Liège - Saint-Paul & University

View north across river Meuse from La Boverie island towards the 28 storey Kennedy tower and the steeple of the church of the Grand Seminary. Saint-Paul and the University are just north of these buildings. 14/1/2026.

The Saint-Paul Cathedral and main University building are located between Guillemins and Saint-Lambert districts. There are many lively bars and cafes in this part of Liege. Having visited Le Pot au Lait in January 2025, we aimed to visit some different bars in this area a year later.

In the late afternoon of Thursday 15 January, we reached Au Delft on foot after visiting Brasserie C, near the foot of the steps of Montagne de Bueren.

We had stopped briefly to look inside the Collegiate church of Saint-Denis which was incorporated into the city walls.

Au Delft

Opposite the main university building, Au Delft is on the corner of Pl. Cockerill and Rue Charles Magnette. There's an art deco look to the exterior of the building which has become rather grubby.

However, the European Bar Guide recommends this brown cafte as being one of the best in Europe.

It was busy inside but we found a table with a view through a big window of the Theatre de Liège and a statue of  Professor Andre Dumont, a geologist. Tim enjoyed a local beer - Smash Original by Brasserie {C}.a 6.2% ABV pale ale. Served with a small dish of mixed peanuts this was good value for €3.80. Music was playing softly, a nearby customer was using a laptop and others were chatting. There are no individual menus but a blackboard lists available beers including several local options. 

The chairs are stylish with banquette seating around the edge of the room. 

There is a distinctive light fixture in the centre of the room. There are posters. leaflets and publications for browsing. It was tempting to stay for a second beer but we had more bars to visit.

Fondamental

Fondamental, Rue des Carmes 13

Jezza, posting as @bonsvoeux1 on Bluesky, as well as Boak and Bailey in a blog post, had been impressed by Fondamental on their September / October 2025 visits to Liège. It's only 240 metres from Au Delft. It's a few steps up from street level and spacious inside with a high ceiling and enough pine panelling on the walls to furnish several sauna cabins.

A complimentary bowl of popcorn was served with our beers. Tim's beer was draught Lupulus Pils costing €3 and the cheapest option on the menu.

Other beers on the printed menu included three more draught beers from Brasserie Lupulus, and local beers including Badjawe from Brasserie Cooperative Liegoise, Hazy Pale from Norm Brewing and Curtius Classic from Brasserie {C}.

On our visit the choice of music playing was not appreciated and plastic greenery for decoration always disappoints. However, the use of enamel beer signs to decorate the pine walls was a good indicator although only a small section near the entrance has been covered so far. It's a useful place to know about that's away from a busy area for a good choice of beer at reasonable prices and there's plenty of space.

A few steps from Fondamental, then turning right along the lively Rue St Paul brought us to our next bar at the first corner.

Taverne Saint Paul

Taverne Saint Paul was too busy when we visited in 2025 but this time we were lucky to find a free table in the 'middle' room at 6pm on a Thursday evening.

The beer menu may not be inspiring but this is a classic bar not to be missed.

Tim enjoyed draught Val Dieu (25cl €4.20) and stayed on for Tripel Karmeliet (25cl €4.50) with the complimentary bowl of salty biscuits lasting well. Customers came and went but there was a constant buzz of conversation.

There is a dedicated bar person to pour the beers as waiters collect their orders from the bar. Mirrors in the 'middle' room make the space appear larger than it is.

Look down and you will see the tiled floor, look up and you will notice the candelabra style light fitting.

Although it was very busy we enjoyed prompt and efficient service. It's a classic bar to visit in Liège.

After leaving here we passed Saint Paul's cathedral on the way to the nearby Pont d'Avroy tram stop.

If you are visiting this part of Liège for the first time, be sure to also visit Le Pot au Lait and its courtyard which is less than 100 metres away from Taverne Saint Paul. 

Another nearby bar, which we did not have time to investigate, is Blaes by Bartho. Jezza wrote 'Excellent place, highly recommended' and Boak & Bailey mentioned vinyl record decks, low lighting and beers from newer breweries.

Other Liège posts on Beer Europe blog include: Liege 2025; Liege Guillemins & Angleur (2026);

Liège Guillemins & Angleur

View from Liège-Guillemins railway station including a tram

With its curvaceous canopy, arrival at Liège-Guillemins railway station, is always a special experience. On our second visit to the city, the double-decker train took just over an hour for the 90 km journey from Brussels-Midi/Zuid. It was dark when we arrived around 6pm but there was an opportunity to photograph Santiago Calatrava's architecture on another day.

A 58 Le TEC bus took us across the river Meuse and dropped us opposite the door to our accommodation on Rue de Renory. We stayed for three nights in the Angleur district which is mainly residential. The 70 metre tall tower which supports the cable stays for the 25 years old Pont du Pays road bridge is a short walk away. The light at the top is a landmark at night.

We didn't need to cross the river again to visit Le Petit Vaudrée, just over a kilometre away from the right bank of the river Meuse and slightly closer than it's sister establishment, the more upmarket Le Vaudrée restaurant / brasserie which is at the other end of Rue Henri Durant. Angleur railway station is located a little further away.

Le Petit Vaudrée

Le Petit Vaudrée, at the corner with Rue Vaudrée, was quite brightly lit inside with an old map (1647) of Liège on the wall opposite the windows. We found a free table by the windows on the Tuesday evening of our arrival.

This also gave a view of the bar with five draught beers including Tripel Karmeliet, Jupiler Pils and Scotch CTS. Crowned Trees Scotch was first brewed in the Forest district of Brussels by Wielemans in the 1920s but is now brewed in Leuven by Artois as mentioned in an article by Eoghan Walsh for Brussels Beer City in 2020.

The bound menu also lists a range of bottled beers including the local Tripick range - 4,5,6,7 and 8 - at €4.50 for 33cl.

This made it easy to pick our first beers of the evening - Tripick 4 and 5. The label for Tripick 5 mentions Unfiltered Blond Beer - High Fermentation. An ingredient listed is Courtil water and the brewery in Courtil is Brasserie Lupulus also known by it's old name - Brasserie Les Trois Fourquets. Our first round was served wth a complimentary small dish with a variety of small salty biscuits.

It's possible to obtain take away fried or grilled food from La Frite du Petit Vaudrée, next door. Note that unless you have ordered in advance, it's necessary to wait your turn as customers orders are individually cooked to order. 

To view the performance of draining the frites, and tossing them in an oversized stainless steel cone with a handle, before tipping them into a carton that is then wrapped with paper and pricked with a fork, is worth the wait! We thought that a large order of frites (€3.50) would serve two but we could not finish them! 

We also ordered sauce andalouse (€1.20), cheese croquette (€3) and a beef skewer (€4.50). Wooden forks are provided.

Tim's final beers here were Tripick 6, a fruity blonde and Tripick 8 a Tripel, also unfiltered. These were both liked better than the Tripick 4.

This is a bar for locals and it was nice that we could have a table here and enjoy our meal without embarrassment as others were doing the same.

Two regular customers who had been at the bar later chatted with us after hearing English spoken. They explained they were Czech and liked the Scotch CTS beer served here. They both work at Liège airport west of the city which is a major European hub for airfreight.

They were surprised to learn that we had recently travelled to the Czech Republic but this was before they realised that our 'good English' was because we were actually English! They seemed to hold Britain in higher regard than Belgium but were concerned that our standards might also have fallen as the English workers they knew at the airport had mostly moved to Spain. We reassured them that London is still a safe place to live.

Another way to find Tripick beers in Liège would be to visit Le Tripick Brasserie, located opposite the station at Place des Guillemins,1.

Taverne L'Aigle d'Or

L'Aigle d'Or, Pl. du Général Leman 19.  14/1/2026 12:45pm

In January 2025, Taverne L'Aigle d'Or was the first place we visited but this was only for coffee as it was soon after the 11am opening time. A year later we would visit on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and enjoy some beers.

It was about 9.15pm on the Wednesday night when we arrived after catching a tram at Place St-Lambert (above) to Général Leman (8 stops).

Fridge shelves with Brasserie Minne bottles (top left) and Aplovou NEIPA  (bottom right)

We only had time for one beer this time and enjoyed draught Tripel Karmeliet. There was also an opportunity to get photos of some of the beers displayed in the fridges next to the bar.

On Thursday evening, after a shorter tram ride from Pont d'Avroy (5 stops), we arrived at L'Aigle d'Or around 8.15pm to find all the dining tables occupied. 

We were allowed to sit at a table near the bar and enjoy a beer until a table became free. Tim chose the house beer brewed by Brasserie Minne L'Aiglon. When Frank (humble_beer on Untappd) from Aachen visited two years previously his description was 'Peach, mango, violets, bright grains, fresh dry hop aroma blending with Belgian yeast spice, moderate bitterness with dry finish. Great house beer.'

We soon had a chance to move to a dining table and study the menu and draught beer list on blackboards.

A post by Brugge-based Jezza (@bonsvoeux1) on BlueSky about L'Aigle d'Or from September 2025 included photos and the following text 'Down to earth locals bar [with] great meatballs & c.150 beers. Unlikely place to find two Brasserie Minne ticks on draft, but a house IPA & their saison really hit the spot. Classic place this, worth a visit.'

Read about our previous visit to Liège, on a day trip from Namur, in late January 2025 which also features L'Aigle d'Or, in the Liege 2025 post on the Beer Europe blog. 

Our visits to bars and breweries in the University and Saint-Lambert districts of Liege in January 2026 will be covered by separate posts on the Beer Europe blog.

Prague - Staré Město, Nové Město, Hradčany & Spořilov

The old town, new town,  Hradčany & Spořilov districts of Prague are all located east of the river Vltava.

A separate post covers the Malá Strana and Hradčany districts of Prague, located west of the river Vltava.

Our overnight European Sleeper rail journey from Brussels to Prague via Dresden and Decin had taken over 15 hours and we arrived on Thursday 20 November 2025 around 11.40am.

Thanks to suggestions in the Prague Hlavni Nadrazi station guide on The Man In Seat 61 website we knew where to go on arrival at Praha hl.n..

We followed the signs to the old station entrance hall and took the escalator back up to level 0 and went inside Fantova Kavárna (Cafe Fanta) named after the station's architect Josef  Fanta, which also has tables just outside its entrance, under the central dome. Bottled Pilsner Urquell is available here. After a coffee we walked through the commercial concourse under a main road and car park to emerge at Vrchlického sady park. It was cold outside as we turned right and walked to the Hlavní nádraží westbound tram stop on Bolzanova.

From our stop we saw an old tram going east (above) before our tram arrived. We took tram 15 to Malostranské náměstí which crosses the river Vltava on the Štefánikův most bridge. From there we walked to our accommodation at Residence Thunovská. After staying on the west side of the river for the rest of the day we ventured back to the east side on Friday and Saturday to visit some sights, breweries, bars and the Museum of Communism. 

Old town bridge tower and view towards Prague castle

The order for the places we visited below is based on their distance from the Charles bridge which was busy with tourists at all hours of the day.

We called in to U Zlatého tygra (The Golden Tiger), Husova 17, shortly before the above photo at the Charles bridge was taken, on Friday. Unfortunately for us, it was full and without a reservation we could not have a beer at this traditional Pilsner Urquell beer hall included in 'The Royal Route' bar crawl by The European Bar Guide. 

Pivovar U Supa

After a look at the Astronomical Clock on the old town hall (top photo of post), we continued by an indirect route, past the City Art Gallery, Pivovar U Supa at Celetná 563/22 - 'the oldest brewery with an inn in Prague'. This is another establishment featured in 'The Royal Route' bar crawl.

The spacious and impressive interior has a central bar featuring copper tanks. We were shown to a free table towards the back of the room. Unfortunately, a group of loud Englishmen at a nearby table, felt the need to talk and laugh loudly with each other as though they owned the place. Based on this kind of behaviour, perhaps it's not surprising that tourists are not always welcomed everywhere in Prague.

The printed beer menu offers a 'Beer lovers tasting' (450 Kč ). Guest beers are from Cvikov and Kasteel (Rouge). The U Supa draught beer is 'Sup' 12°, a bottom-fermented blonde beer.

With the choice of  0.3 l for 79Kč or 0.5 l for 89Kč (approx £3.30), Tim ordered the larger measure and found it relatively bitter.

We passed the Powder gate tower adjoining Smetana Hall, K+K Hotel Prague Central and Prague Masaryk station on our way to the next bar.

Minirest

Our next stop on the 'Royal Route' bar crawl was Minirest, Havlíčkova 1026. 

It's a handy stop for rail commuters as there is a TV screen with departure times just inside the entrance.

In the UK this might be described as a 'micropub' as it is just a small room with a good selection of beers. The beer details are given on standard panels on a side wall. Each panel gives the brewery and beer name, ABV, IBU for bitterness and EBM (Extract Percentage in the Original Wort) and a beer style. The price for the different measures is also shown.

There are seven taps on the small bar.

Tim enjoyed Pivovar Hrádek Lambert 12° chosen for its relatively lower IBU bitterness rating (27).

Meals are not served here so it was time to find somewhere for a lunchtime meal.

Kolkovna Celnice

We remembered the Kolkovna chain of brewery restaurants from a previous visit to Prague (July 2008). The branch at V Celnici 1031/4 is conveniently located next to the entrance for the Museum of Communism which we would visit after a late lunch.

Kolkovna serve Pilsner Urquell tank beer (above photo) and Velkopopovický Kozel Černý. The food menu has three pages with a broad choice that includes several traditional Czech dishes.

The expansive restaurant space has some interesting old brewery photos on the walls. Another nice touch is that cutlery and serviettes are held in a white ceramic tankard with the Pilsner Urquell logo.

You can expect prompt service at a Kolkovna restauant as the business model is based on quick turnover.

The Museum of Communism had some interesting displays and short films and there was a shop where you could buy a can of Kofola original, a caffeinated cola drink introduced in 1960 that is still popular. Museum tickets cost 380 Kč (320 Kč age 65+) so allow some time with the exhibits to justify the cost. As one might expect, the narrative is not sympathetic to the old Communist regime.

Vinohradský Pivovar

On a cold Friday, our first full day in Prague, we took two trams to reach Vinohradský Pivovar at Korunni 106, in the district that the brewery takes its name from. A blackboard at the entrance lists the beers and the menu of the day.

The ground floor bar (above - after 2pm) was quite busy when we arrived at 1pm. Low level windows let some natural light into this room with a curved ceiling.

We found a table downstairs where there was plenty of space with three rows of individual tables, a bar near the staircase and two toilet entrances at the far end. A graphic on the street side of the room shows brewing vessels.

A porthole window through a deep inner wall gives a glimpse of fermentation tanks and it was also possible to view the brewery in the full height space from a doorway on the staircase.

Our beers were served in branded straight glasses. The beer menui includes 12 draught beers and 19 cans. On the right, Meg's M8 hazy session APA (3.4% ABV) is top fermented with a blend of hops including Simcoe and Amarillo. On the left, Tim's Hazy Galaxy session IPA (4.9%) is top fermented with Galaxy and Sabro hops and was a favourite beer on this trip.

It's nice when an English menu is available! For lunch, we enjoyed traditional mushroom kulajda soup (79 Kč) with ingredients that also include dill, potatoes and cream. Service was helpful and friendly.

První Pivní Tramway

První Pivní Tramway is located in Spořilov at the southern end of tramlines 11, 14 and 96. Conveniently for us on Friday, tram 11 goes directly there from the Orionka stop for Vinohradský pivovar, taking about half an hour. Unfortunately, the door and window of the 'First Beer Tramway' were shuttered when we arrived at 2.45pm and a printed note advised in Czech 'Due to operational reasons today only from 3:30 PM'. It was too cold to stand around so we caught the next tram back as far as the Michelská stop and tried in vain to find an open bar nearby. In the process we crossed the river Botič which joins the Vltava in Prague. 

After these steps we caught a tram back to Spořilov and were the first customers of the day at První Pivní Tramway. The photo of Johnny Cash in the noticeboard outside endorsed CASH ONLY did not present any problem. 

It's bar service here and the barman seemed a bit gloomy but duly poured our beers with Tim drinking černy potoka Bardotka a 5.1% ABV hazy IPA with Motueka and NZ Cascade hops, another favourite beer on this trip. This beer cost 90 Kč for 40cl.

Sitting in the room to the left of the bar by the window we could see trams rumbling past every few minutes outside and some brewery graphics on the opposite wall. The furniture appears to be made from old wooden tram bench seats.

There is an oil painting with a flying man motif in this room and colourful artwork in another area by the same artist featuring crows and horses.

A varied selection of music was playing featuring local musicians including tracks from V barvach (in colours) by Prago Union.

We had a second round here and Tim's Pivovar Kladno Kročehlavy Kladenský ležák 12°, 5.2% ABV, with a slightly burnt note, cost 64 Kč for 40cl.

Although not in use today, Tim used a flash to get a photo of the section of an old tram carriage which is is to the right of the bar and toilets, before we left.

A unique feature of the Gents toilets is original tram handrails at the urinals.

At 5pm, while waiting for a tram back to Prague at the stop on the opposite side of the turning circle, a video of the trams passing Prvni Pivni Tramway was recorded.

Note that within the Prague area covered by pid, travel on trams and buses is free for seniors aged 65+ a passport or equivalent official photo proof of age may need to be shown during ticket checks. 

Half price travel tickets are available for those aged 60 - 65 years.