Geraardsbergen

Geraardsberge Town Hall. One of the most characteristic buildings in the town, dating back to medieval times.

Geraardsbergen is a beautiful city in the southeastern corner of East Flanders. The city was founded in 1068 by Duke of Flanders Boudewijn IV. The reason of its foundation was because of the strategic position right on the borders of Hainaut and Brabant.

This small city offers various viewpoints. Most of all it is a cosy town embedded in the surrounding hills and countryside.

Understand

• 1 Tourist Office, Markt, ☏ +32 54 43 72 89, toerisme@geraardsbergen.be. Apr-Sep: M-F: 9:00—17:00, Sa-Su: 10:00—17:30. Oct-Mar: M-F: 9:00—12:00 and 13:30—16:00, Sa-Su: 10:00—13:00 and 14:00—17:00. This tourist office will be more than happy to help you out with your questions about the city and the Flemish Ardennes region. (updated Jun 2017)

Get in

By train

The 1 Geraardsbergen Railway Station is located quite centrally in the town.

• Direct connections from Brussels and Ghent and Zottegem. Geraardsbergen is 50 minutes away from both Brussels and Ghent.
• Geraardsbergen is a train ride of 40 minutes away from Aalst with a change in Denderleeuw.

By bus

The Flemish national bus company, De Lijn, has lines to Geraardsbergen from Aalst, Oudenaarde, Ninove and other neighbouring towns. For more information regarding different timetables (unfortunately only available in Dutch): https://www.delijn.be.

Get around

Geraardsbergen is a small town and it is perfectly possible to discover the town on foot. However, if you would like to see the surrounding villages and countryside a bike or car is recommended. The area around the town is quite hilly so be prepared to some intensive physical activity if you are getting out there on a bicycle.

See

• 1 Manneken Pis, Markt. Yes, the Manneken Pis is commonly associated with Brussels, but here in Geraardsbergen is the oldest one! The small statue of the peeing boy of Geraardsbergen is 160 years older than the one of Brussels. The small statue stands in front of the town hall. Since 2016 the statue received what it deserved, a own museum. This museum is housed inside the tourist office. 
• 2 Town Hall, Markt. The Geraardsbergen town hall is one of the most characteristic buildings of the town. It dates back to the medieval ages but has been damaged and restored multiple times since. The historic Cloth Hall which is overarched by Gothic vaults nowadays houses the tourist office. 

Eat

• Mattentaarten are the culinary speciality of the town.

Sleep

• 1 Hotel Geeraard, Lessensestraat 36, ☏ +32 54 24 67 88, info@geeraard.be. 3 star hotel in the centre of Geraardsbergen. €120. (updated Jun 2017)
• 2 Hotel Grupello, ☏ +32 54 41 60 07, info@hotelgrupello.be. Small hotel in the centre of the town located in a corner building. €120. (updated Jun 2017)

Connect

• 2 Post office, Brugstraat 21, ☏ +32 22 01 23 45. M-F: 9:30—12:30 and 13:30—17:00/18:00. Sa: 9:30—13:00. Closed on Su. The only post office in Geraardsbergen. (updated Jun 2017)

Go next

• Aalst
• Ath
• Brussels
• Oudenaarde
• Zottegem
• Sint-Pieters-Leeuw