Binche
Click here for more pictures of the carnival of Binche
If you have to visit Binche, make it during the carnival. This little town of 35,000 inhabitants has little to offer tourists the rest of the year, apart from its massive medieval city wall and 27 towers. Rare enough are European cities which have kept such walls to be counted on the finger of the hand : Avila in Spain, Avignon in France or Canterbury in England...
Binche's golden age started in 1544, when emperor Charles V of Habsburg gave it to his sister, Mary of Hungary, who erected a palace there. Binche's glory came to an abrupt end a few years later, when the king of France, Henry II, destroyed the city and its palace. Much later, the industrial revolution gave the town a dreary look, only compensated by a grandiose town square.
Carnival of Binche
It is a whole different story, however, during the four days of Carnaval de Binche (the date changes every year), culminating in the Mardi Gras (Shrove Tuesday). On that day, the quiet town is literally invaded by tens of thousands of avid onlookers, coming from further away ever since the event became the first (and so far only) Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity listed by the UNESCO in North-Western Europe. Out of several groups of costumes (Pierrots, Arlequins, Paysans...), all the eyes are on the celebrated Gilles de Binche, dressed in the national colours of Belgium, wearing wooden clogs and white ostrich feathers, happily throwing oranges to the cheering crowd.
Preparations start as early as 4 am on the Mardi Gras. The festivities last all day and finish late in the evening in a light parade, then dancing around bonfires.
Binche has a close connection with Habsburg emperor Charles V (1500-1558), who ruled most of Europe during the Renaissance. The town's motto, Plus Oultre ("further" in Old French), is the same as the Ghent-born sovereign. It is said that the costumes of Binche's carnival is a 19th-century revival of a feast held in Charles' honour in 1549, in which courtiers wore disguises were inspired from recently subdued Inca empire.
If you can't make it for the carnival, you can still console yourself with Binche's interesting International Carnival & Mask Museum, or the nearby Gallo-Roman Museum in Waudrez.
How to get there
Binche sits near the junction of the N90 (Charleroi-Mons) and N55 (coming from the E19-E42 motorway) roads. From Brussels or Mons, take the E19 until exit 21 for Binche, then follow the N55 on about 10km. From Namur or Liege, take the E42 towards Mons, then exit 21 as above, or exit 19 for La Louvière and follow the N90 through the city.
There are direct trains hourly from Brussels (1h from Brussels-South Station). Trains from Mons (40min) or Namur (1h10min) require a change at La Louvière Sud.
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