{"id":3690,"date":"2019-01-18T12:49:09","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T10:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.charleroi-metropole.be\/?p=3690"},"modified":"2019-01-28T19:13:05","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T17:13:05","slug":"urban-exploration-of-charleroi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/urban-exploration-of-charleroi\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban exploration of Charleroi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Urban tour, Charleroi<\/h2>\n
\n

\u2018I discovered the view of Charleroi from the top of a slagheap. It\u2019s impressive to see former steelworks, very green natural sites and a vibrant city all at the same time\u2019, explains Alix, 25 years old, from Arras. Urbex, urban exploration, allows you to find hidden gems where you don\u2019t expect. It\u2019s growing in Charleroi M\u00e9tropole.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Themed tours of Charleroi<\/a>\u00a0are a major success. They focus on comic books, street art or the wealth of architecture, in particular. Today, the history tour of the city marked by its industrial past, presented in an unusual way, is in high demand from tourists and day-trippers. These tours, organised by different Charleroi personalities, take them to completely unusual corners.<\/p>\n

Strolls in unexplored corners<\/h2>\n

\u2018Urbex\u2019 strolls cross a number of very different landscapes. They pass through the Charleroi city centre discovering new and old architecture, green spaces, such as woodland and slagheaps, abandoned sites, the banks of the Sambre and even through historic districts marked by the arrival of foreign workers, in particular Italian workers, who came to help the Belgians with the work in the mines and factories.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was passing through Belgium for two days, I was looking for an unusual tour. We were familiar with Charleroi\u2019s reputation. So we decided to visit it to see for ourselves\u2019<\/em>, says Alix, on a visit to Charleroi for the day. \u2019I find the city very interesting now, I am impressed by some architectural buildings that I wouldn\u2019t have seen if I had been walking around by myself\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You discover buildings that you don\u2019t generally take the time to look at without a guide<\/p>\n

\"Visite-urbaine-charleroi-Sambre\"
Urban tours in Charleroi take tourists to the banks of the Sambre<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A green city, despite its industrial activity<\/h2>\n

For a few years, the Office du Tourisme du Pays de Charleroi<\/a> a has signed 4 slagheaps, located next to the city centre. Visitors can explore them along a Grande Randonn\u00e9e (GR) path, in a group or with a guide. \u2018The climb is quite tough, it\u2019s slippery, you\u2019re not used to it, but once you\u2019re at the top, the view is worth it. You don\u2019t realise that there are so many green spaces in Charleroi\u2019<\/em>, explains Maud, a new resident of Charleroi on discovering her city.<\/p>\n

The view from the slagheap allows you to see the city from another perspective<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018It\u2019s really close to the shops. 20 minutes ago, we were just next to the shopping centre and now we\u2019re looking out over the city\u2019<\/em>, she continues. In general, the image of the city, completely different seen from above, leaves a mark on participants.<\/p>\n

A city marked by history<\/h2>\n

Charleroi stands out primarily thanks to its particular raw, concrete architecture, as well as its industrial heritage. Tourists quickly discover these traces of history along the quays of the Sambre and in the different districts around the railway station. \u00a0\u2018I work in the industrial sector, I was interested in seeing the city with this past and its transformation which is so close to my daily life\u2019<\/em>, says Alix.<\/p>\n

The city centre is currently undergoing a transformation. Downtown has been transformed with the arrival of the Rive Gauche shopping centre, youth hostel, restaurants and the development of the quays. Other development projects, uptown as well as the length of the ring road, are planned for the coming years.<\/p>\n

\"pass\u00e9-industriel-charleroi-decouverte\"
The unique landscape of the industrial past of Charleroi attracts many people, eager for discovery<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anecdotes about the residents of Charleroi M\u00e9tropole<\/h2>\n

In addition to the atypical views and the unique architecture enjoyed by visitors, stories about the Charleroi people captivate explorers. \u2018I explain what has happened in the city, unusual encounters, anecdotes, traces of the past that you can still see today if you pay attention\u2019,<\/em> explains Nicolas Buissart, artist guide of Safari Urbain<\/a> his tour delights with its originality: \u201cI haven\u2019t made anything up: I just tell stories and make a few jokes in unusual places in the town and its surrounding area\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

Visitors really enjoy anecdotes about the past of Charleroi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These urbex tours attract all types of people. Both tourists passing through and residents of Charleroi M\u00e9tropole or Belgians looking for a change of scenery. There are around 11,000 visitors per year, a figure which should grow in the coming years<\/p>\n

These themed tours are evolving more and more. They enable you to explore Charleroi M\u00e9tropole in an unusual way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact :
\n<\/strong>Maison du tourisme du Pays de Charleroi
\nPlace Charles II 20
\n6000 Charleroi
\n+32 (0)71 86 14 14
\nwww.paysdecharleroi.be<\/a><\/p>\n

Safari Urbain
\ninfo@charleroiadventure.com
\n+32 (0)494 98 26 43
\nwww.charleroiadventure.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9Video\/Reed & Leslie Artamonow<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Urban tour, Charleroi \u2018I discovered the view of Charleroi from the top of a slagheap. It\u2019s impressive to see former steelworks, very green natural sites and a vibrant city all at the same time\u2019, explains Alix, 25 years old, from Arras. Urbex, urban exploration, allows you to find hidden gems where you don\u2019t expect. It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[168,404],"tags":[21,326,292,283,338,293,284,156,112,155,113,123,22,43,115,116,121],"class_list":["post-3690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-and-heritage","category-discovery","tag-art","tag-autres-en-26","tag-autres-en-19","tag-autres-en-16","tag-autres-en-31","tag-autres-en-20","tag-autres-en-17","tag-bike","tag-children","tag-event","tag-group","tag-history","tag-local","tag-nature","tag-region","tag-tour","tag-unseen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3690"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4201,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3690\/revisions\/4201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}