Glacier Walk starting from Visé

Park around the Collegiate Church of Visé. Please note that on weekdays, there are blue-zone parking restrictions in certain areas. However, you can also travel by train and walk from the nearby station to the collegiate church.

(S/E) Cross over in front of the Arbalétrier roundabout, then follow the^GR®5. Head towards Rue Porte de Lorette and walk up towards the swimming pool. Take the steps up to the Chapel of Lorette.

(1) Walk alongside the cemetery on your right and join the cycle path leading to Richelle. Turn right and continue along Rue de l’Oseraie to reach the Glacier Hugo junction.

(2) Here you have two options:
- turn right and head towards the wayside cross via Rue de Richelle, then turn right again to reach La Carrière, followed by Visé via Les Roches. This is the shorter route,
- continue along the cycle path, skirting the Richelle cemetery, and carry on along Chemin du Voué. You’ll reach a junction after passing the Espinette wayside shrine.

(3) Take a path on the right, passing under two power lines. Cross Rue de Saint-Rémy, then turn left into the Domaine de la Julienne. Continue on to reach Le Champignon. Turn right here at a 90° angle to reach the Notre-Dame-du-Bois Chapel quickly.

(4) Take the upper path through the woods and continue through the woods until you reach Rue de Saint-Rémy near the château.

(5) Carry on left along this street towards the village of Richelle. Leave it at the junction after the right-hand bend, then turn right onto Rue des Hauteurs, before reaching the junction with Rue Foresterie.

(6) Turn right onto this street. Continue left along Rue de la Vouée Juetta, then turn left to rejoin Rue des Hauteurs, which will take you to the village square near the Cour de Justice.

(7) Head down towards the church, take the path to the right to reach Rue de Richelle. Turn right and, a few metres further up, cross the road carefully and turn into a small street between the houses.

(8) Go up a flight of steps towards Rue Sur la Carrière. Head left and you’ll reach Visé in the Sur les Roches neighbourhood. Here you’ll find the junction of the short alternative route described above.

(9) Turn left into Rue Sur les Roches and head down towards Rue de Jupille. Cross the road carefully and turn into Rue Porte de Souvré. Immediately on your left, take Promenade Meurisse, continuing along the railway line as far as the old Moulin Bruyère.
Turn right to reach the Degrés Saint-Martin and return to the Collégiale car park (S/E).

(S/E) Church of Saint Martin and Saint Hadelin: according to a long-standing tradition, the very first church in Visé was built in 779 thanks to Charlemagne’s mother, Bertha the Long-Footed, and was dedicated to the great Saint Martin of Tours.
This parish church became a collegiate church with the arrival of the canons of Celles, who brought the relics of Saint Hadelin in 1338.
The church was damaged during various military campaigns: by the Normans (881), Charles the Bold (1468), Louis XIV (1675) and German soldiers on 10 August 1914.
It was rebuilt in 1924–1925 in the Gothic style. The wall of the original chancel (16th century), which is a listed building, has been preserved.
Visé Collegiate Church houses several works of religious art, including the shrine and bust of Saint Hadelin ...
(1) The Chapel of Lorette:
On the plateau you will find the Chapel of Lorette (1684), the hermitage (early^{18th century}) and the cemetery (1877).
During the siege of Maastricht, Louis XIV’s troops destroyed Visé’s ramparts. The people of Visé set about rebuilding the gates and ramparts, but as the town felt poorly protected in the event of an attack, they decided to place the town under the protection of Our Lady of Loreto by building a chapel on a hill overlooking the town.
The Visé market was held on this plateau, attracting merchants from Liège and, above all, from abroad. It had been a long-standing custom for centuries to wait for the Visé market to buy cloth, shoes, furs, tools and so on...

(2) Hugo’s Ice Cream Parlour
Between (3) and (4) The ‘Chapignon’ of Wixhou:
Erected around 1850 by Count François-Joseph de Mercy-Argenteau and restored in 2018 by the non-profit organisation Les Rendez-vous de Richelle, the Wixhou mushroom is a small ornamental structure.
(4) The Chapel of Our Lady of the Blessed Woods in Argenteau:
According to legend, around 1683, a poor woman is said to have found a tiny statue of the Virgin Mary inside an oak tree.
This became the focus of numerous pilgrimages.
In 1749, the chapel and a residence for the chaplain were built.

(6) The Cour d’Aix neighbourhood: several old buildings tell their stories,
- at the junction of Rue sur les Hauteurs and Rue Foresterie, on the right is the oldest house in Richelle.
Known as Fissette - van Weerts, it is a beautiful^17th-century (1674) Mosan-style residence,
- at the end of this street, on the right, is the former local school.
Turn left to discover the former Beguinage (on the right) and then the Cour d’Aix (on the left). This was once the seat of the Richelle court of justice. On the pediment of the gateway, the date 1671 can still be seen.
- The ‘voué’ was a lawyer who ensured that the rights of the clergy of Aachen – who owned land in Richelle – were upheld. Around 1330, the role of ‘voué’ was held by a woman named Juetta.
- Marie Popelin (1846–1913) was a lawyer from Brussels. She was Belgium’s first female doctor of law, in 1888, but was denied the right to take the oath of admission to the bar. She subsequently founded the Belgian Women’s Rights League.

(7) At Place de Richelle, you will see:
- an old pump,
- to the right of the pump, an imposing porch leading to Richelle Castle; this historic^17th-centurybuilding is first mentioned in records for this location in 1552.
- in the park, there is a sequoia over 30 metres tall. Its crown was probably struck by lightning during the summer of 1974.
- Place Cour de Justice takes its name from the fact that local justice was administered in the farmhouse on the left.