Why Daverdisse
A holiday village for three generations
When the little steam tram arrived in 1908, the first holidaymakers discovered Daverdisse. After the Second World War the village became a favourite retreat for city dwellers: families from Brussels, Flanders and the Netherlands bought or rented country houses here, and many have kept coming back, generation after generation. Even today, for its size, the commune has one of the highest numbers of holiday accommodations in Wallonia.
What brings them back? Nature as far as the eye can see, exceptionally clean air, endless walks from the village, and good food: local producers, a farm butcher, Ardennes cheeses and beers, from village brasserie to gourmet restaurant.
The village itself is tiny: around a hundred inhabitants and some fifty houses around the church and the square. Another advantage: Daverdisse sits at the centre of a cluster of places worth seeing, Redu and its bookshops, Han-sur-Lesse, Rochefort, Saint-Hubert, Bouillon or the Euro Space Center, while staying well away from mass tourism. No crowded streets or queues here: you enjoy the sights by day and the quiet of the village by night.
The climate helps too: in summer it never gets too hot, thanks to the rivers and forests that cool the air, and winter is never too harsh, especially by the stove. At the house, the sun is on your side: a south-facing terrace, a west-facing terrace for the evenings, and a south-west-facing garden.
50,000 haThe Grande Forêt de Saint-Hubert, one of Belgium's largest forests, on the village's doorstep
1,500 kmof marked trails in the forest, on foot, by bike, mountain bike or horse
89 kmof the Lesse, which meets the Almache below the village and flows on to the Han caves
Top 15of Wallonia's 262 communes for density of holiday accommodation
Sources: Tourisme Wallonie, Maison du Tourisme de la Grande Forêt de Saint-Hubert, RTBF, CGT data.
