Dinant Belgium: A Guide To The City With The Best View

When you’re looking up where to go in Belgium from Brussels, you might stumble upon Dinant. Dinant Belgium is a bit over an hour away from Brussels by car making it a great option for a day trip.

Dinant is a photographers, bloggers, and Instagrammers dream! It’s known for it’s spectacular view of the Dinant Citadel, with a giant church, buildings, and calm river in front. But I’m here to show you that there are so many things to do in Dinant that the city is a lot more than just a good view.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Where Is Dinant Belgium?

Dinant Belgium is in the Wallonia region of Belgium (remember, there are two regions in Belgium: Wallonia and Flanders). Wallonia is the French speaking part of Belgium, so naturally, in Dinant they speak French.

Dinant is about an hour drive away from Brussels and 30 minutes from Namur (another Wallonia city very similar to Dinant).

How Long Should You Spend In Dinant?

Dinant is a very small city, like tiny! There are still a few things to do in Dinant, but nothing more than one or two days worth of activities.

Granted, if it’s a nice summer day outside and eat along the river, it seems like a great place to come for the weekend to get out of the city for a bit.

But really one day in Dinant Belgium is enough to get a taste of the city, see the important sites, and still have time to relax with a nice Belgian beer on the river Meuse.

What’s Dinant Known For: Let’s Talk About The View…

Dinant Belgium is mainly known for it’s spectacular view. Let’s be real, the view (you know the one I’m talking about) is the reason you decided to go to Dinant in the first place, I mean talk about an Instagram worthy backdrop. If you won’t admit it, then I will, it’s the reason we were originally drawn to Dinant.

There’s colourful buildings, a majestic church, and a giant mountain in the background. But the icing on the cake is that if the water is calm, it’s all doubled because of the reflection in the water.

You don’t have to look very far for this view either, it’s the first thing you see if you’re coming from the train station. And it hits you like a real slap in the face.

I was worried that it wouldn’t live up to the pictures I’d seen. I’m here to assure you, it’s somehow better than what you’ve seen! You don’t get the sheer size of the church and the mountain from pictures.

So, if you were wondering if it was worth going just for that, the answer is YES! And don’t worry, once you read the other things to do in Dinant, you’ll be wanting to visit for so much more than just the view.

How To Get To Dinant From Brussels

If you’re coming to Dinant from Brussels, it’s just over an hour drive, or about an hour and a half by train. It should be the same train that goes by Namur from Brussels, it’s about 30 minutes passed there.

Book tickets from the SNBC and don’t forget if you’re under 26 and going on multiple trips in Belgium to look into the GoPass10.

Things To Do In Dinant Belgium

Go Hunting For Saxophones & Visit The Saxophone Museum

I thought one of the coolest fun facts about Dinant is that it’s where Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the Saxophone, was born. I love how they have a celebrity even in this small city.

They’ve done a good job promoting him and celebrating the saxophone too. I don’t know if you noticed, but there are a few saxophones around the city (joking, they’re everywhere!) especially on the Charles de Gaulle bridge. (It’s named after Charles de Gaulle because he was among the wounded in Dinant in 1914).

The saxophones are art pieces that represent different countries. It’s fun to go around the city finding different saxophones (hint: they aren’t all on the bridge). Try to find your home countries, sadly we didn’t end up finding one for Canada.

If you walk a bit further along rue Adolphe Sax (the main street) you’ll eventually reach one that’s a bit different. It’s a gold saxophone, this is the official monument to Adolphe Sax. 

There’s also a small (free) museum they set up to tell you about his life and how he invented the saxophone.

Visit The Dinant Citadel

The Dinant citadel is the main attraction (other than the view of course) in Dinant. The Dinant Citadel is on top of that steep hill in the background of the best view in Belgium. It’s worthwhile to visit, but there are a few things to watch out for once you’re there.

Your ticket gives you access to the funicular that brings you to the top. If you’re not the biggest fans of funiculars (like us) there are also steps that you can walk up that will take you right to the Dinant Citadel. At some points they become quite steep and aren’t too well kept. It wasn’t too big of a deal because there’s always a railing to hold on to.

What caught me off guard is that the Dinant Citadel is actually privately owned instead of being owned by the city. This lead to some quirks to the visit…

Make Sure To Bring Change!

Being the young-ins that we are, we don’t carry around cash on us (my mom gets mad at me every day for this). While visiting the Dinant Citadel, there are two instances were you may need extra change on you, and you’ll feel awful if you don’t (we surely did).

First, the bathroom is tip-based despite it being inside a paid attraction. No one’s there (at least when I went) but there’s a sign asking for a tip. I just don’t appreciate that once I’m already paying to go inside an attraction…

Once you’re at the top there are also advertisements for tours. We asked around and found out that they’re for the visitors and they’re free, well “included in our ticket”! We were shocked at the end of the tour when our guide tells us he’s a volunteer and doesn’t get paid to be here. He only makes money from the tips he gets at the end.

We’re no strangers to tip based tours (in fact we LOVE going on free walking tours!), but we always plan to make sure we have cash on us beforehand when we know we’ve signed up for one. We weren’t alone either, at the same time everyone looked around at each other and then quickly down to their purse to find any loose change they might have.

I still recommend the tour, they take you to places you can’t otherwise get to in the Citadel and give you a full history. Just make sure to bring some extra change!

WWI Exhibit At The Dinant Citadel

There’s a very well done interactive WWI Museum about one of the worst months in history for Dinant. It was a nice highlight a catastrophic event that’ I’d never heard about before.

It revolves around August 1914 when German troops invaded Belgium. It was interesting to learn about how they used the Dinant Citadel again even though it hadn’t been used in years.

Enjoy A River Cruise Along The Meuse

When you buy a ticket for the Dinant Citadel, you have the option to buy a combined ticket for the river cruise as well. This will take you along the Meuse river to see the city from a different viewpoint along the water.

We didn’t go on the river cruise, but in retrospect, we had nothing to do in the afternoon so we really should have. So I recommend going even if you only have one day in Dinant.

Admire Collegiale Notre Dame In Dinant

The Collegiale Notre Dame (or the Notre Dame de Dinant) is the magnificent church in the famous view. It’s a 13th-century church that replaced a 10th-century church that burned down. The north door is the only remaining part of the 10th-century church.

I believe you can go inside, but it was locked when we were visiting Dinant Belgium.

Go To The Grotte de Dinant la Merveilleuse

Just on the other side of the river Meuse there are two more things to do in Dinant that you may want to do: The Grotte and Maison Leffe.

Being underground in a confined space only slightly freaks me out so we opted against it and went to Maison Leffe instead. But, it’s a good alternative to Maison Leffe if you’re travelling as a family.

Visit Maison Leffe & Enjoy Century Old Beer

Maison Leffe is a museum house in a repurposed monastery because Leffe beer was first brewed by monks in Dinant Belgium.

They don’t make the beer here anymore but it’s now a museum. The museum is very well done, but there’s one major flaw…

The museum has several interactive videos that are a good idea in theory. The issue is that only one group can watch it at a time, and you have to go in chronological order. That means you have to wait for one group to finish before you can continue, and the videos aren’t short either.

It wasn’t the biggest issue when we visited during low season, but I’d be concerned for peak season.

When you eventually get to watch a video, they’re very well made. They explain the history of Leffe, the beer-making process, and their advertising avenues.

The ticket price is very reasonable too; it gives you access to the museum, a gift (either an extra bottle of beer or a Leffe glass), and beer tasting.

The tasting is a either three small tasters or one bottle of beer. The tasters are what they’re offering on tap, so you don’t get to choose. If you’re two people, and don’t mind sharing, you can get the three tasters and a different bottle so you get to try four beers instead! 

There’s also nice outdoor patio you can take your drinks to if it’s nice out.

Where (& What) To Eat In Dinant Belgium

For a coffee or tea break, Cafe Solbrun is a must! It’s an adorable tea house with a view along the Meuse river. 

I’d also suggest bringing a lunch if you can, we had some problems finding a place to eat for dinner, so I’d imagine it might be the same for lunch. Restaurants were either closed or too expensive (and with bad reviews). 

We ended up leaving before dinner because we couldn’t find anything reasonable.

Must-Try The Croque De Dinant

Dinant is also known for a local delicacy: a croque de dinant. But don’t try to eat this cookie as you would any other. The Croque de Dinant is made with 2 ingredients: honey and water. The result is an extremely hard (but delicious) cookie. It’s so hard that has the potential to break your teeth if you try to bite into it.

The trick to eating this delicacy is to break off a piece, suck on it, and only then try to chew it. We also tried to dunk it in tea, but that didn’t work too well for some reason. The only full-proof method was to suck on it.

To distract you from the pain you go through to eat it, they make them in really fun shape like a horse, roosters, dog…etc! You can find them in most bakeries around the city, we found it at Couques V.Collard 1774.

Need A Place To Stay? Dinant Belgium Hotels Recommendations

If you’re looking for a place to stay in Dinant I found these places for every type of vacation and budget. These hotels offer free cancellation for worry-free booking!

A Deux Patenier de Dinant is a two bedroom apartment that can sleep four people. This makes it perfect for long term stay, if you’re travelling with your family, or just want to experience local living in Dinant. The location could not be better either, just off the main street around the corner from the church. Check availability and room rates.

If you’re looking for an apartment that’s a bit more budget-friendly, Autrefois chez Lina, might be for you. It’s a vacation home just outside the tourist area of Dinant so it offers more of a quieter stay. See availability and room rates.

If you’re interested in the perfect weekend getaway hotel in Dinant you have to stay at La Merveilleuse by Infiniti Resorts. It’s close to Maison Leffe and the Grotto in Dinant, just across the River Meuse. breakfast is included and you can even book a room with a city view or sauna! See availability and room rates.

Or, find more accommodation options by clicking here.

My Belgium Day Trip Essentials

Related Posts: Explore Belgium!

• The Complete Guide to Belgium
• Travel Guide: Namur
• Travel Guide: Dinant Vs. Namur
• Travel Guide: Leuven
• Travel Guide: Ghent
• Travel Guide: Bruges

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Last update on 2024-05-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API