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.

Tim's Onglet steak with a dark onion sauce, frites and salad (€23.50) was delicious, accompanied by draught Brasserie Minne Ardenne Givrée.

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.

Dinant 2025

 

Finding an old postcard of Dinant - La Roche a Bayard in my late uncle's collection was an inspiration to see the road through the vertical rocks beside the river Meuse, south of the town. Dinant is 27 km south of Namur and 87 km south of Brussels. 

Staying in Namur made a visit there simple as there are usually two direct trains an hour from there to Dinant. We decided on a Saturday for the visit as two interesting bars there don't open until late afternoon on weekdays. However, the downside was finding the small town rather busy with fellow tourists on Saturday 1 February 2025.

From seats on the right hand side of train, on a very misty morning, there were mainly views across the river Meuse during the half hour journey. The train passes several barrages, with lock systems for the large barges that use the river. Shortly before arriving in Dinant, the train crosses a bridge to the west bank of the river and passes the Abbaye Notre-Dame de Leffe, above the other bank. The Abbey's image is featured on bottles of Leffe beer.

After leaving the train, one can cross the river by the Charles de Gaulle bridge to reach the town with it's citadel above. that can be accessed by climbing 408 steps or taking the telepherique / cable car. The bridge is adorned with saxophones variously painted to represent different countries and a tribute to Adolphe Sax, born in the town and inventor of the saxophone in the 1840s.

La Capsule

Visible from the bridge with it's orange facade and situated under the Citadel on the east bank of the river Meuse, we were early customers at La Capsule and picked a table near the window with views across the river.

It was cold outside and unsurprisingly no customers were yet sat at the tables on either side of the cobbled road between the bar and the river. We only drank coffee on our first visit in the morning but returning at 2.30pm and able to sit at the same table we found that the sunshine had attracted customers to the outside seats.

There was a poster in the town for Dinant Biere Blonde (Brasserie des Legendes) but La Capsule had Biere Le Dinantais (Brasserie Minne) a 5.3% ABV Blonde brewed for the bar and featuring the orange frontage on its label and matching glass.

Although it was bright from sunshine at the front of the bar it was only dimly lit at the back. A guest beer from the tap enjoyed here was Bretty Boop by Brasserie des Legendes.

The regular tap beers are mentioned on a page in the bound menu and the guest beers are written on a white board near the entrance which also features a variety of brewery signs. 

The 'Tout sur le Houblon IPA' section of the menu includes beers from Brussels breweries: Brussels Beer Project (Delta) and Brasserie de l'Ermitage (Lanterne, Soleil and Theorem de l'Empereur - a beer featured in the Unusual Suspects section of Breandan Kearney's book Hidden Beers of Belgium).

Pub St Roch

Our first beers in Dinant were enjoyed at Pub St Roch after visiting the vertical rockfaces at Rocher Bayard. The historic building overlooks a small cobbled square where Rue Pont en Isle meets Rue Courte Saint-Roch.

Inside, it is simply furnished and traditional touches include candlelight at the bar and an old clock. A curving wooden staircase leads to additional seating on the first floor. We chose the table closest to the log fire.

The laminated drinks menu cards include (Wallonian) regional sections for beers with none from Flanders or large breweries.

Our beer choices here included Bertinchamps Framboise (€4, 33cl, Namur region) and draught Brasserie Caulier Bon Secours 4 Houblons (€4.50, 33cl, Hainaut region). A portion of cheese, served with celery salt, also seemed appropriate at lunchtime.

It's well worth walking south of the bridge to find this historic pub with excellent service and facilities.

A walk further south will reward you with river views and and Rocher Bayard where the southbound road skirts around by the river and the northbound goes through.

For details of bars visited in Namur - please see the Namur 2025 blog post.