Tournai



Tournai (Dutch: Doornik) is a city in Wallonia. It is famed for its impressive Romanesque Cathedral. It was also the only Belgian city to ever be controlled by the English Throne.

By train
The is located on the northern edge of the city centre. It's a 1 km walk to reach the square in front of the cathedral.

Tournai is served by regular trains from all over Belgium by the national railway company SNCB/NMBS.

From Brussels direct trains run every hour during weekends and several times per hour during weekdays. They take around an hour.

Direct trains take 30-60 minutes to run to Lille just across the border in France, which has a Eurostar Station.

Paris is accessible in just under two hours with a change in Lille.

By plane
The nearest Airport is Lille Lesquin which is served by a few airlines with various European destinations. The Belgian airports of Brussels and Brussels South in the city of Charleroi  are a bit further away but are a lot bigger and serve a lot more flights than Lille.

Get around
Though it might look like a fairly compact town, Tournai is actually Belgium's largest municipality. However, much of the town center can be easily covered on foot. Local bus services are run by TEC. A line that serves parts of the city center is this one.

See

 * Grand-Place, the main square in town.


 * The Scheldt (Dutch: Schelde, French: Escaut) is a canal-like river passing through the city with active motorized barge traffic. Rue Royale has a lift bridge over the river. Watching barge traffic may be of interest to visitors.
 * The Scheldt (Dutch: Schelde, French: Escaut) is a canal-like river passing through the city with active motorized barge traffic. Rue Royale has a lift bridge over the river. Watching barge traffic may be of interest to visitors.
 * The Scheldt (Dutch: Schelde, French: Escaut) is a canal-like river passing through the city with active motorized barge traffic. Rue Royale has a lift bridge over the river. Watching barge traffic may be of interest to visitors.
 * The Scheldt (Dutch: Schelde, French: Escaut) is a canal-like river passing through the city with active motorized barge traffic. Rue Royale has a lift bridge over the river. Watching barge traffic may be of interest to visitors.

Eat
The Tournai tourist office has created a gourmet walking tour leading visitors along the best gastronomic places in the city such as breweries and shops with local products. Ask the people in the tourist office about it if you are interested.



Stay Safe
While it was historically one of Belgium's safest cities, Tournai has made national headlines since the late 2010s for a myriad of crime-related issues. Though the city has not degenerated to levels of those in other parts of the world, pickpocketing, muggings, and robberies have become common in the area.

Go next

 * Lille is only 30km away and a worthy excursion
 * Spiennes is reasonably close and is home to Neolithic Flint Mines inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List
 * Kortrijk (French: Courtrai) is 30-35 minutes away by train in Dutch-speaking Flanders.