La Louviere Belgium, Strepy-Bracquegnies Boat Lift
Belgium

24 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

CroisiEurope (24 Cruises)


Frequently Asked Questions

At the river landings along the Canal du Centre in Hainaut. The Strépy-Thieu site has a visitor centre and the town is a taxi ride away.
A funicular lift that raises barges 73.15 metres in a single movement, in two independent caissons 112 metres long hung from cables and counterweights. Completed in 2002 after twenty years of work, it remained the world's tallest until 2016.
Strépy-Thieu and its visitor centre, then the four historic hydraulic lifts at Strépy-Bracquegnies. With time left, the Kéramis museum in town, about 15 minutes by taxi from the engineering works.
Because the four structures and their waterway form a set unique in the world, preserved in original condition. Listed in 1998, they date from 1888 to 1917 and still operate.
Two water-filled caissons balance like the pans of a scale: as one descends the other rises, using no energy but water pressure. More than a century on, these machines of iron and rivets still run.
Yes. Local cruises run daily in season through lifts 2 and 3 at Strépy-Bracquegnies. Experiencing the manoeuvre from the deck, hearing the sluice gates groan, watching the bank drop away, is the highlight of the call.
A ceramics museum built around three listed former bottle kilns. It shows historic ceramics and contemporary work, in the town of the Boch pottery founded in 1841.
The euro, and French: La Louvière is in Wallonia, in Hainaut. No language barrier for French speakers.
April through October, when the local cruises run and the towpaths turned cycle trails are usable. Off season the structures remain visible but boat passages become rare.
Yes, if the children like understanding how things work. Watching a 1,350-tonne vessel rise 73 metres leaves a mark. That said, there is no beach and no theme park here.