Tournai Belfry
Beffroi de Tournai

Climb the 250+ steps of Wallonia’s oldest belfry for city views. An iconic landmark of Tournai!

One of Tournai’s historical landmarks, the belfry is a must for every urban explorer. The 12th century belfry is the oldest belfry in the region, plus the only one to have balconies. We love a good city view. The belfry also happens to be one of the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Belgium, meaning it's full of history.

• View from the top: get up those 257 steps to reach the top of the 72m high tower. You can stop for a break at the first balcony, then continue up to the second which is at the very end.

• Belfry bells: Tournai’s belfry has 2 big bells and 55 in the carillon. The oldest bell of them all is from 1392. Tournai is one of the few belfries where you can see the bells perform live on Sundays in the summer. You just gotta get up those 257 steps first!

A historic tale

After a fire in the 1300s, the belfry had to be restored. When all the work was done, people threw loaves of bread out of the tower windows to children in the square. This still kind of happens today at the Tournai Carnival when they throw "pichous".

WWII - when Germany bombed Tournai in 1940, most of the city centre was destroyed. The belfry, miraculously, was one of the few buildings left standing