What there is to see at the Citadelle de Namur
Free and outdoors: the ramparts, the gateways, the grass and the wall above the point where the Sambre meets the Meuse. Ticketed, and mostly indoors or underground: the souterrains, a visit called The Citadel in the Middle Ages, the tourist train and the audio-guided visitor centre at Terra Nova.
The free walk, in the order I would do it
Start wherever you parked and get to a wall with a view down first, because that is the thing you came for whether you knew it or not: two rivers meeting, the bridges, the quays, the roofs going up the far bank. Then work along the ramparts rather than across the middle, through the gateways, and let the hill give you its shape. The gravel paths and the mown grass between the walls are as much of the Citadelle as the stone is.
None of that is ticketed and none of it closes, which is set out at length on what costs nothing here. If you have one hour, this is the hour to spend.
What a ticket adds
The souterrains are the headline: a guided visit into the galleries under the fortress, at about fourteen euros for an adult and less on the reduced rate. The Citadel in the Middle Ages is a separate visit at a similar adult price. The tourist train and the audio-guided visitor centre at Terra Nova are a few euros each, and two Citadelle Passes bundle the four in different combinations, one of them an either/or. The tariff is on the tickets page and how the tunnel visit works is on the souterrains page.
Decide between the tunnels and the medieval visit before you reach the desk. The three-visit pass will make you choose one of the two; only the four-visit pass has both, and it is the longer day.
Seeing it with somebody who knows the walls
A guided day here does not include admission to anything, because the free part needs no admission and the paid part is sold only at the desk. What it can do is put a person beside you. The two walks with a local cover the town below the fortress rather than the hill, and both put that in writing in their own exclusions. The photo shoot is the listing whose itinerary actually climbs, by cable car or on foot.
Photo shootNamur: Photo shoot with a professional photographer
Walk with a localNamur: Best Intro 2-hour Walk with a Local
One hourNamur: Express Walk with a Local in 60 minutes
How much of a day all this takes is on how long to spend up here, and if you are travelling with children, the Citadelle with children covers the train, the free grass and the fares by age.
Frequently asked questions
What is the route around the Citadelle de Namur?
The hill divides into three: the Donjon at the top, the Médiane below it and Terra Nova at the far end. Walking between them along the ramparts is free and needs no ticket, and the view over the confluence is the reason to do it. The ticketed visits are described on the tickets page.
What can you do at the Citadelle without paying?
Walk the ramparts, cross the three levels, use the gateways and the paths, and look down at the Sambre running into the Meuse. The operator calls the citadel a public park anyone can walk freely at any time of year at no cost, which is the whole of what costs nothing here.
Are there guided tours of the Citadelle itself?
The underground galleries are visited with a guide, on a ticket bought at the citadel’s own desk; see the souterrains page. Among the tours this site lists, two reach the fortress and neither includes entry to anything. The honest version of each is on every tour we list.