Lier – a pleasant little town

Lier (Dutch pronunciation: [liːr]) is a little town in the historic Duchy of Brabant, arguably on the outskirts of Antwerp.  The city centre is surrounded by the river Nete, around which it grew. In 2018, Lier had a total population of 36.000.

Lier is known for its beers (which include Caves), its patron Saint Gummarus and ‘Lierse vlaaikes’, tasty traditional cakes. It is also home to the world headquarters of Van Hool, a global bus and coach manufacturer.

The programme will begin with a brief visit inside the Stadhuis on the Grote Markt (usually closed on Saturday but they have kindly agreed to open it briefly for us. It is definitely worth it).

Then there will be a 2 hour guided walking tour of the town, which will include historic places such as the Zimmer Tower, the Beguinage and the Saint Gummarus Church. Lier is also the birth place of the writer Felix Timmermans and it has its own special kind of lace. The inhabitants of Lier are known as “sheep heads” – no doubt the guide will explain!

Lier – Begijnhof (beguinage)

The tour will be followed by lunch at  restaurant ‘Het Moment’ on the Grote Markt. Vegetarians, please specify upon registration.

After lunch we will visit the Stadsmuseum, which tells stories about Lier and its inhabitants.

The Tourist Office reassures us that there will be sufficient information available and that a guide is not really necessary. There are detailed brochures available in Dutch and English, so everyone can visit the museum at his/her own pace.

https://www.stadsmuseumlier.be/en

How to get there ?

From Brussels by car: take E19, direction Antwerpen. Leave at exit 9 ‘Mechelen Noord’, direction Mechelen/Lier > merge onto the N16. Keep right, after some 300m on the N16 take the R6, direction Lier/(others). Continue on the R6 for about  2,5 km. At the traffic lights take the exit ‘AZ Sint-Maarten’ > left on the N14 direction Lier/Duffel > N108 to Lier centrum. Distance from exit 9 to Lier parking: 17,5 km – 23 minutes.

From Antwerpen by car: take E19 direction Brussel. Leave at exit 8_Rumst, direction Duffel. Continue through Duffel and on the N14. Distance from exit 8 to Lier parking: 13 km – 20 minutes

Car park: we recommend underground parking P6 “Grote Markt” (address: Florent Van Cauwenberghstraat 13, 2500 Lier). Car license plate scan, no ticket. !Do not continue beyond the parking entrance, – cars not allowed on Grote Markt.

By train: Lier railwaystation is a 10′ walk (750m) from the Grote Markt, via Leopoldplein and Antwerpsestraat. Also 4 different busses (90,150, 297, 560) every 6 minutes (each).