60km (38 miles) S of Dinant

At a strategic bend in the Semois River, this little town (pop. 5,000) guarded for centuries the major route from the Eifel to Champagne. In addition to a spectacular location in the plunging river valley, Bouillon boasts the country's finest medieval castle. The awesome 10th-century feudal castle of Godefroy de Bouillon, leader of the First Crusade to the Holy Land, still stands over the town, crouching like a great stone dragon on a steep bluff.

Bouillon is also a scenic and gastronomic stronghold. Where better to try bouillon than in the town that gave it its name?