Explore Tongeren

Tongeren and its surroundings are an ideal cycling area. In the centuries-old town you will find plenty of history, culture and regional dishes, such as Tongerse Koekjes (a tasty coconut shortcrust pastry cookie) and the Tongerse Mop (an aniseed cookie). In the area around Tongeren you cycle through Haspengouw, a picturesque rolling countryside where you will find unprecedented peace, friendliness and castles.

The first part of the route takes you through the drier part of Haspengouw. In this open landscape you cycle through fields where a lot of wheat and sugar beets are grown. You also take in a part of the somewhat wetter Jekerdal. You cycle through Rutten, a picturesque village that enjoys a protected village view. In Widooie you pass the castle of the same name from the seventeenth century.

The second part of the route takes you through the wetter part of Haspengouw. You will find more forests and stream valleys here. A lot of fruit is grown on the fertile soil. Some of all that delicious fruit ends up in the various Limburg pies that you can eat on most terraces. Here too you will see beautiful old square farms and monumental buildings. If you cross the Hasseltsesteenweg in Overrepen, you will see the tower of the rectory nearby. This building was built in 1658 on the initiative of the then commander of the German Order of Alden Biesen and is one of the oldest rectos in Belgian Limburg.

At Neerrepen you pass the Kasteel van Rooi. The origins of the main building date back to the fourteenth century. Over the years there have been several renovations, the last in 1698 and 1714. A little further on is the Kasteel van Betho, which dates from the thirteenth century. The castle farm consists of two parts and has four wings built in a classicist style. The southern corner tower dates from the fifteenth century. The other parts of the castle were thoroughly modified in the seventeenth century, which is why rococo elements can be seen in the present-day building.