Soignies sits at the centre of a productive day-trip radius. Mons is only 15 minutes by train — a handsome city with the Collegiate Church of St. Waudru, the Belfry, and a lively Grand Place that makes for an easy half-day extension. Brussels is 45 minutes away and needs no introduction. Tournai is worth the slightly longer journey for its extraordinary five-towered cathedral, one of the oldest Gothic buildings in the country, and a historic centre that has retained more medieval fabric than most Belgian cities.
Binche, not yet covered in these pages, is 15 kilometres southeast of Soignies and world-famous for its Carnival — recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. Outside Carnival season it is a quiet walled town, but the Musée International du Carnaval et du Masque is genuinely excellent and open year-round.
