Did you know you can book an actual Charleroi Safari? A guide will take you on a baffling tour past the city’s crumbling industrial heritage. You’ll see derelict factories, empty cooling towers and abandoned metro stations, and you’ll meet some very interesting people on the way.
When I first arrived in Charleroi about six years ago, a Dutch newspaper had just declared the city the ugliest in the world. An accolade that would make every mayor burst with pride. At first glance, the paper’s judgement didn’t seem too far off. The place looked like a bomb filled with litter, sadness and crippling unemployment had just gone off in it. It wasn’t exactly Paris, so to speak.
“When I first arrived in Charleroi about six years ago, a Dutch newspaper had just declared the city the ugliest in the world. An accolade that would make every mayor burst with pride.”
While the more distinguished Carolos – that’s how they call themselves – were obviously not very happy with this newly acquired title, one man decided to make a business out of it. Nicolas Buissart – artist, free spirit and universally acknowledged cool dude – set up an actual urban safari called Charleroi Adventure. It didn’t lead you to the giant pandas in the nearby zoo, but instead took you on an incredible tour of all the most butt-ugly places the city had on offer. And there was a lot to choose from. Rusted factories, empty swimming pools, a stroll on the most depressing street in the country: if you could imagine it, he’d take you there. It turned out to be a fascinating afternoon.
The Charleroi Safari: a nice urban walk through Belgium’s ugliest city
Years later, I’m back at the train station waiting for Nico. In my absence, Charleroi went through a little renaissance. New squares were laid out, trendy little restaurants popped up here and there, and a hypermodern mall was constructed smack in the middle of town. The historic centre looks much tidier now. But even with all these novelties, the Charleroi Safari is still going strong. As far as I’m concerned, it’s one of the most exciting, incredible and hilarious tours you can book in Belgium. Do it now, before they actually clean everything up.
1. Go on safari through an industrial graveyard
Fancy a weird fact? Booyaka! I gotcha buddy! Did you know Charleroi’s population shrunk by around 40,000 heads throughout the last fifty years? Yet it is still the largest city in Wallonia. That’s because in the past – mainly because of the mining and steel industries – it was also the richest. In the 1970s, when heavy industry started taking hits all over Europe, the entire local economy collapsed on itself like a sad soufflé. The result was the highest unemployment rate in the country, a lot of empty buildings and an urbex paradise unparalleled in Belgium.
“Highlight of the walk is Powerplant IM: the giant cooling tower of a former power station. There’s no lock on the door and the interior looks like it came straight out of a Bond movie.”
Dozens of abandoned factories and hangars still stand crumbling along the banks of the Sambre today, often decorated with towering, psychedelic graffiti. This makes for an amazingly impressive sight – despite all the social dramas that came with it. This post-apocalyptic Walloon wasteland goes on for miles and will make the average photographer go into an overstimulated frenzy. Highlight of the walk is Powerplant IM: the giant cooling tower of a former power station. There’s no lock on the door and the interior looks like it came straight out of a Bond movie. Nobody knows how long everything will stay as it is. The city council apparently started to take some action, and seems more inclined to just take the whole thing down instead of doing something useful with it. A couple of factories got bulldozed already. I wouldn’t postpone that visit for too long.
2. Take in some dystopian views from a Charleroi slag heap
Assuming there aren’t too many geriatric fatsos with a pacemaker joining you, Nico will probably take your Charleroi Safari group to the top of one of the slag heaps on the outskirts of the city. It’s a steep climb, but since the entire goddamn mountain had to be dug up from the literal depths of hell by human hands just so you could stand on it, complaining about the slope would be a rather shitty thing to do. The view is more than worth the effort anyway. At the top, a panorama of factory chimneys, a ring road suffocating the downtown like a constrictor and a truly massive old exhibition centre brightened up with some state sponsored street art awaits you. It’s so beyond ugly it goes right back to being nice. Charleroi is the urban equivalent of a pug: it looks wrong and barely functional, but you just got to love the ugly mutt anyway. Hey, I’m not a model either. But if you ain’t handsome, you better be interesting bro. And that my friends, is no problem for Charleroi.
“Charleroi is the urban equivalent of a pug: it looks wrong and barely functional, but you just got to love the ugly mutt anyway.”
3. Wait for a train that will never come in Charleroi’s abandoned metro station
A short ride in the dusty back of Nico’s rickety van later – seats are for dorks – we find ourselves in the other side of town. Here you can find the infamous ghost metro. In the sixties, when money was still being spent like there was no tomorrow, the city decided to build an eight-line metro network. Twenty years later it appeared there was indeed a tomorrow after all, and the treasury was as empty as I feel deep inside every Valentine’s Day. The whole project was cancelled before it was even half done. This actual station though, was completely finished, but not a single train ever passed through it. It stood unused and abandoned for over thirty years, and it’s still there today. A hole in the fence gives you easy but illegal access to the tracks. Once there you can start recreating your favourite scenes from The Walking Dead like nobody’s watching. Take care though, because somebody could in fact be watching, which is why Nico will not join you here. His face is so well known by the authorities by now, they send the fines straight to his home. Kinda lame.
4. Sing some French chansons in Enrico’s living room
The highlight of the entire tour – if only for the look of absolute bewilderment on the faces of my fellow travellers – is the visit to the inimitable Enrico. This glorious man lives right next to the ghost metro in a tiny former customs house. It’s impossible to describe him in words, but he’s by far my favourite person in all of Wallonia. Enrico is a self-taught philosopher, philanthropist, lawyer and clairvoyant, and he personally solved the Cold War by sending Gorbachev a letter telling him to stop his shit (it’s true, ask either him or Gorbachev). And as if all that wasn’t enough, he produces his own songs as well. He sings them in his living room, to anyone who ended up in his house for some reason. When I saw his friend put on and industrial headset, I instantly knew what we were up for. What followed was an endearingly enthusiastic performance at Tomorrowland decibel level, which almost blew the entire roof to the neighbouring city. The two French girls who had joined the trip completely lost it. Moments later, they were – just slightly against their will – claimed as background singers.
Look at the picture above, look at the facial expressions, the wall clippings, the fabulous weirdness of it all. Isn’t it simply mesmerising? I absolutely love people who don’t care about the petty opinions of others and just do their thing. Enrico is a top bloke, and extremely hospitable as well. I have his CD at home, should there be any interest.
“Look at the picture above, look at the facial expressions, the wall clippings, the fabulous weirdness of it all. Isn’t it simply mesmerising?”
Here ends my expedition through Belgium’s wildest industrial jungle, but not my adventure in the city itself. I might have mocked Charleroi a bit, but it’s truly worth a city trip. There are plenty of things to visit here, from interesting museums to nice restaurants and what I consider to be the most unique club in the country. You can read more about the actual attractions next week. Stay tuned!
My Charleroi Safari was supported by the ravishing Morgane of Wallonia-Belgium Tourism. You’ll find lots of tips for every visit in the region on their website. www.walloniabelgiumtourism.co.uk
I stayed at Novotel Charleroi Centre, a nice venue in the brand new shopping mall. It is a five-minute walk from the station, and guests arriving by car receive a 50% discount for the car park under the hotel.
You can find all info on the Charleroi Safari through this link: www.charleroiadventure.com.
Looking for other ideas for a trip to Wallonia? Check my articles on Spa and Liège.
16 Comments
Stephanie
January 26, 2020 at 12:49 pmSuper blog! Met de typische knipoog, bracht je me weer aan het lachen 😉
Ik kan niet wachten om de metro te nemen, bergen te beklimmen, rivieren over te steken en koeltorens te trotseren om de amazing Enrico te ontmoeten.
I’ll do it all for you! Ik begin al vast mijn eigen chanson te schrijven.
Charleroi, see you soon…
Jonathan
January 26, 2020 at 12:50 pmOooh, volgende keer mag je mee, Steph. :p
Catherine
January 26, 2020 at 1:05 pmWie had gedacht dat er nog andere redenen konden zijn om naar Charleroi af te zakken dan cheape Ryanair vluchten :p
Zeer entertainend geschreven, as per usual!
Jonathan
January 26, 2020 at 1:33 pmEn dan hebt ge het volgende artikel nog niet gelezen. 😎
Nathalie
January 26, 2020 at 9:53 pmIk ga per zin meer en meer strijk met uw artikel :p. Goed geschreven! 😉
Jonathan
January 26, 2020 at 10:05 pmOooooh! Daar doen we het voor! ^^
Ramael Marc
January 27, 2020 at 10:28 amAlweer een grappig en satirisch artikel zoals we gewend zijn van jou . Ps volgens mij staat de politieke garde aan dat station op de trein te wachten die ons een nieuwe regering zou moeten brengen !
Jonathan
January 28, 2020 at 12:23 pmDe burgemeester is inderdaad een vd onderhandelaars. 😉
Stefan
January 28, 2020 at 11:08 amCoole foto’s en leuk artikel, precies dat ik er zelf bij was
Jonathan
January 28, 2020 at 12:22 pmJa, mijn prachtige volzinnen werken op de verbeelding nietwaar? 8)
rozemarijn
January 28, 2020 at 12:10 pmHeb je die metro foto ook zonder die kerel in het midden? Zou mooi op mijn keukenmuur staan 😉
Jonathan
January 28, 2020 at 12:21 pmHelaas, hij sprong er altijd voor. Ik kan er altijd een blote Brad Pitt over photoshoppen als ge wilt?
rozemarijn
January 28, 2020 at 3:03 pmGeen manieren, tss… Ipv Brad Pitt, heb je misschien een karakterkop in de aanbieding?
Jonathan
January 28, 2020 at 3:22 pmIk zal mezelf er over plakken. :p
BartD
July 19, 2021 at 7:07 pmBedankt voor het fijne verslag. Ik wou ff melden dat de Power plant IM koeltoren er nog steeds staat, maar dat de toegangstrap is weggehaald. Het terrein is nog toegankelijk en je kunt eventueel proberen om onderdoor de binnenkant te bereiken op voorwaarde dat de onderkant droog staat (wat bij ons niet het geval was).
Jonathan Ramael
July 19, 2021 at 7:19 pmOh da’s jammer. Ze snappen in Charleroi de waarde van hun eigen patrimonium niet. Nico van in het artikel wordt volgens mij ook gewoon “gedoogd.”