Discovering Hasselt and its surroundings on a bike trip
Limburg is well know for its blue cycling routes that guides lots of tourists through this colorful region with an amazing wildlife.
Sunny days are rare here in Belgium, where 200 of the 365 days on the year there is rainfall. You have to know that there is an infinite network of bike lanes, so I recomend you a 20 kilometres bike trip.
Created in 1995, this bike lanes are marked in blue color. You can check that it’s always well indicated, with the names and numbers of the exact route you are and with extra information in some places.
Our first stop is the old prison of Hasselt. Reconverted as the Faculty of Law of Hasselt University in 2010, we can find some vestiges of its history as a prison despite its major transformation , like its great wall at the facade.
Hasselt has two kind of ring roads as structure to steer the traffic: one in the city center which only has one direction, and one at the outskirts to oxygenate the downtown traffic.
Following the ring to the right, we arrive at the little harbor of Hasselt, which disembogues into the Albertcanal and where you can find little fishing and recreational boats. Nowadays being in construction to accommodate luxury apartments (which cost almost 1.400.000 euro each), this spot used to be the party place of the 90’s. There is also an ancient factory which used to produce gelatines.
We go to our right hand following the harbor, and departing from the urban area we pass by the industrial one. Some of you may have asked yourselves where the prisoners did go when the prison was closed down. Hasselt built a new secure and bigger jail for them, being the biggest in Belgium with inside their walls, for example, extremist muslims.
Finally we arrive at the banks of Albertcanal, a huge canal with 129,6 km of lenght, connecting Antwerp and Liege. We have to remember that the harbor of Antwerp is the third biggest in the world. This canal connects it with another important river in Belgium, the Meuse.
Built in 1930 and with a depth of 3,20 m and 6 locks, it works as a waterway to cargo transport. It was also a line of defense at the Second World War. Firstly it was just for low cargo ships, but now they’re replacing and heightening the bridges. Each year, 40 tons of cargo are transported over the water, but also you can see recreational boats and ships, because although the canal’s function is commercial, there is also a tourist part. You can see lots of people fishing or cycling, the views are fascinating and you can feel the nature itself.
You can see, on the other side of the canal, the nature reserve De Wijers, which consists of a thousand small lakes with shallow depth and with an abundant fauna and flora like bitterns, egrets, tree frogs or cormorants. It reminds me of the mouth of the Ebro river in Catalonia.
We pass through an industrial area where traditional Belgian beer is brewed and where you can go on a sunny day to get one. It’s called Jessenhofke, which is by the way so tasty. Then we ride to some of the small villages which depend on Hasselt by the 94 route.
Passing by some amazing natural spots with nice views alongside we see the Herkenrode Abbey. Constructed at medieval times, it was inhabited by females for 600 years until Napoleontic times, when it was closed down. In recent years and with the support of the UE this abbey was rebuilt, giving it the utility of a congress center. You can find beer too there!
Our next stop is at Limburg Lavendel, a private place where a man decided to create a lavendels field where you can walk in, take some beverages while you see the purple color all over the place.
We stopped a short time to see one of the biggest ponds of De Wijers. There we found all types of wildlife.
Finally, before ending our route trip we pass by the Japanese Garden, and in the direction of Genk, we can cross the big bridge where we also can see a water lock.
When you do a bicycle route trip, notice that you have to take care of some things:
- Helmet
- Spare parts
- Water
- A mobile phone to contact with the emergencies
- Never ride alone.
Hasselt is well situated geographically and strategically, both by car or by railway. You can get a train or a bus every hour from Brussels. Here you can check all the timetables and prices for the trains.
If you want to pass some nights here, I recommend you to stay at Holiday Inn, which is near the city centre and which I think is one of the most affordable.
