Dinant

Dinant along the Meuse

Few towns in Belgium reveal themselves as readily as Dinant. You stand on the bank of the Meuse and the scene makes sense immediately: the yellow-white rock face, the citadel on top, the spire of the Collégiale Notre-Dame pressing up almost against it, and a row of coloured houses following the waterline. It is a composition that has already arranged itself. All you need to do is decide how to work with it.

Light and season

The golden hour works particularly well here, especially early in the morning. The light comes in low from the east and catches the façades of the houses before the citadel disappears into shadow. In the afternoon that reverses: the rock face and the fort are nicely lit, but the houses along the bank fall into backlight. Work with that if you want silhouettes.

Autumn is the strongest season. The trees along the Meuse banks turn orange and yellow, most of the tourists have gone, and an early mist sometimes hangs over the water. That mist separates the rock face and the church tower from the background in a way you rarely get in summer.

Compositions and focal lengths

From the centre, on or just beside the Pont Charles de Gaulle, you have the classic overview. Wide works well, 24mm or 35mm, to take in the full breadth of the town. But with a longer focal length, 85mm or more, you can compress the citadel and the church tower together and make the town feel more compact than it is.

The cable car route up to the citadel gives you a different perspective: from above you can see how the town is wedged between the rock and the river. That is a very different story from the view on the bank.

Practical

You can park along the Meuse in the centre, but in high season it fills up early. On a weekday morning in October you will have it almost to yourself. The citadel charges an entrance fee, the cable car included. Check the opening times in advance, as they are limited in winter.

More information about the citadel and the cable car can be found at Citadelle de Dinant. For general practical information about the town, visit the official website of the municipality of Dinant. The background of the Collégiale Notre-Dame is described on Wikipedia.

Sources and further reading

• Citadelle de Dinant
• Gemeente Dinant (officieel)
• Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk Dinant (Wikipedia)