Everyone says it: life is good in Durbuy!
What is this alchemy that attracts so many people?
Savour the personalised welcome you will receive from our tourist sector, participate in our village festivities, such as “burning-of-winter” celebrations, kermises, jumble sales, and flea markets, and taste the wealth of local products in our many restaurants. All this is part of the magic of Durbuy.

Concerned about the well-being of its inhabitants and visitors, the district adheres to the Wallonie destination qualité initiative set up by the “Commissariat Général au Tourisme”.

In 2007, Durbuy received the “Destination Rurale d’Excellence” label. Find out more by clicking on the link below.|||
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Some locations around Durbuy go back 10,000 years, with a past richly illustrated by many traces from all periods.

Through the local heritage, you will have the pleasure of learning about universal history.
Prehistory comes to life through findings from the caves of Juzaine, Verlaine, Villers Sainte Gertrude, etc. and through the many flint stones found in the areas of Tohogne and Bomal (Mont-St-Rahy Plateau).

Of these distant times that witnessed the birth civilisation, the Neolithic is the best represented through the megalithic stones in Wéris and Oppagne. They constitute the most impressive group of preserved dolmens and standing stones in Belgium.
The region has hence been marked by each era, through Roman coins and objects, Frankish tombs, and Feudal constructions such as the castle of Durbuy. Built during the 11th Century, along with the circular enclosure that has since disappeared, it protected the city, whose outline has remained intact to this day.

It is also to the Middle Ages that we owe the dungeon of Izier and the many Romanesque churches built in nearly every village of the entity (the church of Tohogne, the former parochial centre of Wéris, Grandhan, Sainte Marguerite of Eneilles). 
The church of Notre-Dame de Borlon is an exceptional example of Gothic architecture from the Condroz region. The church of Durbuy is known as St-Nicolas des Récollets, named after the eponymous monks who settled there in 1675, followed by the Récollectine nuns (convent of the Récollets).
The 18th Century witnessed the expansion of castle farms of which many still exist today, like those of Bomal, Grandhan (seat of a lord’s estate, where a “tower of justice” was built in the 17th Century), Jenneret, and Tohogne. 
The 19th Century is illustrated through the building of the former City Hall in Barvaux.

Exceptional nature and landscapes 
Situated at the junction of three geological regions, Durbuy offers an astonishing diversity of landscapes. Shaped by time and the elements, the region offers grandiose and sometimes unusual panoramas, such as in Roche-à-Frêne, or the view from the cliff in the old town centre of Durbuy.

The Condroz, to the northwest, with its more fertile soils, its hills and valleys. It is dotted with imposing farms with interior courtyards and abundant crop fields. The villages of Tohogne, Septon, and Borlon are situated in this region.

The Famenne, composed of clayish, damp, heavy soil ill-suited to agriculture, was always a more poor region, with forests of stunted trees, meagre crops, and damp grasslands. The villages of Barvaux and Grandhan are situated in this region. These impoverished lands are a refuge for flora and fauna of great biological interest. Natural reserves (“Domaine d’Hottemme”, “Mont des Pins”, “Petite Enneille”) ensure their protection and allow us to enjoy this animal, plant, and mineral diversity.

The Ardennes, with its vast forests where one can find Lilies of the valley in May and bilberries in July and August, and its firm soil that only allows cattle and sheep farming. The villages between Villers-Ste-Gertrude and Wéris are situated in this region.

Also note the Calestienne, a narrow calcareous strip with natural terraces, that precedes the slopes of the Ardennes, with a strip of pudding stone along its crest.

There are many very dynamic associations in Durbuy. Weekends without events or shows are rare.
Here are some highlights:
Flammes, Christmas markets, the Saint Martin fair, the beer and cheese festival, La Potée Ose, carnival, etc.
And a wide variety of festivals throughout the year: :Durbuyssimo, the Durbuy country festival,Durbuy rock Festival, le symposium de sculpture, 
The cultural centre organises many shows in the Mathieu de Geer hall in Barvaux (600 seats) as well as numerous other cultural activities.
There are also many artists living in the district. Meet them at an exhibition or during events as “Wallonie Week-ends Bienvenue”
We are very fortunate to live in a region with a rich architectural heritage: each hamlet, each village, harbours edifices and monuments that showcase our history. Take time to discover them