TOURNAI is the nearest southern Belgium has to the Flemish "art
towns" of Flanders and the north, and is a pleasant spot to spend a
couple of nights. The town was badly damaged by Allied bombing during
World War II, but the cathedral, arguably the finest in the country,
survived pretty much unscathed, as did the narrow lanes and alleys of
the medieval street plan.
Most things of interest are on the southern side of the river, grouped
around or within easy walking distance of the sprawling Grand Place .
Dominating the skyline with its distinctive five towers is Tournai's
Romanesque Cathédrale Notre-Dame (daily 10am-noon & 2-4/6pm; free),
built out of the local slate-coloured marble. The most unusual feature
of the exterior is the fascinating Porte Mantile, a Romanesque doorway
on its north side, adorned with forceful, almost pagan carvings of the
virtues and vices. Inside, the nave was erected in 1171, its intricately
carved capitals leading down to a choir that was the first manifestation
of the Gothic style in Belgium. Be sure to visit the treasury (¬0.50),
which houses two important thirteenth-century gilt reliquaries - the
Romanesque-Gothic châsse de Notre-Dame (1205) by Nicolas de Verdun, and
the châsse de Saint Eleuthère (1247) - as well as a stunning Ecce Homo
by Quentin Matsys.
Close to the cathedral, virtually on the corner of the Grand Place, the
Belfry is the oldest in Belgium, its lower portion dating from 1200.
Close by, on place Reine Astrid, is the Musée de la Tapisserie (daily
except Tues 10am-noon & 2-5.30pm; ¬2), which features old tapestries on
the ground floor and modern works above - Tournai was among the most
important pictorial tapestry centres in Belgium in the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries. Just along the street, cut up through the gardens
to the Hôtel de Ville , the grandest of several municipal buildings that
share the same compound. Behind here, the Musée des Beaux Arts (daily
except Tues 10am-noon & 2-5.30pm; ¬3), housed in an elegant late-1920s
building by Victor Horta, has a well-displayed collection of mainly
Belgian painting from the Flemish primitives to the twentieth century.
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from $104.56
USD