Exploring Mons, Belgium
This post has been updated on January 23, 2024.
Time needed in this town: 2 nights (also a day trip from brussels)
Mons is where our friends live. It's a quaint town with lots of open fields and farms. And, like all other towns in Europe, it, too, boasts a market square, which includes a belfry, Town Hall, shopping and many cafes. However, it's history is much more dark and ridden with peril along the way, including an arson in the 1990's.
The below information is a complete guide of the best places to stay, the top rated places to dine and drink, and all there is to see and do. We’ve also included a summary of the history of this quaint town!
Jump To:
Where to Stay
Mons is a small town with not a lot of hotel options. Below are the few places to stay that have a 4.5/5 or above rating.
Where to Dine & Drink
Al Bacio
Serving fresh Italian fare.
Ashok’s Indian Cuisine
A hidden gem of an Indian restaurant in Belgium, it's a beautifully decorated, authentic Indian cuisine spot that sits on the side of a quiet road, boasting breath-taking chateaus.
Black & White Burger
Serving upscale burgers on both regular and black buns!
Gouzou Traiteur
A bakery serving fresh pies, pizzas, quiche, waffles, and more.
La Vie Est Belle
Serving a wide variety of French and Belgian dishes with an extensive wine list.
L'Art des Mets
Serving 3-7 course meals of international flavors.
L’Envers
Located in one of the most charming streets in the Mons town center, the Resto-Brasserie “l'Envers” offers a menu featuring typical, careful, refined dishes as well as suggestions that change according to market availability and the seasons.
Masu Restaurant
Serving upscale Asian fusion
Mbar 'A' Kaly
Serving Madagascar cuisine.
Mon Bar à Tapas
Serves Spanish tapas.
Olivia
Serving traditional Italian fare.
Osmose
Offers French cuisine classic based on the freshness of seasonal products.
Restaurant Baalbeck
Serving small Mediterranean plates.
Tomo Ramen
Serving ramen dishes.
Vis à vis
A wine tasting bar with some small French and Italian plates.
Things to See & Do
Historical Exploration
Belfry Tower
The Belfry of Mons is one of the more recent among the belfries of Belgium and France. At a height of 285 ft., it dominates the city of Mons, which is, itself, constructed on a hill. Classified as a belfry on January 15, 1936, it belongs to the major cultural patrimony of Wallonia.
It was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on December 1, 1999 for its unique architecture, civic importance, and testimony to the birth of municipal influence and power in the area. It is the only one in Belgium that is constructed in Baroque style.
Collegiate Church of Sainte-Waudru
The history of the church dates back to 1450, when construction of the east end began. It was built for a female religious community as a collegiate church. Its chapter of canonesses (members of aristocratic houses) remained in existence until the revolutionary period at the end of the 18th century. However, originally, it was possible to admit the daughters of chevaliers. The statutes, as approved by the Empress, were made stricter in the 18th century in regards to the requirement for the canonesses to prove their noble status.
It is now a parish church.
Grand-Place de Mons & City Hall
The Grand-Place's construction began in the 11th century and was largely complete by the 17th century. In 1695, during the Nine Years' War, most of the square was destroyed during the bombardment of Brussels by French troops. Only the façade and the tower of the Town Hall, which served as a target for the artillery, and some stone walls resisted the cannons. The houses that surrounded the Grand-Place were rebuilt during subsequent years, giving the square its current appearance, though they were frequently modified in the following centuries. From the mid-19th century, the square's heritage value was rediscovered, and it was thoroughly renovated. It was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.
Le Chateau d'Havre
The origins of the castle can be only traced back to the year 1226. In 1255, Ida of Mons was married to Engelbert d'Enghien, which helped keep the Havré Castle in the family until 1423. From there, it was passed down, through marriage, to other families.
In 1518, Philip II de Croÿ, Commander of Emperor Charles V, became the owner of the castle. By 1537, he was in charge of County of Hainault as grand bailiff and governor. Phillipe married Anna of Lorraine on August 9, 1548 - his second wife - the daughter of the Duke Anton II of Lorraine. He died before the birth of his son Charles-Philippe as he was wounded by a musket.
In 1578, the castle underwent its roughest period with siege by the armies of Don Juan de Austria and the Duke of Anjou, though it sustained little damage. However, a year later, in 1579, a fire ravaged the castle and took it down to its castle walls.
During the 17th century, it is Charles Alexander, Duke of Croy, who would restore the castle and make it one of the most magnificent castles of pleasure in Belgium, where many royals and famous artists of the time liked to stay. However, after the French invasion of 1792, it was quickly sold as national property and despite its acquisition in 1807 by the family of Croy, the castle was gradually abandoned.
Finally, after 1930, the castle was transformed into permanent ruins where events are still held today.
Van Gogh’s House
Cuesmes is in the Village of Borinage, at that time a coal-mining area (next to Mons). In 1879, Vincent van Gogh came there as a layman preacher. He became concerned about the lives of the miners, and went down into the mines, though the Belgian Union of Protestant Churches were dissatisfied with this action and dismissed him after six months. He continued on without pay.
From 1879 to 1880, he stayed in the annex of a house in Cuesmes occupied by a miner named, Decrucq, and his family. From there, he wrote to his brother, Theo, that he was considering what purpose he could give to his life. Inspired by the lives of the miners, he started to produce drawings. From 1880, he started painting in earnest.
Today, the house where he lived in Cuesmes is now a small museum dedicated to the memory of the great painter. A scenographic tour follows the painter along the roads of his turbulent life. Reproductions of his abundant correspondence give an idea of his activities during his stay in the Borinage. The painter's original drawing, Les Bêcheurs (after Millet), sketched in 1880, is also on display.
Unique Experiences
Mundaneum
Belgian lawyer Paul Otlet and Nobel Peace Prize winner Henri LaFontaine opened the Mundaneum in 1910 with the purpose of collecting all of the world’s knowledge (the whole human history from its origins) on neatly organized 3 x 5 index cards. All 12 million are classified according to the Universal Decimal Classification system, developed by Otlet.
In 1919, the Belgian government turned over 150 rooms in the Palais du Cinquantenaire to serve as a home for the Mundaneum, but five years later, revoked the space to use it for a temporary exhibit on the nation’s rubber industry. The Mundaneum moved into a series of smaller spaces and eventually, took over a parking garage before closing for good in 1934, the same year that Otlet published his magnum opus, “Traité de documentation.”
What’s left of the Mundaneum persists in a museum in the Centre d’archives de la Communauté Française in Mons.
The Guardhouse Monkey
Located just outside the entrance of the Mons city hall, the small metal monkey has been a fixture of the city for several centuries, yet no one is quite sure where the little guy came from. Some believe it may have been a blacksmith’s “masterpiece”, while other believe that the monkey was once a pillory where criminals would be taken to be publicly shamed. Still, others have theorized that the statue was once part of a tavern sign that has long since been lost.
Despite its murky origins, the monkey continues to be a popular public fixture. Locals insist that rubbing the monkey’s head will provide good luck and possibly even grant wishes. This custom is so prevalent that the metal on the Guardhouse Monkey’s head has been polished to a shine over centuries of passersby looking to make a wish on something more reliable than just a monkey’s paw.
A History Summary
The first signs of activity in the region of Mons are found at Spiennes, where some of the best flint tools in Europe were found dating from the Neolithic period.
1st century - When Julius Caesar arrived in the region, he found it to be settled by the Nervii, a Belgian tribe.
3rd century - A castrum was built in Roman (Belgica) times, giving the settlement its Latin name Castrilocus. The name was later changed into Montes for the mountain on which the castrum was built.
7th century - Saint Ghislain and two of his disciples built an oratory or chapel dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul near the Mons hill, at a place called Ursidongus, now known as Saint-Ghislain. Soon after, Saint Waltrude, daughter of one of Chlothar II’s intendants, came to the oratory and was proclaimed a saint upon her death.
9th century - Turreted ramparts encircled the small town, which became the capital of Hainaut, recognized by Charlemagne.
12th century - Mons was made a fortified city. The population grew quickly, trade flourished, and several commercial buildings were erected near the Grand-Place. It also saw the appearance of the first town halls.
14th - 16th centuries - It prospered as a cloth-weaving center. It was also a stronghold and frontier town, which was well fortified.
16th - 18th centuries - It was repeatedly attacked and occupied by Dutch, Spanish, French, and English forces in the 16th–18th-century wars and was ruled by the French, Spanish, Dutch, and Austrians, prior to 1830.
19th century - Following the fall of the First French Empire in 1814, King William I of the Netherlands fortified the city heavily. 16 years later and Belgium gained its independence. The decision was then made to dismantle fortified cities, such as Mons, Charleroi, and Namur.
1893 - On April 17, 1893, between Mons and Jemappes, seven strikers were killed by the civic guard at the end of the Belgian general strike of 1893. This general strike was one of the first general strikes in an industrial country. The proposed law on universal suffrage was approved the day after by the Belgian Parliament.
20th century - The city was the site of the first battle between the British and the Germans, ending in the British “Retreat from Mons.” It also endured German aerial bombardment during WWII.
21st century - A riot in the prison of Mons took place in April 2006 after prisoners complained over living conditions and treatment.
Today, the city is an important university town and commercial center.
