Val-Dieu Triple cycle ride

Aubel is a charming village in the shadow of the Pays de Herve orchards. It is home to the Val-Dieu Abbey and a weekly market every Sunday in the centre of the village.

Surrounded by enclosed expanses of pastureland, the village stands at the summit of a promontory which dominates the church. The use of brick for the walls, slate for the saddleback roofs and stone for the frameworks of the windows and the right-angle quoins characterise the architecture of the whole village.To break up the simplicity of the buildings, decorative research has been applied to the slates. Windvanes dominate the roofs and bear witness to an art of ironwork brilliantly executed. Worth of seeing:• St-Jacques-le-Majeur church (17th-century) and its cemetery,• Place de la Halle• The Old Town Hall (1888), which goes over the main road, is today used as a registry office, so that one can say in Clermont "we marry in the street"• Stop on the pilgrim route to St James of Compostella, on the Via Mosana• Crawhez Castel• Clermont Castle• Ste-Anne chapel• Remember Museum 39-45

Founded in 1216 by Cistercian monks, Notre-Dame du Val-Dieu Abbey is a remarkable group of buildings steeped in history and spirituality, set in a natural environment. Now home to the Val-Dieu Christian Community, it offers visitors a peaceful setting with its park, basilica and signposted walks.The cloister and brewery can only be visited by appointment with a guide. All Val-Dieu beers brewed at the abbey can be tasted at the Casse-Croûte or taken away at the abbey shop. The Courtyard and the Church are always open.