Grand Place

Top choice in Wallonia


Tournai’s gorgeous triangular main square is ringed with cafes in fine gable-fronted guildhouses merrily flying guild banners. Kids play in ‘dare-you’ fountains beneath an axe-wielding statue of Princess d'Espinoy, the doomed heroine who led Tournai's eventually futile defence against a 1581 Spanish siege.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Wallonia attractions

1. Halle Aux Draps

0.02 MILES

Tournai's former cloth hall is the Grand Place's finest building, with an elegant gilt-detailed facade and a brick-vaulted interior that opens for…

2. Beffroi

0.06 MILES

Belgium’s oldest belfry is 72m high with a narrow 257-step spiral staircase that becomes even narrower higher up. There's a good multilingual display on…

3. Musée de Folklore

0.07 MILES

This is a lovable and sizeable warren of fascinating city-relevant relics and ethnographic artefacts. It's all in French, but many of the cameo scenes are…

4. Église St-Quentin

0.07 MILES

Église St-Quentin is a hefty Romanesque church with a 12th-century nave, posterior Gothic features and a striking red-tiled roof. When viewed from near…

5. Cathédrale Notre Dame

0.09 MILES

Dominating Tournai’s skyline are the five spires of its remarkable cathedral, which survived WWII bombs only for a freak 1999 tornado to compromise its…

6. Trésor de la Cathédrale

0.09 MILES

There are some impressive pieces in the treasury in the heart of Tournai's cathedral, including a fabulous 'Last Judgement' châsse (casket), a striking…

7. Tour St-Georges

0.11 MILES

One of two towers preserved from the original 1202 city wall.

8. Tour du Cygne

0.18 MILES

One of two towers preserved from the original 1202 city wall, this is a surprising sight at the end of a nondescript lane.