Pajottenland

The Pajottenland is the country immediately west of Brussels, a landscape of low rolling hills, hedges, small woods, church towers and farms that has changed less than most of Flanders, and it is generally identified as the landscape in the backgrounds of Pieter Bruegel the Elder, who worked in Brussels and whose views of harvest and village life fit this ground. Its other claim is beer: lambic, fermented spontaneously by wild yeasts carried in the air of the Zenne valley, is brewed only here and in a few Brussels breweries, and the gueuze and kriek made from blending and refermenting it are the region's product. Several traditional breweries and blenders can be visited, and a lambic visitor centre at Alsemberg covers the process.

What you'll find

• Bruegel's landscape - the rolling country behind his paintings.
• Lambic breweries - spontaneous fermentation found only in this valley.
• Gueuze blenders - the houses that blend and referment the beer.
• Hedged farmland and church towers - the unaltered rural pattern.

When to go

April to October for cycling and walking; brewing runs in the cold months, so autumn and winter are when the breweries are working. A day. Brewery visits usually need booking ahead.

Good to know

It is a landscape rather than a sight and needs a bike or car to make sense of. Breweries have limited opening and most require booking. Lambic is sour and unlike ordinary beer; not everyone gets on with it. Public transport between villages is thin.

Nearby

Gaasbeek Castle is at the eastern edge; Halle lies south.

Key facts