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Roadtrip: Dinant to Dinant | Rounded Education
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Description
What to see?
Château de Freÿr and its exacting gardens, bijoux villages in Vresse and Redu, Ardennes panoramas in Rochehaut and Botassart.
Where to drive?
The N935 to Membre, the N893 to Poupehan, the N810 to Bouillon – each offers the perfect mix of technical twists and dramatic scenery.
Cross the river and head for the N96, a cinematic route which presents the River Meuse in widescreen. Within minutes, see Château de Freÿr’s crisp topiary, 18th century architecture and orange trees that are direct descendants of those planted here more than 300 years ago. The road continues past Agimont to Viroinval with its Neptune Caves. Mariembourg, a short drive up the N939, has the Chemin de Fer a Vapeur des 3 Vallées (Three Valleys Steam Train). Now aim for the N964, turn right and you arrive in Brûly-de-Pesche, which served as Hitler’s HQ during the 1940 invasion of France.
Straight roads pull you away from Brûly, following the N964 before turning left at Rièzes and over the French border. Rocroi’s 16th century forti…cations beckon before you join the D1. Flowing alongside the Le Ruisseau des Moulins, the road mimics the river in languid rolls before depositing travellers in Revin. This picturesque town points onto the D988 and D7, which hug the Meuse through long sweeps for the next 6km. Sharp bends dominate next, leading back over the border and onto the N952. Here, the road transforms into the bucking, serpentine N935 down into Membre. From there, it’s just 5km to Vresse-surSemois.
From Vresse, follow the N945 south, skirt the riverbanks on the N819 then grab a snap from the panoramic Rochehaut viewpoint. Pick up the N893, scudding down hairpins that whisk through the village of Poupehan and over the river before heading for the Belgian border. The N810, a mass of tight and sweeping corners, plunges through the Ardennes into Bouillon. From the castle, which has stood since the middle ages, to the Ducal Museum, the town pulses with history. Finish the leg by taking the Route de la Belle Vue to the breathtaking Giant’s Tomb vista in Botassart.
Turn north and follow the N899 to Redu, the self-proclaimed ‘village of books’. A specialist museum, artisanal paper manufacturer and a dozen bookshops all cluster around the centre, and the Euro Space Center and the Caves of Han are but minutes away. Pass through Saint-Hubert and up to Musées du Fourneau Saint-Michel, a recreation of a pre-industrial Ardennes village. Now take the quiet N849 and N803 to Rochefort and the faster N911 to Ciergnon, the Belgian royal family’s summer home. For the run back to Dinant, take the N94, enjoying the sun-speckled canopy and žowing turns outside Payenne. Reach the river, slip through Rocher Bayard and the lap is complete.
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