La Roche-en-Ardenne

La Roche sits in a tight bend of the Ourthe with wooded hills rising on all sides, and the ruins of its feudal castle stand on the rock directly above the town, a site fortified from the ninth century and built up through the medieval period before being dismantled in the eighteenth. Enough survives of walls, towers and the keep to walk through, with a view straight down onto the roofs and the river. The town below is a compact grid of grey stone buildings given over to Ardennes tourism, with kayak operators, walking routes into the hills, and shops selling the smoked ham and pate the region trades on. Several viewpoints on the surrounding ridges are reached on marked paths.

History

People first settled here in the Neolithic, there is a Celtic site of 850 to 520 BC, and the Romans built a fort after conquering Gaul. The medieval castle, used from the 9th to the 18th century, guarded the barges on the rivers, may have been a hunting lodge of Pippin, and was held by the counts of La Roche from the Carolingians until they sold it to the counts of Luxembourg in the 12th century; in 1331 John the Blind, Count of Luxembourg, allowed the town to build walls (Wikipedia, La Roche-en-Ardenne).

The main sights

• The castle ruin on the rock - walls and keep directly above the town.
• The Ourthe bend - the river looping tightly round the settlement.
• Ridge viewpoints - marked paths to the tops around the valley.
• Ardennes ham and pate - the regional products sold in the town.

When to go

April to October; the castle has reduced winter opening. Half a day. Autumn colour in the valley is very good. Belgian holidays and summer weekends fill the town.

Good to know

The town is heavily given over to tourism and the main street is shops and restaurants. The castle is a ruin with limited interpretation. Parking is difficult in season. Kayak operators dominate the riverbank in summer.

Nearby

Le Herou is south along the Ourthe; Durbuy lies north.