Charleroi.
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Overview

Charleroi, on the river Sambre, is the third largest municipality and fifth-largest city of Belgium. It is in Hainaut province of Wallonia, the French speaking part of Belgium. A former mining town, it is viewed unfavourably by most Belgians, who often look down on Charleroi as a poor, polluted, derelict, and violent city that is not attractive at all.

Nevertheless, Charleroi indeed has its share of attractions, including unique museums such as the internationally-acclaimed Museum of Photography. It played an important role in the development of the Belgian comic strip culture, and in the world of modern dance, Charleroi has also become an important place due to its yearly festival. While most tourists head straight from the airport to Brussels and other locations in Belgium, France and the Netherlands, the city itself is worth a go as well.

Understand

History While there are remains of human settlements dating back to prehistoric times across Charleroi, it is actually a rather new city. It was only created in 1666 when the Spanish, who then controlled the Low Countries, started building a fortress there. It is the then King of Spain, Charles II, that the name of the town alludes to. This is why the inhabitants of the town are often called Carolos.

The city was created at the beginning of a turbulent period, when it saw itself being turned over many times between the Spanish Crown, France, the Netherlands and the Austrian Empire, before finally becoming a part of the independent Kingdom of Belgium in 1830. It was only then when Charleroi became a boom town, as the local supplies of coal fuelled rapid expansion of mining, metallurgy and glass manufacturing. Charleroi and the neighbouring municipalities saw an influx of immigrants from all over Europe, especially Italians. This community remains highly influential to this day.

This all came to a halt following the rapid decline of mining and heavy manufacturing in the area following World War II. But since the early 21st century, the city started reinventing itself, most notably as a hub for modern industries, such as bioscience, engineering, and healthcare. However, the biggest boost to the city came in the resurgence of its airport, which in turn encouraged the local government to invest in transportation (such as modernizing the railway station and upgrading the city's light rail system as a new metro) and tourism.

Comic strip capital Charleroi lays claim to being one of the birthplaces of the Belgian comic strip culture, as the Spirou magazine was published there first in 1938, featuring such popular comics as "Lucky Luke" and "Smurfs". This heritage is subtly reminded about throughout the city, e.g. at the metro station Parc you can see Lucky Luke murals, while further characters await for you at the Janson station.

Administrative organisation The present-day Charleroi municipality actually comprises much more than just the historic city of Charleroi - it has been expanded in 1977 to encompass fourteen other directly neighbouring and farther small municipalities around the city. Therefore, there are as many as fifteen former town halls and fifteen separate town centres across Charleroi. That way, Charleroi also became the third-largest municipality in Belgium, as other large cities, including Brussels and Antwerp, remain divided into a number of different municipalities.

Charleroi is the capital of the Arrondissement de Charleroi, one of the seven districts of the province of Hainaut. The district includes further neighbouring municipalities, which are not part of Charleroi. There are about half a million people living in this district, a densely-populated and formerly heavily industrialized area.

Get in

Getting there/away: TEC, the regional bus company, operates a bus line A1 between the airport and the Charleroi-Sud train station. A ticket can be bought on one of the ticket machines on the bus stop near the train station or at the driver when coming from the airport. Bus routes and timetables. There are regular trains to Brussels and other Belgian destinations from Charleroi-Sud train station. From Fleurus SNCB, you can take a train to Ottignies and Leuven. From Luttre SNCB to Brussels and Antwerp.

Flibco operates buses directly to the airport from Bruges, Brussels Midi Station, Ghent, Mons and Lille.

Getting there/away: bus line A1 to the airport starts here. When coming out of the main building, keep left to reach the metro and bus stops.

Get around

On foot Charleroi's centre as well as the immediate surroundings can be easily explored on foot.

By public transport Public transportation in Charleroi is provided by TEC, which is a regional operator responsible for public transit in all of Wallonia. In Charleroi, they operate a light-rail Metro system and bus lines. TEC is an acronym for Transport en commun which means public transportation. Ticket office at the north-west corner of Charleroi-Sud railway station in the métro léger station.

Métro léger de Charleroi, which translates as "light metro of Charleroi", is a light rail system that is a combination of underground rail and street-level tram/light rail. In the city centre, it travels underground over a loop line, while going into the suburbs it becomes a ground-level light rail with separate right-of-ways or a street-level tram using the tracks of Belgium's former vicinal system.

There are four metro lines in Charleroi, all sharing the central loop and branching out to various suburbs and even as far as other municipalities. M1 and M2 travel eastwards of the centre sharing the route towards Anderlues M3 goes northwards to Gosselies M4 goes eastwards to the Soleilmont intermodal terminus in Gilly

M5 was a line that was completed, but never opened, for a large portion of its route (and many stations abandoned). It sat abandoned for more than 40 years due to Belgian politics and funding issues, but construction resumed in 2024. It is forseen to open in 2027.

The tourist office at the Charleroi-Central railway station has a pamphlet describing sites and an itinerary along the Charleroi-Pétria métro léger line. It is effectively a tour by tram. You will probably want a day-pass for such an itinerary.

Despite the extensiveness of the system, there is no direct connection by metro to Charleroi Airport.

By bus There are also several bus lines running across Charleroi.

By S Train SNCB has five S Train lines in Charleroi. S19 connects with Bru Airport but also serves some areas west of the Bruxelles–Charleroi Canal. S62 serves the general northwest of Charleroi, S63 southwest, areas not served by the metro. S61 connects the northeast and southeast, areas not served by the M4 metro line. S64 connects the south with the central area.

By bike Unlike the cities in Flanders, it's rare to see any cyclists at all in Charleroi - by and large the locals prefer to drive everywhere, even though distances are often comparatively short. There are some efforts by the city municipality to change this, so a couple of main roads had bicycle lanes introduced; however more often than not these suddenly end after a short time, forcing cyclists onto the road.

Since 2024, bike sharing is available through Bolt. Download their app and register to find e-bikes in Charleroi.

By e-scooter Electric kick scooter sharing is provided by Bolt and Dott.

By taxi You can also use taxis to travel around in Charleroi.

See

Centre The centre of Charleroi is relatively compact and walkable, encompassed within a ringroad known as the Petite Ceinture de Charleroi. Because Charleroi is located on a slight hill, the northern part of the centre is known as Ville Haute ("upper town"), and the southern part as Ville Basse ("lower town").

Ville Haute The hexagonal Place Charles II marks the very centre of the city, featuring the uniquely eclectic Saint-Christophe church, which has seen additions from just about every architectural style since it was built in 1667, and the elegant town hall (Hôtel de ville) built in 1936 in an eclectic style mixing Art Deco with classicism. Its hind side faces the Place du Manège and features a tall belfry. On the other side of Place du Manège is the Palais des Beaux-Arts, featuring a Museum of Fine Arts. The Ville Haute features numerous wide, tree-lined boulevards. On one of them, in the former barracks, you can find Musée des Chasseurs à pied.

Walking through the streets of Ville Haute you can admire the architecture of the golden age of Charleroi, which fell between the historicizing eclecticism of the late 19th century and Art Nouveau. Some of the more interesting buildings are the Maison Maison Dorée at 15 Rue Tumelaire and Maison des Médecins at 40 Rue Léon Bernus.

Musée des chasseurs à pied. Located in former barracks, this museum is dedicated to the history of the chasseurs, the Belgian rapid-action infantry who played a major and heroic role in the bloody fighting during the First World War. The barracks themselves are named after corporal Léon Trésignies, a chasseur hero of that period.

BPS22. Temporary exhibitions of contemporary art

Ville Basse The most picturesque part of the Ville Basse is the Sambre, whose right (northern) bank features the tree-lined elegant boulevards Quai de Brabant and Quai de Flandre. The left (southern) bank is dominated by the Gare du Charleroi-Sud, the city's main train station, with an imposing historic building dating back to 1874, the middle of Charleroi's own golden age, and renovated in 2011.

South Two of the most interesting attractions in Charleroi are situated in the south of the municipality, in the former communes that were annexed by the city - the internationally acclaimed Museum of Photography in Mont-sur-Marchienne, and the former coal mine Le Bois du Cazier in Marcinelle. The metro system was not extended in this direction at all, but both sites can be reached by bus from Gare du Sud within 15 minutes. There is no direct bus connection between the two, you are best advised to go back by bus to Gare du Sud and change there.

Museum of Photography. The renowned Musée de la Photographie à Charleroi is housed in the former Carmelite convent in Mont-sur-Marchienne, expanded by the addition of a thoroughly modern annex completed in 2008. It houses extensive collections of all sorts of photography from all periods, exhibiting them both as fixed and temporal exhibitions. Some of them are exhibited on the outside, in the convent's park.

The colliery (coal mine) in Marcinelle was the site of the worst mining disaster in Belgian history, when an underground fire claimed the lives of 262 miners. While not remembered as vividly now, it was a pan-European tragedy, as the miners stemmed from 12 different countries, and this was a pivotal point in the history of coal mining and heavy industry in Belgium. Mines were subsequently required to comply with much more stringent safety standards, which saw many of them close as being uneconomical.Le Bois de Cazier was also closed subsequently, but rather than being abandoned, it was turned into a unique museum complex, with most of it industrial heritage kept intact or adapted and a number of artifacts collected, many kept in working condition. There is the Industry Museum, which presents not only coal mining, but also other heavy industries and the general technological and social progress of the 19th century. The Museum of Glass occupies a modern glass-and-steel addition to the complex, guiding visitors through a "countdown" from contemporary glassmaking technologies to the very earliest ones. In the workshops, a mixture of historic and modern machinery is still operated and blacksmiths continue to forge.Le Bois de Cazier'' has also been turned into a site of remembrance of those who perished. A striking exhibition inside the former mine's buildings presenting the fateful day of August 8, 1956, the extent of the tragedy and its consequences. Outside, a park was organized in the 26-hectar estate of the former mine, with 12 species of trees planted to represent the 12 nationalities who lost their miners in the tragedy (and the seedlings were brought from those very countries). There are also three slag heaps, with the tallest spoil tip accessible by a modern skybridge, providing a striking panorama of the Charleroi area from its 250 metres.

There are special activities offered at similar fees to organized groups of schoolchildren. Le Bois du Cazier also featured event rooms for up to 800 people for rent, and a souvenir shop.

The site is open Tuesday to Friday from 09:00-17:00, and from 10:00-18:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. Do note it is closed on Mondays. There is no metro connection to Marcinelle, but the bus line 52 from the Gare du Sud takes you to Le Bois du Cazier.

Site du bois du Cazier à Marcinelle.

Charleroi Expo. It is an exhibition centre with a year-round programme of themed events

Do

Markets: If you are in Charleroi on a Sunday, do not miss the markets that spread out from Place Charles II over neighbouring streets.

Football: Royal Charleroi SC, Les Zèbres, plays soccer in Pro League, Belgium's top tier league. Their home ground (capacity 15,000) is Stade de Pays de Charleroi, Rue des Emailleries, 500 m southeast of city centre. Basketball: Spirou Charleroi plays at the Spiroudrome in Belgium's top-tier basketball league. Hiking: Noticed the hills all around Charleroi? Most of them are actually slag heaps, a remnant from the mining industry. Called terril in French, some of them can be climbed for a great view over the city. One of the highest and most easily accessible is probably , which provides 360 degree views on a fine day; access is via Cour Rainchon, barely 10 minutes to the west of the city centre on foot. The first uphill path after leaving the carpark is steep and slippery after rain, but you can follow the main one, turn left once reaching the heap's backside and use stairs that have been installed for an easier ascent.

Buy

Tropica BD. The comic strip bookstore with a selection of albums full of Charleroi-born characters.

Ville 2. A mall just northeast of the centre.

Eat

La Brasserie de la Cour. French restaurant

De Vous a Nous. In Montigny-le-Tilleul, a neighbouring commune south of Charleroi.

Drink

There are no water fountains in Charleroi, however the train station has a bottle refill station in the small passage connecting the main hall with the platforms.

Sleep

Given the short distances to other Belgian cities, most people staying overnight are likely to be passengers at "Brussels South" airport. There are no hotels at the airport terminal, and reaching those nearby is difficult without a car. However, several hotels offer shuttles to the airport.

ibis Charleroi Gare. Based in a historic building at the Quai de Flandre, this ibis hotel has an extremely convenient location. Inside, it is a standard ibis outfitted according to the brand's former standards.

Hotel de la Basse Sambre. Very basic hotel, good for main highway, and with luck you'll arrive not too many weeks after its sporadic clean.

Park Hotel Airport. Convenient mid-range hotel with 20 rooms just north of airport.

It might be possible to stay overnight in the airport terminal. The Gare du Sud station building is closed at night, so don't plan on staying there.

The nearest youth hostels are in Mons, Brussels and Namur.