Thuin

Thuin is a small, partly hilltop town south-west of Charleroi in the Belgian province of Hainaut on the river Sambre. For rail fans, there is the ASVi museum featuring historic trams from the Vicinal era.

Understand

The municipality of Thuin (roughly pronounced TWAYNg) consists of the lower town (ville basse) and the upper town (ville-haute) plus a number of surrounding villages and the country-side in between. Buildings in the upper town are generally older than those in the lower town.

Get in

View of the old upper town and its belfry

By train

There are trains to Thuin from the Charleroi-Sud railway station. The trip takes about 20 minutes. The frequency is every hour on week-days and every 2 hours on weekends.

One could also do a day-trip from Brussels. The trip would take about 95 minutes each way including waiting for a change of trains at Charleroi-Sud.

The 🌍 Thuin Railway Station is on the north side of the Sambre river. You must cross a bridge to reach the lower town on the south side. The station building at Thuin no longer has any railway functions and there are no ticketing facilities available. There are a few waitng shelters along the platform.

By car

By car from Charleroi: Take N90 westbound to N54 westbound to Rue d'Anderlues south to Thuin.

Get around

The central area of the town is about ½ km long and ½ km wide. Thus, getting around the central portion is easy by foot although the streets between the lower and upper portion of the town can be steep.

See

Historic tram at Biesme-sous-Thuin

• 🌍 Belfry (Belfroi) (Grand Place). The belfry, dating from the 17th century, has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site. A splendid view on the Thuin area can be seen from the top. If you don't feel like climbing the Belfry, you can still get a good view from Place du Chapitre, the square beside the Belfry. (updated Oct 2017)
• There are a number of older buildings along the narrow Grand Rue in the upper town.
• The charming “hanging gardens” on the southern flank of the Thuin hill can be visited on foot, following a path enhanced by several explanation signs.
• In the church ``Notre Dame d'El Vaulx`` in the lower town there is 12th century oak statue of ``sedes sapientiae`` (our lady of wisdom).
• 🌍 Tram Museum (ASVi museum), Rue du Fosteau 2/A, ☎ [phone]. Open only certain days of the week from April to October. Tram operation (circulations) is generally only on Sundays plus Saturdays in July and August. Specializing in the history of the Belgian Vicinal tramway system. This includes a museum tramway with 3 routes. One route runs through the streets of the lower town to Place de la Ville-Basse. A second route runs to the nearby town of Lobbes. Until 1983, both of these routes were part of a much longer route used by electric trams that extended to Anderlues and Charleroi. The museum created a new route for diesel trams by converting a few kilometers of a former standard gauge railway line to metric gauge. If you are only mildly interested in rail lines, you should take the rustic diesel tram line to Biesme-sous-Thuin. If you are a serious rail fan, buy a day pass to travel all 3 routes. (updated Jun 2017)

Near Thuin

• The 7th-century Aulne Abbey, now in ruins, and its green setting are well worth a visit. The abbey is in the village of Gozée, about 4 km east of Thuin.
• The neighbouring village of Ragnies (about 6 km south of Thuin) is a member of the most beautiful villages of Wallonia association.
• The Château du Fosteau dates from the 14th and 15th century. Its French gardens and pond are a haven of calm, while the interior of the castle harbours a permanent exhibit of ancient furniture and a small pharmacy museum. The chateau is 2 km from the village of Leers-et-Fosteau, about 4 km south of Thuin.

Do

There are walking and biking trails around Thuin including a trail along the museum tram line to Biesme-sous-Thuin.

Buy

Eat

There are several eating establishments in the lower and upper town areas.

Drink

Sleep

Connect

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