flat walk from the river and the church. Marathon Month: April Duration: Day trip

Namur ──(about 30 min, SNCB)──> Dinant
  ^                                │
  └──────(about 30 min, SNCB)──────┘

You have just run beside the Meuse for 42 kilometres. Dinant is where the river squeezes through a limestone gorge, with a 100-metre cliff on one bank and a bulbous-roofed collegiate church pressed against it. Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone, was born in a house on the river in 1814, and the bridge is now lined with brightly painted saxophone sculptures. It is a gentle place to go the day after.

Buy a ticket in the SNCB app or at the station, and check the planner.

April in Dinant: highs of about 12°C to 14°C, with sun and showers. The cliff keeps the river valley cool in shade, so bring a layer. Check opening days, because Monday closures are common.

Day Trip: Dinant

From the station, walk about 700 metres on level pavement to the Pont Charles de Gaulle and the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame. The church's interior is free to enter, with a few steps inside. The promenade along the river is flat, with benches and cafés, and a 2 kilometre loop covers it.

The Citadel above the town is reached by a cable car, which avoids the 408 steps of the old stair. Check the current schedule, since the cable car can run a reduced timetable early in the season. The ticket costs around €10 and prices vary, so use the figure as a guide only. From the top you see the whole gorge.

Dinant is known for couques, hard honey biscuits stamped with patterns, which are more souvenir than snack. A walk along the saxophone trail on the bridge is free and flat.

Lunch can be a plate of Ardennes ham, a tarte au maton, a local curd-cheese tart, or river fish at a riverside café. Reserve on a Sunday or in spring holidays.

Return to the station in the late afternoon for a train back to Namur. Services run about once an hour, so check the last train before dinner.

Getting to the airport

From Dinant, Brussels Airport (BRU) takes about 1 hour 45 minutes by train with a change at Namur or Brussels. Check the SNCB planner. The airport station is below the terminal, with lifts.