Discover Borgloon: Trails, History and Fruit Landscape

Borgloon combines medieval history, varied trails and the fruit landscape of Haspengouw with unusual experiences. Between GRAAF, the Stroopfabriek and the landscapes around Grootloon, you can combine culture, activity and regional highlights into a varied stay. When choosing a holiday apartment in Borgloon, it is therefore worth first deciding which experiences you want to focus on: should the emphasis be on history, on walks and hikes, or on a cycling tour through the surrounding area?

Experience History First-Hand

GRAAF is an experience centre about the medieval County of Loon. An audio trail takes you through the history of the County of Loon with Hendrik Van Veldeke, offering a narrative approach to the past. GRAAF is fully wheelchair accessible. The “Rusthuis” bus stop is directly next to the experience centre, providing a practical point of reference when planning a day of cultural activities.

The Stroopfabriek also combines history with a distinctive regional identity. The Fruitbelevingscentrum Stroopfabriek is a protected monument and offers an interactive tour along old presses and other industrial installations. The Stroopfabriek also serves as a Visit Tongeren-Borgloon information point for regional hiking and cycling maps. This allows you to combine a visit with planning further activities, without considering culture and the landscape separately.

Hiking Routes of Different Lengths

The Grootloon Landscape Walk starts in the centre of Borgloon. Reading between the Lines is its main attraction. Four lengths are available for planning your day: 4.9 km, 6.6 km, 9.3 km and 13 km. If the hike starts at the Stroopfabriek, it connects the Fruitspoor with the Roman road. This choice of route lengths makes it possible to tailor the hiking day to your own schedule.

Cycling and Art in the Surrounding Area

For a longer cycling tour, “Fietsen met PIT” is an appealing option. The route is 42.3 km long and starts at the Stroopfabriek. The PIT project includes seven remarkable works of art in the vicinity of Borgloon's cycling network. This creates a combination of activity and art, in which not only the destination but also the design of the route attracts attention. Anyone looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home for a more active stay can take these 42.3 km into account when planning their day and fill the remaining days with shorter routes or cultural visits.

Special Places with Specific Access Conditions

The Kanunnikenhuis is a historic building from the 17th or 18th century associated with the canons of the Sint-Odulphus collegiate church. It is a protected monument and can only be visited in the company of a guide. The Landmark Roman Villa on the Bollenberg features five terracotta-coloured concrete benches that refer to the basic form of Roman villa houses. The landmark is not accessible by car. You should take the different access conditions into account when planning your visit.

The regional character also includes the apple, pear and cherry orchards in the wider Tongeren-Borgloon area of Haspengouw. In Borgloon, wine-growing pioneer Jean Bellefroid planted a vineyard in 1963; viticulture is now experiencing a revival there. Fruit growing and wine growing thus add another facet to the historical and landscape impressions.

The Right Accommodation as Your Base

When looking for a holiday apartment in Borgloon, you can make your preferred mix of culture, hiking and cycling the starting point for your decision. GRAAF and the Stroopfabriek favour a stay focused on regional history and industrial heritage, while Grootloon offers several documented route lengths for different day plans. For the cycling route and the Landmark Roman Villa, you should include the respective starting points and access conditions in your planning. This way, you can choose accommodation that suits the experiences you actually want to make the focus of your trip.

Discover More Destinations

For further searches, you can also view Lommel, Dilsen-Stokkem, Bilzen, Sint-Truiden, Genk, Tongeren, Peer and Kortessem.

Back to the broader travel overview: Limburg.