Waterloo can be explored through a range of highlights: the cultural walk in the town centre, local history and routes through neighbourhoods, fields and woodland. If you are planning a stay and looking for hotels in Waterloo, you can first decide whether culture, history, food or scenery should be your main focus.
Cultural Walk and Green Routes
In Waterloo town centre, there is a 3.5 km cultural walk featuring 22 sculptures. This is a clearly defined cultural attraction, while almost 150 routes and trails run between neighbourhoods, fields and woodland. These offer two distinct options: a specific route in the centre and a network of trails through different landscapes. When planning your time, you can consider whether to start with the cultural walk or explore routes through fields and woodland instead.
Local History and Architecture
The thousand-year-old Ferme de Mont-Saint-Jean, commonly known as “L’hôpital des Anglais”, lies in the middle of the Waterloo battlefield and stretches across the villages of Waterloo, Lasne and Braine L’Alleud.
The Royal Chapel was built in 1690 beside Saint-Joseph Church. The church also has a Baroque dome with a quadrilobate ground plan. Quadrilobate describes a four-lobed ground-plan shape.
The Waterloo Museum of Local History covers the town’s history from prehistoric times to the 21st century. The office of King Leopold III from Château d’Argenteuil has been faithfully reconstructed there. The museum therefore offers two distinct ways of engaging with history: a broad overview across time and a specific reconstructed room.
Tours and Market
Ferme de Mont-Saint-Jean offers a tour of its microbrewery and microdistillery. It includes tastings of whisky (2 cl) and Waterloo Saison Bio. Schedules, reservations and tasting formats may change; check the dates and reservation information in advance.
Joli Bois Market takes place every Saturday morning at Place de Joli Bois in Waterloo. It offers seasonal fruit and vegetables, cheese, fresh fish, meat and other culinary specialities. Individual vendors may change, so it is advisable to check the market day before your visit.
The culinary offerings differ in format: tastings are part of a tour, while the market is a recurring Saturday morning event.
Nature Areas and Getting There
From Waterloo, Forêt de Soignes can be reached via Drève Philip IV or Drève de la Meute for walking or cycling. Local access conditions may change; check them before setting out. In Waterloo, an approximately 1 km loop around a lake also passes through a lushly vegetated nature area. A nature area in Waterloo that has been preserved was once used for charcoal production.
Waterloo railway station is about 1 km from the town centre and tourist office; the walk takes approximately 15 minutes. The distance and walking time are estimates, and conditions along the walking route may vary. Waterloo is also served by two bus routes from Brussels. Check current routes and timetables before travelling.
Discover more destinations: Steenokkerzeel, Tervuren, Wijgmaal, Zaventem, Beauvechain, Wemmel, Ottignies-Louvain-La-Neuve, Rotselaar.
For the broader travel overview: Brabant.
