Hof van Aragon, Sunday restaurant
What to order: the menu of the day; it changes every Sunday and includes soup, a seasonal meat dish and dessert
Only Sundays and public holidays from 11:30 to 14:00 · booking
geocalia
Day itinerary · 51.13° N · 4.57° E
Lier on a Sunday, about 45 minutes by train from Brussels.
The Zimmer tower and the beguinage in the morning, the Sunday menu at Hof van Aragon, a boat on the Nete and the collegiate church of Joanna of Castile's wedding.
Leaving from
Direct flight to Bruselas fromBarcelona 2 hBilbao 2 hAsturias 2 h 15Alicante 2 h 30Madrid 2 h 30Valencia 2 h 30Málaga 3 hSevilla 3 hFuerteventura 4 h 30Lanzarote 4 h 30
Part of Lier
Add to my trip
Total time8 h 30
By car45 min each way
From BrusselsTrain · about 45 min
Boat45 min · €5
DifficultyEasy
Cost€55–75 pp
SeasonSundays from April to October
The plan
The day at a glance
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
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Leave Brussels 45 min by train
from Bruxelles-Central; check the day's connection
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1
Grote Markt, town hall and belfry
the 1369 belfry and the tourist office, in Spanish
- 5 min on foot
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2
Zimmer tower and its time museum
€8 · the clock carousel goes off at 12:00
- 3 min on foot
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3
Lier beguinage, a World Heritage Site
free · lanes from the 1200s
- 8 min on foot
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4
Hof van Aragon, Sunday restaurant
Sunday menu, €34 with a drink · book
Aragonstraat 6, 2500 Lier · +32 3 491 08 00
Restaurant €€Book - 8 min on foot
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5
Eel-boat trip on the Binnennete
Moedige Bootvissers · €5 · from the landing stage opposite the beguinage
+32 3 480 80 75
- 10 min on foot
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6
St Gummarus collegiate church, where Joanna and Philip were married
where Joanna and Philip were married in 1496
- 5 min on foot
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7
The Spanish walk: in the footsteps of Joanna of Castile
920 m with plaques in Spanish
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Back home 45 min by train
in Brussels around 18:30
Approximate cost
About €25–40 per person
Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.
The route
Grote Markt, town hall and belfry
Lier is the quiet trip from Brussels: a small, flat city with no cars in the centre, with a World Heritage beguinage, a tower full of clocks and the church where Joanna of Castile and Philip the Handsome were married. This plan is designed for a Sunday from April to October, the day when the Hof van Aragon menu and the Nete boats coincide.
The day, hour by hour
9:00 · Train to Lier. About 45 minutes depending on the connection. From the station to the Grote Markt, ten minutes on foot.
10:00 · Grote Markt. The belfry and the town hall; on the first floor, the tourist office serves in Spanish.
10:30 · Zimmer tower. €8. The Wonderful Clock, with 93 dials, and at 12:00 the carousel on the façade.
12:00 · Beguinage. Free, eleven cobbled lanes.
12:45 · Lunch at Hof van Aragon. The three-course Sunday menu, €34 with a drink and coffee; €17 for under-12s. Book.
14:30 · Boat on the Nete. 45 minutes for €5, with a Lier skipper. They leave several times an hour until 17:30.
15:30 · Collegiate church and the Spanish walk. The church of the 1496 wedding and six plaques about Spanish Lier.
17:30 · Return. Train to Brussels.
Is it for me?
If you are looking for a Flemish city with few people and a history that touches you closely, yes. With children it works well: the boat, the clocks and the city museum.
Time30 min
Change the route
Where to eat
Where to eat?
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
Brasserie Het Moment
What to order: a Flemish stoverij with chips, or a Lier vlaaike with coffee in the afternoon
Open every day · kitchen without a break until 21:00
Map
The stops, in order
With where to park at each one.
What to do
Eat
88 €Stay
Services
Getting there
By car or without one?
When to go
When to go to Lier
A Sunday from April to October, when the Nete boats run in the afternoon and Hof van Aragon serves its lunchtime menu. Out of season it works just the same without the boat.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does the trip to Lier cost?
Between €55 and €75 per person with train, tower, boat and lunch.
Can it be done in winter?
Yes, without the boat: swap it for the city museum.
More plans like this
Other days of walking and good food
geocalia.com/en/belgium/lier/itineraries/beguinage-and-zimmer-tower-from-brussels
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.