Mons' splendid 15th-century city hall is the most visually arresting building on the photogenic, café-lined Grand Place. It has become customary among visitors to score a wish by stroking the head of an iron monkey (Singe du Grand Gard) on the front left flank of the building's gateway portal, though traditionally it was only supposed to work for women hoping to get pregnant. The gateway leads to a pretty courtyard garden.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
9.62 MILES
Set on the grounds of a former Cistercian Abbey, this 65-hectare park is home to more than 5000 animals (including pandas, koalas, gorillas and lemurs)…
26.94 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…
18.6 MILES
Founded in 1242, this is Belgium’s only medieval convent-farm-hospital complex to have survived reasonably intact. Laboriously restored, it demonstrates…
25.26 MILES
Inaugurated for the 2015 bicentenary, this showpiece underground museum and visitor centre at the battlefield gives some detail on the background to…
27.01 MILES
Tournai’s gorgeous triangular main square is ringed with cafes in fine gable-fronted guildhouses merrily flying guild banners. Kids play in ‘dare-you’…
19.11 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…
0.4 MILES
This superb museum mostly covers Mons' experience of the two world wars, though the constant sieges of this town's turbulent history are also mentioned…
7.17 MILES
The world’s tallest ship lift (completed in 2002), raising or lowering gigantic ‘baths’ 73 vertical metres, is on a pharaonic scale, as was the €150…
Nearby Wallonia attractions
0.07 MILES
This modernist glass cube of a gallery is the product of a rebuild for the city's tenure as a European Capital of Culture in 2015. It hosts temporary…
0.07 MILES
Head through the Hôtel de Ville on the Grand Place to reach this museum, dedicated to Mons' riotous Doudou festival. All aspects of this curious event, as…
0.11 MILES
The 87m-tall Unesco-listed baroque belfry is a 17th-century marvel topped by black-and-gold mini-domes. The lift takes you up to only 36m, though the…
0.22 MILES
The small church treasury displays Ste-Waudru’s shrouds and, in a reliquary, a sword-slashed skull – supposedly of sainted Merovingian king Dagobert II…
0.22 MILES
Within this lofty, airy, 15th-century Gothic church you'll find the golden reliquary of Ste-Waudru (hanging above the altar) and the fanciful 1782 Car d…
0.3 MILES
Ever thought it was a pity that all those items sat in museum storerooms, never seeing the light of day? Well, this innovative space in a former convent…
0.32 MILES
If you’re a fan of exotic gilded clocks, dazzling porcelain and silver coffeepots from 1775 to 1825, check out the rich collection at this sumptuous three…
0.4 MILES
This superb museum mostly covers Mons' experience of the two world wars, though the constant sieges of this town's turbulent history are also mentioned…