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Lace, Tapestries and Textiles of Flanders
Available at any date for private groups of 2 – 15 people. Price available upon application.
Rates are based upon vehicle and guide hire per day; groups of 7 - 15 would have a per person rate same/similar to one of our scheduled tours of the same length.
If you do not have a group of traveling companions and are still interested in this custom tour itinerary, you are welcomed to join a waitlist…
We record who is looking for travel companions to make up a tour with them. We need between 6 and 8 persons minimum to operate a tour without it being uneconomic for us or too expensive for you. Back-Roads Touring Co Ltd will be happy to run the occasional special departure IF there is sufficient interest.
If you would like to check on or join a waitlist for this itinerary, please email us for full information: specialgrouptours@yahoo.com
This tour begins and ends from Brussels. As this is a suggested itinerary, it may be revised to suit your individual needs. Please discuss options with us.
TENTATIVE ITINERARY
DAY 1
You will be picked up from the rail station or from your Brussels hotel this morning. Our tour will begin with a visit to Brussels City Museum. This little gem houses a wide collection of art including the history of the development of tapestry weaving in the city & the country.
Also today, the exquisite historic city of Mechelen. Visits here can include the medieval square with guild houses and 14th century town hall and seeing works by Van Dyck and other Flemish masters in the cathedral. Our main focus will be the last working tapestry workshop that permits tours, the Royal Tapestry Factory 'Gaspard De Wit.' Since more than a century this manufactory has been renovating old wall tapestries from Belgium and abroad by hand and they also create new works of art. Highlights of the city's artisanal crafts can be seen, including some stunning pieces of tooled gold leather (for which Mechelen is famous), intricate lace work and a large collection of art by the city's best-known artist Rik Wouters.
ACCOMMODATION: Mechelen
DAY 2
This morning, the charming city of Antwerp and a panoramic look around the city including the Grote Markt and stunning cathedral. This fantastic place has much to offer visitors! In keeping with our textile arts theme, there is the fashion museum, the Mayer van den Bergh, one man's eclectic collection of paintings, sculptures, tapestries, carpets and stained glass to visit and also the artist Rueben’s home. Dependent upon time and interest, Antwerp is the fashion capitol of Belgium and is Europe’s diamond capitol - a true shoppers paradise!
Tonight, we will enjoy dinner together by the river in our picturesque night stop, the village of St Martens-Latem (subject to availability.)
ACCOMMODATION: St Martens-Latem
DAY 3
Ghent is one of the country's noted 'art cities', and the capital of East Flanders. Yet another place that we are spoilt for choice as to what to see! Ghent is a university city, a port city criss-crossed by waterways and canals and home to two castles and dozens of museums featuring the works of the ‘Flemish Primitive’ Artists. We will visit the Museum of Archaeology and Industrial Textiles; housed within a former weaving mill, this place allows you to almost step back into the past. Here you can enjoy weaving demonstrations and take a close-up look at some very old weaving and spinning machines from yesteryear. The afternoon is free for you to explore this charming city as you wish.
ACCOMMODATION: St Martens-Latem
DAY 4
Bruges/Brugge is perhaps the most famous of all of Flanders’ cities and we’ll have to day to explore it. This medieval gem wits its meandering canals and cobbled streets, never fails to surprise and delight its visitors. On our theme, there are at least 3 different lace museums. There'll be plenty of free time to take an optional horse drawn carriage ride around the city, for shopping in the famous lace shops, perhaps visiting a brewery. We'd most definitely recommend the Flanders Folk Museum where daily life has been wonderfully recreated in a number of tableaux.
DAY 5
Kortrijk offers an interesting history, a town from Roman times and a centre for textiles featuring lace and linens in the 14th Century; here you can see the “Maiden of Flanders” monument to the Battle of Golden Spurs, a museum to that event and also a Linen Museum, paying homage to the town’s vibrant past connected to the flax growing and textile industry. The museum, set in a 19th Century flax farm, covers all stages of flax growing and linen production, and features examples of various uses of linen and an impressive lace collection.
With its 1000 years old history, Oudenaarde has beautiful examples of monumental architecture, a historic but lively centre, and over 100 classified monuments. The highlight is the late Gothic Town Hall with its Cloth Hall. Oudenaarde still cherishes the memory of its master weavers. Historic tapestries from Oudenaarde, ‘the verdures’, decorate walls all over the world! The Cloth Hall houses a treasure of tapestries. In the House of Lalaing, the restoration of antique tapestries is shown and new tapestries with contemporary designs are woven using classic techniques.
Those joining the weekend tours of the Ypres Salient/Somme battlefields will be dropped off in Lille at their hotel. Those returning to London or Paris can catch the evening train from either Lille or Brussels. We can assist with accommodation in Lille, Brussels, London or Paris, as you wish.
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