The 21st of July is Belgium‘s National Day. This date was chosen as on July the 21st, 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha took the Constitutional Oat to become King of the Belgians. Being a public holiday with many shops and catering options closed, Oriol and I decided to go to Sedan just across the border in France. Sedan had been on my wish list for a while and it was near our Florenville – Orval – Bouillon weekend in the Belgian Ardennes. 

After Sedan and Charleville-Mézières in the French Ardennes, we stopped in Rochefort in Wallonia.

Rochefort is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, close to the Belgian Ardennes. Rochefort has a population of some 12,500. The total area is 165.27 km². It was a resort in the 19th century.

The municipality consists of the following districts: Ave-et-Auffe, Buissonville, Éprave, Han-sur-Lesse, Jemelle, Lavaux-Sainte-Anne, Lessive, Mont-Gauthier, Rochefort, Villers-sur-Lesse, and Wavreille.

Its ancient position at the crossroads where the route to Saint-Hubert crossed that from Liège to Bouillon required fortifying: the ruins of the old castle, which gave the place its name and a title to a long line of counts who had the right of coining their own money, still exist. This castle underwent many sieges and suffered at the hands of Marshal de Châtillon (1636).

Near Rochefort are the red marble quarries of Saint-Rémy, and Rochefort Abbey, a Trappist monastery, which operates the Rochefort Brewery, known for brewing dark and sweet beers, especially the Rochefort 10, a deep dark-brown rich and fruity beer.

The town was the site of the Battle of Bure during World War II. 

A quick visit

I don’t know why we stopped there, but we did. Oriol wanted to buy Rochefort beer, but on a public holiday, at 7 PM, forget it. 

Anyway, we parked near the Église de la Visitation de la Sainte-Vierge or Holy Virgin Visitation Church. We walked down the main street to Château comtal de Rochefort or Count of Rochefort’s Castle. Which was also closed.

The vibe that evening was slightly eery. The vibe you get from a resort town on a Sunday evening, when everyone is leaving. 

21 July 2022 excursion

1. FRANCE | Sedan and Sedan Castle.
2. FRANCE | 90 minutes in Charleville-Mézières.