Sign in with Facebook
Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 34 Opinions
Rue des Fusilles 12, Mons, Hainaut, 7020, Belgium
Check Rates and Availability
of people enjoy staying here
34 Opinions
The people of Mons love to stroke the monkey...
taken by Thib
Street Scene with Belfry
Meeting in Mons
My sister lived in Mons 10 years ago. We are creating a silver charm bracelet for her and would like to include a small Mons charm - something that she may remember from living there. Any ideas? Where could I buy it?
Maybe you could ask at the city of Mons(Bergen) directly?
Here's the link, unfortunatly it is only in French:
http://www.mons.be/contact.aspx
Good luck
peter
Here's a brochure of Mons in English (French and Dutch), including the contact details of the tourist office (where you have a good chance of a souvenir).
http://www.monsregion.be/web/Upload/mdt4/brochure/documents/BROCHURE_460_FR.pdf
There are a few more in English: http://www.monsregion.be/web/fr/brochures/listing.aspx
Of course, Belgium in general is known for chocolate, beer, 'Vlaamse friet'.
Or get something with the Belgian colours: red yellow black.
Mons has a well preserved old city located on a hilly area of the Hainaut. Apparently, in the Plat Pays, these hills were large enough to name the city, but anywhere else they would have gone totally unremarked.
These pictures show different aspects of the hilly streets of Mons and its traditional buildings made of brick.
A beautiful example of a church in Brabantine Gothic style is the Sainte-Waudru church in Mons. The gothic church replaced older churches in Romanesque style. The building started in 1450 and lasted until 1690. The different architects all respected the original plan, so that the Sainte-Waudru church remained quite homogenous in style. A 190 m (!) high tower was planned, but never finished due to lack of money. Although the church looks quite plump from the outside, the inside, however, has all the characteristics of the vertical late gothic style. In the 16th century a marble rood loft was placed between the choir and the nave of the church. It was decorated with splendid alabaster statues of the Virtues. The rood loft was destroyed during the plundering in the wake of the French Revolution. The alabaster statues survived and were again put on display in the choir and the transepts in 1930. One of the other attractions inside the church is the 'Car d'Or', a gilded wooden carriage used during an annual procession. When visiting the church, one should also admire the stained-glass windows from the 16th century, made by Claix Eve.
Contact the University of Mons to learn about any special event planned during your visit. Especially for young adults, spending time on a University Campus can enrich your social life as well as your mind. Touring the main building of the University and learning about the style of education was interesting. Watching all the students interacting made me realize what a great place this was to visit, and to get a feel for the energy of the town.
This little monkey sits on wall to the left of the big entrance of the Town Hall on the Grand Place. A legend says that caressing its head with the left hand brings luck. It is this a very common act for every person walking next to him and for the new married couples that just went out of the Town Hall!
It dates back from the Middle Age but its origins are mysterious
Each city, town, village in Belgium has its own "Ducasse" (popular celebration).
In Mons, this is called "Le Doudou" and always occurs around the Trinity WE...
Friday and saturday, people are mostly partying all around the city (fireworks, concert,...). The religious and popular parades mainly take place on sunday.
The two main events are "La montée du Car D'or" and the "Combat du Lumeçon", when St George kills the dragon (the Doudou).
This is taking place on the Grand Place. Hint: don't bring the children too close, this is rather violent... Yet if you manage to get some hairs from the Doudou's queue, that will bring you luck for the coming year (for the same price, much easier to caress the small monkey ;-)
Sponsored Links
Cheapest in Mons
Great Hotels for Less
Q: Who knows about restaurants and friteries in Mons, Belgium? "I lived in Mons and Quevy le Grand in Belgium for almost 14 years, most recently in the 80's. In fact, I married a Belgian from..."
A: "This might be one of the friteries, although it is beside, rather than ON the Grand' Place: http://friteries.weskonva.be/94-bily.friterie. Maybe you can recognise the..."
Sponsored Links
Latest Mons hotel reviews
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Check Rates and Availability (from our partners)
