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| Namur Citadel and Parliament of Wallonia by the River Meuse |
The Ninth Edition of CAMRA Good Beer Guide Belgium (2026) mentions '... Namur has joined Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels on the list of beer tourist must sees'. Previously visited in a cold and damp January 2025, Tim and Meg revisited Namur in May 2026 at the start of a heatwave.
In 2026 we revisited three favourite bars (red diamonds on the map), found two new favourites, appreciated two more (four yellow diamonds) and faced two disappointments.
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| L to R: Views from Citadel to north west and north east from north bank and to south east from east bank |
The Citadel was also revisited and is recommended for views and an interesting downhill walk (apart from an uphill walk, the cheapest access to the top is the hourly LeTec bus 3 from outside the railway station).
Le Bouffon du Roi
On the first night, Wednesday 20 May, after revisiting Barnabeer and the disappointment of finding Barbetta's (pizzeria and home of Babeleir brewery) fully booked, we ended up in
Le Bouffon du Roi for a first visit and final beers.
The Sports Bar, near the University, is dimly lit and spacious inside with a central bar and areas for billiards and table football. There was music playing including local favourites Au Soleil by Jenifer and Brood voor Morgenvroeg by Bart Peeters.
The beer menu features several local options including draught Bertinchamps and bottles of Brasserie du Clocher
Philomene Florale and Brasserie Houppe
Jambes en l'Air. Fresh and aged bottles of
Orval are listed in the Trappist beers section.
Tim enjoyed Bertinchamps Tripel and Paix Dieu Tripel here. There is an outside terrace area at the back which was not investigated on this occasion.
La Schtouff
On the other side of the river Meuse from the city centre,
La Schtouff is at the corner of the quay and the road over the Pont des Jambes. With customers sitting outside, there were several free tables inside with views across the river to the Citadel. We had walked here via
Passerelle l'Enjambée, the pedestrian footbridge which links Namur with Jambes.
Our beers were served with a small bowl of savoury snacks. The music playing featured Ellie Goulding.
The menu card included Bertinchamps
Pamplemousse, Brasserie du Clocher
Philomene Florale, fresh and aged bottles of Orval. Tim enjoyed
La Trappe Blond, his favourite from this Netherlands brewery. The views of passing river traffic from the window tables make a detour to visit this bar worthwhile.
Ravage Beer Bar
At Marche Saint-Remy 10,
Ravage Beer Bar is a new favourite in Namur. It would be even better with an alternative to heavy metal music playing, perhaps the soundtrack varies?!
Our knowledgeable host was keen to match our preferences with suitable beers. The draught offer with some exotic and expensive options did not appeal but the beer fridges hold a wide selection.
Tim chose Turbulence, a hazy NEIPA brewed in Wallonia by
Brasserie des Beaux Jours about 30 km away (€6.30).
As well as brewery signs on the walls there is a striking mural near the front entrance featuring a grim reaper with a tankard of beer in his other hand!
Arsène Café
A second new favourite in Namur is located only 150 metres away at Rue des Brasseurs 19.
With its views of the river Sambre and nice ambience it was surprising that
Arsène Café did not have more customers at 7.30pm on a Thursday evening.
We chose a table opposite the bar with river views.
The clipboard beer menu lists breweries' beers ordered by the distance of the brewery 'as the bird flies'. Tim's
Vulpio Triple (€6.50) was brewed 5km away at Wépion. On leaving, Tim congratulated the barman on the choice of music that included tracks by The Decemberists, The Shins, Starsailor, Built to Spill and Phantom Planet. He was pleased as these were his choices.
Arsène and Ravage are both featured in
CAMRA Good Beer Guide Belgium Ninth Edition.
Barnabeer, Le Chapitre and Chez Juliette
Read about our January 2025 visits to these bars in the
Namur 2025 post.
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| Barnabeer. Street entrance leads to courtyard for steps to bar entrance. |
Le Chapitre and Chez Juliette are both on the small side but
Barnabeer, near the university and railway station, has several spaces and an impressive entrance.
The Barnabeer 'newspaper' lists all the draught and bottled beers. We visited on both evenings of our Namur visit.
We had intended to visit
Le Chapitre on both evenings but it was full on Wednesday for a musical performance. However, it was a pleasure to visit on Thursday and appreciate the unspoilt traditional look of this small bar where the only draught beer is the local Brasserie du Clocher
Philomene Florale.
Near to the cable car base station to access the Citadel,
Chez Juliette is on the south east corner of Place Maurice Servais, with big windows on two sides.
Inside there is a concrete bar, and a mix of furniture. The beer list includes local beers like
Brasserie des Beaux Jours Le Petit Ballot (Bière au Foin brewed with barley malt, wheat malt and hay).
Chez Juliette, Le Chapitre and Barnabeer are all featured in CAMRA Good Beer Guide Belgium (Ninth edition, 2026).
Footnotes
Direct trains to Brussels, Liege, Dinant, Mons and Luxembourg etc leave from Namur station. The bus station is above the railway station.
Booking in advance is recommended for
Barbetta's (pizzeria and home of Babeleir brewery).
Au Ratin-Tot a beer cafe that closes early, is featured in CAMRA Good Beer Guide Belgium (Ninth edition, 2026) but after a quick look inside we didn't stop for a beer.
