Ath

Au fil de l'Eau

Belgian and French cuisine. There's outdoor seating. On the menu there's among other things red meat, mussels during season and payelles (tartiflettes in a pan).

€10-30

Aux Mets Encore

Classic cuisine with a modern twist. They use ingredients from local farms, from poultry to foie gras, and the desserts and bread are made in-house.

menus €28-85

Burbant Tower

Tour Burbant

The Burbant Tower is an imposing Anglo-Normand dungeon, built around 1166 by the Count of Hainaut, Baudouin IV, called "The Builder." It also served as a base for defending the northern frontier of Hainaut against Flanders and for surveying his realm.

Guided tour every 3rd Sun of the month at 15:00, from April to the end of September·EUR 3

Church of Saint Martin

L'église Saint Martin

Built in 1585 and consecrated in 1603 as a replacement of an old parish church that was destroyed in 1578. On the outside you can see a 16th century oak calvary. On the inside is a 16th century Gothic and Renaissance stone tomb.

Church of Saint-Julien

L'église Saint Julien

The church was constructed starting in 1394 and consecrated in 1415. The left-hand tower was finished in 1462 and crowned with a high steeple in 1465. The church was hit by lightning and burned in 1817. The apse of the choir, the tower, and the western portal escaped destruction. The carillon has 41 bells with a range of 3 octaves.

City hall

L'hôtel de ville

Built between 1614 and 1624 in Baroque style, the city hall was modified several times over the centuries before being completely restored between 1980 and 1983.

Espace Gallo-Romain

The highlight of the "Gallo-Roman space" are three restored 2nd century Celtic riverboats excavated from an archaeological site. They are the only ones of their kind on display in Belgium and are encased in a huge display box. The other floors display life during antiquity, from the viewpoint of different professions: fishermen, potters, shoemakers etc.

History and folklore museum

Le Musée d’Histoire et Folklore

The place to learn about the history of the town and region, with documents and objects from prehistory to the 20th century. There's a section for archaeology presenting objects from the Paleolithic to the Middle Ages. A medieval artwork and one of the museum's highlights is the Mainvault entombment, a sculpture of the burial of Jesus Christ. There are scale models of Ath, showing how it looked like in different points of time. There's also a rich collection of gold and copper objects crafted here, and local traditional culture such as songs, sports and games.

L'Apérityf

Friterie kiosk with different types of fast food. Large servings.

€3-15

La Grand-Place

The main square is surrounded by buildings from many eras and architectonical styles. The oldest is the Maison espagnole, dating from 1564 that has been restored (however clumsily) and is used by a bank. There are many 18th century houses built during French rule in different styles, and they host different businesses. At the corner of the square and rue aux Gades is the Grand-garde, a butcher's hall that was built by the Dutch in 1821 to replace an older hall. Le Palace, also known as salle des fêtes is a beautiful Art Nouveau building from 1919.

La Maison des Géants

Opened in 2000, this interpretional centre presents real and fictional giants throughout history.

Le Coin Quotidien

former Le Relais de la Diligence

French cuisine. On the menu there are dishes with meat, mussels, shrimp, fish.

€25-50

Le Florentin

Italian restaurant with pizzas out of a wood-fired oven as well as steaks.

around €25

Le Palace

Performance hall with performances of theatres (classic and modern), variety shows, operettas.

Maffle stone museum

Le musée de la pierre à Maffle

The museum is all about the stone industry, once a large employer in the region. You can learn about mining and extraction as well as transportation and processing of minerals. There are tools and documents, and the daily life of quarry workers is also presented.

Mahy Mobiles

Second site of the Mahy Collection, after Auto World in Brussels. Wide collection of vehicles, some restored some preserved as found. Also sells books, antique parts and models.

Apr-Sep Thu, Sat, Sun and holidays, Jul-Aug also Mon, Fri 10:00-17:00·€15, under 12 €10

Market

There's a market every Thursday with traditions going back to Medieval times. It takes place at the square in the front of Saint-Julien church.

National real tennis museum

Le musée national des jeux de paume

Museum presenting real tennis and related games such as fives and pelota from historical, sociological, ethnographical and economical points of view. It has a great collection of items and documents and a cinema with educational films.

Ostiches windmill

Le moulin d’Ostiches

A windmill with a movable upper part built in 1789, and renovated in the 2000s. On the first Tuesday in July, the Fête au moulin, the fest of the mill is celebrated. On that day bread is made the traditional way, you can ride a horse-drawn carriage, watch a horse pulling competition and see blacksmiths at work.

La ronde du Blanc Moulin

Starting from the Ostiches windmill, it's a walk of 6.5 km (1h 45 min). It's a circular route around the windmill among hills and valleys, and you can see it from different angles during the walk.

Le circuit des Chapelles

Starting from Place de Meslin-l'Evêque, going towards Brussels for a distance of 11 km (2 h 45 min). On this trip you will see several chapels built in different styles as well as the villages of Meslin-l’Evêque, Isières and Lanquesaint.

Le circuit des arbres mystérieux

A walk of 2 km (45 min), starting from the Calvaire du Mont de Mainvault. It's a nature walk, part of the long-distance walking trail GR129.

Le circuit des lumières

The "circuit of lights" is a night walk of 2 km (45 min) in the central part of town, along the Dendre river which is lined by blue LEDs lighting up the night.

RAVeL 4

Route 4 of the Wallonian light traffic route network passes through Ath, following the Ath-Blaton canal and Dendre river.

Sur les traces des tailleurs de pierre

A 3.5 km long walk (1 h 30 min), this walk follows the "footsteps of the stonemasons" on the site of the former quarry and the stone museum on Maffle. In addition to these, you can see a Baroque chapel, workers' houses and an old brewery.

Ath Snooker

Pool and snooker room.

Chez Pino

Italian trattoria.

around €25

Don Giovanni

Italian restaurant.

around €17, cheaper lunch specials

Dynamic Center

Gym with weightlifting and cardiovascular training.

L'Écran cinema

Cinema.