Tournai Off The Beaten Path

I found it strange that in Tournai, there are few obvious playgrounds. There is a beautiful park in the center with roses and fountains...there is a number of outdoor cafes in the Grand Place and it is REALLY fun for my daughter to run through the water display that sprays upward from the ground...I found one small, slightly depressing playground that consist of a dirt pit and a small pond with wild turkeys. It has been getting very hot here and until my daughter starts her summer dance classes, there is little for her to do. Ofcourse we take a lot of picnics and tour around, however I wanted a day to cool off and have some fun and just relax! I was thirlled to find Site de l'Orient, known as a camping resort, open to the public, a 15 minute bus ride on the V bus (same side as GB) it picks you up in the center and drops upi off directly in front of the entrance to this wonderful getaway.

PROS: It is inexpensive, (for my daughter and I it cost a total of 5euros plus a locker charger, bring change, 1 euro) in nature like surroundings, on a lake and has a great indoor pool and outdoor pools as well, there are fun slides and paddle boats (3.50)...there is a small cafe and nature trails and you can camp there if you want. Great views!

CONS: The hours are strange, check before you go, Friday seems like the best day as it is open until 8pm...they do take a long lunch in the afternoon and the wait in line was 45 minutes due to this fact and the many people waiting.
The slide inside had a lot of rust and some pieces of it actually fell on me, but when it is hot I can handle a bit of this... and the fun of the slide disregards this.

All and all it is a fun get away and it tired my daughter out and we had a great time!

Beloeil is a very small village in the province of Hainaut - located between Tournai and Ath.
Everything (cultural and social life) is dominated by the Castle of Beloeil.
The castle itself is famous for its library, which includes more than 25,000 books.
Also famous for its French styled gardens designed by Len?tre in 1711. And believe me - those gardens are huge (25ha) and perfect for festival lovers as long as they respect the nature - but we did

Since the Roman times, the lime stone exploitation has always been an important part of Tournai’s economical life. If you are fond of industrial tourism, you should absolutely have a look to the CCB and its main quarry, “la Carriere du Milieu”. This is the biggest one in Europe!!
CCB or indeed la “Compagnie des Ciments Belges”, the Belgian Cements Company started at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1990, it merged with “Ciment Francais” which was bought two years later by “Italcemneti Group”. Unfortunately the visits are only sporadic and not always very well advertised.
Anyway, you can already have a surprising view of the “hole” from the “Chaussee de Bruxelles”, the road from Leuze to Tournai. Close to the CCB administrative offices, there is a small parking with an awesome viewpoint.
The quarry covers 100 hectares or 247 acres (same surface as 200 football pitches) and is 250 meter deep (a 75-storey building). Every hour, 650m3 (a swimming pool) of water have to be pumped out of it. Every year, 7.000.000.000 kg of lime stones are extracted!!
If you wander through the surrounding countryside, you can also notice the artificial lake to store the pumped water and the artificial mounts made of the ground that had to be removed to reach the stones…

Grand-Route 260
B- 7530 Gaurain-Ramecroix