Discovering culture in Mons

It is easy to overlook Belgium as a mini-break destination — it has a bit of a reputation as being a bit dull and obvious. But this is definitely a part of the world worth exploring.

Top of your list has to be the small city of Mons.

Mons is found in the heart of Belgium, just a short train journey from the capital Brussels.

In 2015 Mons was awarded the title of European Capital of Culture. This meant that Mons hosted a year-long festival — a huge program of activity, events, and artistic endeavours that not only brought the place alive with visitors and performers from around the world, but also helped to regenerate the cultural fabric of the city.

The city made a huge investment in its cultural infrastructure — eager to create ways in which to deliver a sustainable legacy and a transformation made possible by the focus that the Capital of Culture title program brings with it.

Food played a major part in the Capital of Culture celebrations. Mons has always had a fairly lively restaurant scene, and in 2015 fifty-two of the city’s leading chefs signed up to a quality charter that was coordinated by the City of Culture team — helpfully presented in a guide to the city.

While I was in Mons for the day I ate at Vilaine Fille Mauvais Garcon — the perfect demonstration of modern cooking using seasonal ingredients and a lot of flair and imagination. Definitely a great place for lunch.

The cultural legacy that the city delivered from the City of Culture activity included the opening of five new museums.

The museums that have been opened include the Artotheque — a resource that effectively catalogues the city’s entire collection and artistic treasures; the Mons Memorial Museum — charting the history of war in the region but also the impact on people and communities; Beffroi — the city’s baroque belfry; Musee du Doudou — exploring the legend of St George and the dragon; and SILEX’S — a fascinating look at the Neolithic flint mines in the area.

We only had time for a brief visit to the Mons Memorial Museum but I could easily spend the day here. WWI and WWII are obviously key milestones in the recent history of Mons, and the artefacts and information are presented clearly and logically, allowing the events to speak for themselves.

For the LGBTI traveller, this isn’t really a destination that you come to for the gay bars or wild parties. The city is relaxed and welcomes everyone — openly gay mayor Elio Di Rupo is a great ambassador for the city. The reason to visit Mons is to admire its architecture, its cuisine, and more than ever its culture.

Easily accessible from Brussels by train, you could easily make Mons a day-trip visit but this is a city worth spending a few days in and really getting to experience all that Mons has to offer.

The culturally rich city of Mons should definitely be on your list for a European mini-break.