Discover our concrete actions to strengthen or recreate connections between people and between people and nature. For the enjoyment of visitors, but also for the well-being and fulfilment of residents.
WELCOME POINTS
To offer visitors a warm welcome and a variety of activities, walking or cycling options, and easy access to transport, a network of welcome points is being developed with local partners.
- The Aquascope Virelles visitor centre offers a full range of services, including catering and accommodation, as well as facilities for people with disabilities. Other visitor centres are currently being considered.
- The information points and other welcome points provide basic information and more specific services. These welcome points are being developed in close collaboration with our partners and tourist offices.
- Six discovery points introduce visitors to the National Park and its themes through a variety of excursions.
Our partners: the municipalities, Aquascope Virelles, Cercles des naturalistes de Belgique, Écomusée du Viroin, Château-Ferme de Macon, Maison du Tourisme Pays des Lacs, various private stakeholders, tourism and leisure operators, hotel/restaurant/café…
©D. CLoson
OBSERVATION TOWERS AND WOODEN CONSTRUCTIONS
A series of wooden infrastructures are being built to encourage a playful and spectacular way to discover the landscapes and themes of the National Park.
- The observation towers of the National Park Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse are designed to offer a journey punctuated with breathtaking views of the three natural regions of the National Park. Through their design and location, they highlight several core themes: the starry sky, the bocage landscape and Chimay heritage, the grasslands of the Calestienne, the integral forest reserve, the border with France and the Meuse valley…
- A footbridge, pontoons, terraces and even a fun and sporty trail in a natural sinkhole will complete these towers, all being freely accessible.
Our partners: the municipalities
©Atelier Tromcourt
LANDSCAPES AND VIEWPOINTS
The National Park Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse stands out for the variety and originality of its landscapes, which bear witness to a unique geology and a rich and ancient history. Together with its partners, the National Park is developing a network of viewpoints, in particular by opening or reopening panoramas and installing visitor facilities. A photographic landscape observatory will be created allowing walkers to participate in the visual documentation of the evolution of the region's landscapes.
Our partners: Écomusée du Viroin, the municipalities…
HIGH-QUALITY NATURAL SPACES AND IMMERSION
- In Forges (Chimay), a former village pond is being restored and converted into a place for relaxation, fishing and observing aquatic life.
- Free play forests, marked with intriguing sculptures, invite the children to play freely and explore the forest off the beaten track.
- Quiet zones are designated for the tranquillity of the fauna and for visitors to enjoy a full immersion in nature’s symphony.
- With the help of citizens, audits of visual and light pollution will identify elements to be removed or replaced.
- The National Park is setting up a coherent network of information and sensitization panels.
Our partners: the municipalities...
TRAILS AND WALKS
- 700 km of trails are marked according to the logic of walking nodes to create a harmonised network across the entire region.
- An atlas of vicinal roads is being updated to identify, value and protect the trails, which constitute a precious piece of traditional heritage.
- Initiatives are being taken to foster active connections (walking, cycling) between the entry gates and the points of interest.
Our partners: the municipalities, tourist offices…
NATURE-BASED TOURISM AND ECOTOURISM
The National Park informs, trains and assists its tourism partners and actors in their efforts towards nature-based tourism, respectful of the heritage and residents. This is achieved by offering experiences and immersion in preserved nature, such as themed walks, with or without a guide. The National Park assists and values private initiatives that encourage reconnection with nature. Exchanges and events are organised to unite regional actors around a strong and coherent vision of nature-based tourism and ecotourism.
Our partners: Maison du Tourisme Pays des Lacs, tourist offices, diverse local stakeholders such as nature guides and managers of guesthouses...
VALUING HERITAGE
In addition to its undeniably charming landscapes, the south of the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse region is home to many heritage treasures linked to its unique geology, its history and prehistory, its craft and industrial activities, its former agro-pastoral practices, its art and architecture...
- Celtic archaeological sites are being valorized.
- The roaming herd of the National Park revives a traditional livestock practice, while giving the public the opportunity to experience this positive link between human activity and natural environments.
- Routes and discovery tools are being created to explore the geological curiosities that have shaped the destiny of the region and its landscapes.
Our partners: Cercles des naturalistes de Belgique, Musée du Malgré-Tout…
©Musée du Malgré-Tout
SENSITIZATION AND INFORMATION
- A National Park guide training is being organized for local residents who wish to develop an activity within the park.
- Free guided walks are offered throughout the year in the different environments of the National Park, on various themes such as tracking wild animals or ethnobotany.
- Film debates, exhibitions, themed citizen meetings, information sessions, open days… are organised throughout the year.
- Topographical guides including themed walking routes will be published.
- The National Park works to sensitize visitors of fragile natural environments, particularly in and around the sites.
- Various actions encourage active discovery of nature: mobile wildlife observatories, a travelling botanical garden, camera traps…
Our partners: Cercles des naturalistes de Belgique, Aquascope Virelles, Cercle des Naturalistes et Astronomes de la Botte du Hainaut, the municipalities, cultural centres…
Our results
The National Park Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse is implementing a master plan, the first phase of which began in 2023 and will end in 2026. The results are reported annually.
There are plenty of challenges: preserving habitat trees, maintaining calcareous grasslands, supporting farms that welcome biodiversity.... Thanks to the synergies and reputation of the National Park, even a small contribution can make a big difference.
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