The city of Namur, capital of the Walloon region, has been selected as one of Europe’s top destinations by the travel website European Best Destinations.
The voting in the competition opened in January and closed on Wednesday. Namur came 7th in the listing of 15 destinations, all chosen by visitors to the website from an initial shortlist drawn up in conjunction with tourist offices Europe-wide.
“Namur is an incredibly charming, endearing city with the Belgian surrealism of Brussels and romanticism of Budapest or Bruges,” the description reads. Namur is so warm and friendly that it is like staying with your family. Its restaurants are excellent and cultural events unique. Namur is also one of the most dynamic cities in Europe where numerous tourism and hotel projects are being developed, where new trendy bars, shops and restaurants open every day.”
Perhaps more controversially, the site also states, “Namur is probably the most interesting destination in Belgium.” According to a letter sent by the site to Namur mayor Maxime Prévot and councillor for tourism Anne Barzin, 71% of the 30,000 votes for Namur came from outside of Belgium.
“As has been the case in previous editions for other cities, this result will allow us to increase tourist numbers in the months to come,” Barzin told Le Vif. “Namur will continue to be promoted on the site and via its various channels of communication throughout 2020.”
The final classification includes not only the usual suspects like Rome, Paris, Athens and Vienna, there are also less well-known spots, including Sibiu in Romania, Rijeka in Croatia and Bydgoszcz in Poland.
The ranking for this year was led by Colmar in France, followed by Athens in second place and in third place Tbilisi, Georgia.
Alan Hope
The Brussels Times
