Durbuy
A Tiny Stone Town On The Ourthe That Calls Itself 'The Smallest Town In The World', With A Topiary Park, Kayaking On The River And The Ardennes Forest All Around · Durbuy, Luxembourg Province
Durbuy is a tiny stone town on the Ourthe river in the Ardennes of Luxembourg Province, in French-speaking Wallonia. It is often called the smallest town in the world, a title said to rest on a medieval charter that raised it to town status in the 14th century, even though only a few hundred people live in the old centre. Its narrow cobbled lanes of grey limestone houses, a castle of the counts of Ursel above the river and a bend of the Ourthe under wooded hills make it one of the prettiest places in Belgium. Visitors come for a topiary park of clipped box figures, kayaks on the Ourthe, forest walks, the folded rock of the Falize, an adventure park and long lunches of Ardennes ham and game. It is also a base for the caves, castles and WWII sites of the Ardennes. The honest caveat: it is lovely but truly tiny and seen in a couple of hours, restaurants are pricey, and on summer weekends it is packed with Dutch and Flemish visitors and cars.
The old centre of Durbuy on the Ourthe river, in the Ardennes of Luxembourg Province, Durbuy, Luxembourg Province, Belgium
The old town is open at all times and costs nothing to walk. The Topiary Park usually opens daily from spring to autumn and shorter hours or weekends only in winter; shops and restaurants keep long hours at weekends and in summer, and many close one or two days a week, often Monday to Wednesday outside the season - check before you go. Kayak rental on the Ourthe runs roughly April to October, depending on water levels. Getting there: a car is the realistic choice, about 1.5 hours from Brussels and 45 minutes from Liege, with paid car parks at the edge of the old town, which fill on sunny weekends. By train, SNCB's Ourthe line from Liege stops at Barvaux, about 4 km away, then take a taxi, a TEC bus if one runs that day, or walk. Book restaurants and hotels well ahead for summer weekends and the Christmas period. Brussels and Antwerp Low Emission Zones apply if you drive through them.