Citadel of Namur

The citadel occupies the rocky spur where the Sambre joins the Meuse, a position fortified since at least the tenth century and rebuilt repeatedly through the Spanish, Dutch, French and Austrian periods, with Vauban and Coehoorn both working on it, and it grew into one of the more heavily fortified sites in Europe, taken and retaken many times. What survives is a large open site of bastions, ditches, curtain walls and terraces covering the whole spur, free to walk, with an underground network of some five hundred metres of galleries and casemates open on guided tours. A cable car reopened in 2021 runs up from the riverbank. The views over the two rivers and the city are the reason many people come.

What you actually see

• Bastions and ditches across the spur - centuries of fortification on one site.
• Underground galleries - about five hundred metres of casemates on tours.
• The river confluence view - the Sambre meeting the Meuse below.
• The cable car - running up from the riverbank since 2021.

When to go

April to October for the grounds and the cable car; the underground tours run year round with reduced winter hours. Half a day. Weekends are busy. The site is large and involves a lot of walking.

Honest expectations

The site is very large and confusing without a plan; signage is patchy. Underground tours are timed and in French or Dutch unless arranged. The cable car queues at weekends. There is a lot of uphill walking if you do not take it.

Nearby

Namur city is below; the Jardins d'Annevoie lie south along the Meuse.