A dynamic city with about 100,000 inhabitants (250,000 with the agglomeration), Mons has experienced a rich and lively history to which its heritage, folklore and citizens bear witness. On a human scale, it is nevertheless a great place with an exciting cultural life, constant economic dynamism and astonishing tourist development. The headquarters of SHAPE (Allied Command Headquarters for NATO Operations) and many international companies, it is also a cosmopolitan and outward-looking city.

Mons is the capital of the province of Hainaut, located in the Walloon region of Belgium. In the centre is the Grand-Place, a vast paved square dotted with coffee shops. It is lined with buildings of various architectural styles, such as the Town Hall, which is several hundred years old. 

Officially designated Cultural Capital of Wallonia in 2002 and European Cultural Capital in 2015, the City of Mons is a city that has considerable assets in several areas.

Mons - Hotel de Ville - Alessandra Petrosino
Grand Place de Mons on the Town Hall side by Alessandra Petrosino

A welcoming and commercial city, both in the city centre and in the Grands Prés, Mons is an important administrative, judicial and university city. Today, the city has, more than anything, consolidated and developed its role as a centre of attraction in terms of heritage, culture and tourism.


Within the walls of its city centre, steeped in a long history, the historic city boasts buildings that are part of Wallonia's major heritage, such as the collegiate church of Sainte-Waudru, which has the look of a cathedral, a Gothic town hall from the great era of the Dukes of Burgundy and a baroque belfry, 87 metres high, unique in Belgium and recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site.
Many other buildings, the oldest of which date back to the 11th century, illustrate its architecture, whether civil, religious or military. But the city of Mons is also a green suburb with prominent sites, such as the Neolithic mining sites of Spiennes, also recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the famous Van Gogh House and many other remains.

The City of Lumeçon

Mons is also the Doudou festival, with its roots in a distant past of popular and religious traditions, such as the Procession of the Golden Car, dating from the 14th century, and the legendary Combat known as "Lumeçon" which pits St. George and a dragon against tens of thousands of spectators, every year on Trinity Sunday.

 

Mons - Lumeçon - Visit Mons
St. George slays the Dragon with a deadly pistol shot

Cultural capital

On a cultural level, the living arts are all the more alive thanks to MARS (Mons Arts de la scène), with its ever-rich and diversified programming. The BAM (which stands for Beaux-Arts Mons) offers very high-quality fine arts exhibitions of international standing.

The City's Museum Centre also promotes memory-based tourism through the Mons Memorial Museum, a real immersion in the city's military history. The Doudou Museum offers a true immersion in the great moments of the ritual Ducasse festival.

And how could we not mention the Mundaneum, a true "paper Google", a unique archive of its kind; or the incredible Duesberg Museum whose clocks are envied all over the world, and which has won several stars in the Michelin Guide. 

A city looking to the future

Finally, Mons is a city looking to the future with its Digital Innovation Valley, which has already attracted companies such as Google, Microsoft, IBM, and so on.

The INITIALIS Science Park, which brings together dozens of companies specialising in new technologies such as biochemistry, telecommunications, civil engineering and information technology; hosts two research centres, built with the help of the University of Mons UMons, UCL/Mons and European Funds.

New MICE destination

Aware of the geographical assets of the city of Mons, the region and the ERDF fund have invested heavily in recent years to develop the infrastructure needed to host business tourism.

In 2015, the brand new 126-room Congres Hotel Van der Valk de Mons, located directly next to the Conference Centre, joined the "golden triangle" complex formed by the Lotto Mons Expo, an 8,000m2 exhibition centre, and the Conference Centre.

This latest hotel development makes it possible to increase and offer a capacity of accommodation in Mons that is more than sufficient to accommodate your conferences.

Mons - Hotel Van der Valk - Vue extérieure
Exterior view - Hotel Van der Valk