Oudenaarde

Oudenaarde was a tapestry town from the fifteenth century, producing verdure hangings of foliage and hunting scenes that were exported across Europe, and the town museum in the town hall holds a substantial collection along with the story of the trade. The town hall itself is the sight: a late-Gothic building of 1526 by Hendrik van Pede with an elaborate openwork tower topped by a gilded figure, and it holds a belfry listed among the Belgian belfries. The town sits on the Scheldt in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly cobbled country that the Tour of Flanders cycle race crosses, and the Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen covers that race and its climbs, which is why the town fills with cyclists at weekends.

What you actually see

• The 1526 town hall - late-Gothic with an openwork tower.
• Oudenaarde tapestries - the verdure hangings the town exported.
• The Tour of Flanders centre - the race and its cobbled climbs.
• The Flemish Ardennes - hilly cobbled country around the town.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. The Tour of Flanders runs on the first Sunday of April and fills the region completely. Museums close on Mondays. Weekends bring cyclists in numbers.

Honest expectations

It is small and half a day covers it. Race weekend is chaotic and accommodation is impossible. Museums are modest. Interpretation is largely in Dutch. The cycling focus dominates and does not interest everyone.

Nearby

The Muur van Geraardsbergen is east; Ghent lies north.