Attention, cycling routes and beer lovers. Your two passions are closer than ever thanks to the new bike routes that traverse the Belgian beer culture landscapes, recognized as a World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO just 10 years ago.
To celebrate the anniversary, Flanders, internationally recognized for its cycling reputation and beer tradition, among other things, invites you to explore it through a new collection of themed cycling routes, ranging from 26 to 63 kilometers.
These new proposals allow you to discover some of the most emblematic landscapes of the region on two wheels, while exploring the beer traditions that have made Belgium a global reference. A combination that encapsulates two passions of Flanders: a land where cycling is deeply rooted in tradition and where beer culture is an element of the landscape, history, gastronomy, social life, tradition, and innovation.
This way, the Belgian beer culture is reviewed, encompassing centuries of craftsmanship knowledge and an extraordinary diversity of styles and flavors. More than a decade after being recognized by UNESCO, this heritage continues to evolve thanks to the coexistence of centuries-old recipes, historic abbeys, family breweries, and a new generation of innovative producers who keep this cultural legacy alive.
And that is the itinerary of the new cyclo-touristic routes, which delve, at a slow and sustainable pace, into the history and beer production processes, visiting interpretation centers and tasting local specialties.
For example, the lambic and geuze route reveals the secrets of spontaneously brewed beers, in Flemish Brabant, around the Brussels region. The one that runs through the Flemish Ardennes, on the other hand, immerses in the settings of the legendary Flanders cycling race, Ronde van Vlaanderen.
Continuing with the Westhoek route, which features hop fields, while the one that goes between Mechelen and Boom promises, among other attractions, four rivers, urban palaces, a historic brewery, and a microbrewery in an old church.
We conclude the journey in Leuven, where the combination of a university city, the painter Dieric Bouts, the iconic Stella Artois brewery, and lush forests couldn't be more enticing.