The Métro Léger de Charleroi is one of the more curious urban rail systems in Europe — a network built to ambitious 1960s plans that was never completed, leaving it as a partial system with a strange grandeur. What does operate connects the Ville-Haute and Ville-Basse (upper and lower towns) and extends to Gilly and Anderlues on the eastern and western arms.
The stations are worth a look as design objects — some were tiled by Belgian artists and have an authentically 1970s Belgian public-art sensibility. The system is also a practical way to get between the station area and the upper town, avoiding the steep hill climb. Look for the Spirou and Marsupilami comic character murals in some of the metro corridors — a nod to Charleroi's status as the home of Éditions Dupuis.