Hougoumont

Top choice in Wallonia


This classic fortified farm is around 20 minutes’ walk southwest of the Butte du Lion. Had Napoleon broken through here early in the battle, everything might have turned out very differently. Recently restored to its original appearance, this a peaceful rural spot: it's hard to imagine the desperate struggle of 1815, but a modern exhibition and impressive audiovisual display do their best to evoke it. Entry is included with Memorial 1815, from where free blue shuttle buses run to the farm.

A cottage in the complex houses a cosy apartment decorated in period style, which sleeps four and can be booked for stays of three days or more. Prices drop substantially in low season.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Wallonia attractions

1. Butte du Lion

0.7 MILES

Waterloo’s most arresting sight is a steep, grassy cone topped by a massive bronze lion. It commemorates, incredibly, not victory nor the glorious dead…

2. Panorama de la Bataille

0.76 MILES

Included in admission to the Memorial 1815 visitor centre is the charmingly old-fashioned 1912 Panorama de la Bataille, a circular action-packed painting…

3. Memorial 1815

0.76 MILES

Inaugurated for the 2015 bicentenary, this showpiece underground museum and visitor centre at the battlefield gives some detail on the background to…

4. Ferme Brasserie Mont-Saint-Jean

1.27 MILES

This fortified farmhouse was transformed into Wellington's field hospital during the 1815 battle, and was used to treat some 7000 men. A thought-provoking…

5. Dernier Quartier Général de Napoléon

2.05 MILES

The farmhouse complex where Napoleon breakfasted the morning of the battle now forms a small museum, accessible on the combined Memorial 1815 ticket. It’s…

6. Musée Wellington

3.25 MILES

Opposite the church and tourist office on the main road in Waterloo itself, this former inn is where Wellington stayed before the battle. The museum,…

7. De Lambiek

5.55 MILES

This sparkling showpiece attraction is for fans of the Brussels area's trademark gueuze and lambic beers. The De Lambiek visitors centre explains the…

8. Collégiale Ste-Gertrude

5.94 MILES

This 11th-century church was part of one of Europe’s foremost abbeys, founded in 648. It's 102m long with a soaring multilevel western facade topped with…