Top 10 Things To Do Near The Spa-Francorchamps Racetrack

Every year the Spa-Francorchamps Racetrack gets hundreds of thousands of visitors – and rightly so, as it’s one of those bucket list tracks for race fans whether they follow the two-wheel racing or four-wheel variety. Due to its location, most people can’t just go to the race and then straight home, they have to actually spend time in the area. We’ve spend several days in the area and can assure you – it’s well worth taking more time to stay in the region because there is lots to see and do – even if the Belgian tourism people don’t want you to know about it – we’ll help you out!

The village of Francorchamps is the heart of the Spa-Francorchamps Racetrack – it’s where the main entrance to the track is located.

Francorchamps is within the municipality of Stavelot, but there’s also a town of Stavelot about 10 minutes away.

We’ll use Hotel Francorchamps Pitlane Lodge as the starting point because it’s right in the middle of the village and the entrance to the track. Address: Rue de Spa 129, 4970 Stavelot, Belgium.

Two personal recommendations for eating in Francorchamps are: L’Acqua Rossa (reservations recommended). Their pizza is very tasty and the ingredients fresh – one of the best and biggest pizzas we’ve ever had. And Le Relais de Pommard Steak House, for a good steak (good but not fantastic).

No. 1 – The Town of Spa
We always associate the word Spa with the world-famous racetrack, but it’s even more famous outside of racing. First of all – it’s well known for its mineral-rich thermal waters and therefore gave its name to every spa in the world (duh).

Second – the first beauty pageant in the world was held at the Concours de Beauté, in Spa on 19 September 1888. Who knew!!

And third and possibly most important to some people – it’s the birthplace of the casino. Built in 1763 it’s the oldest in the world and is still in operation today (open daily from 11am until sunrise). The casino sits right in the middle of the town in a town square type of setting – the entire town is nice (unlike Stavelot which is a bit sketchy-looking).
Distance from Hotel Francorchamps Pitlane Lodge – 14 minutes / 12 kms

No. 2 – Skydiving
Bring out your inner daredevil and go skydiving – imagine the views you’ll get!
Centre de parachutisme Skydive Spa (website)
Distance from Hotel Francorchamps Pitlane Lodge – 6 mins / 4.8 kms

This little trip can easily be done in just a couple of hours (roundtrip)…. do some of it or all of it

No. 3 – 6 Stavelot (Town)
Visit of the town, an abbey and 2 museums, all at the same location.

Distance from Pitlane Lodge: 15 minutes / 11 kms

No. 3 – Abbeye de Stavelot – one of the oldest monasteries in Belgium.
Address: Court Abbey, 1 4970 Stavelot // Website / Price: €7.

No. 4 – (same location) Museum of the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit [Time to allow: 30 mins-1 hour] – just a tiny exhibition in the dungeons… I mean “beautiful vaulted cellars of the abbey.”

No. 5 – (same location) Guillaume Apollinaire Museum [Time to allow: 30 mins-1 hour]

No. 6 – Centre of the town – La fontaine du Perron [9WVH+WX Stavelot, Belgium]

If you visit the town of Stavelot, only 6 minutes / 3 kms away is…

The Village of Coo. The waterfalls are a big attraction and the quaint little town is also worth taking a stroll around. If you’re in the region, make sure you spend some time in Coo – it makes for a very relaxing couple of hours.
Distance from the Hotel Francorchamps Pitlane Lodge: 15 minutes / 11 kms (via Stavelot)

No. 7 – Waterfalls of Coo (Les Cascades de Coo)

Website (French only) / 4970 Stavelot, Belgium / 9VVG+9Q Stavelot, Belgium

In addition to the actual waterfall there’s also an amusement park too…

No. 8 – Plopsaland Ardennes (website) The entrance fee for the park is €26-30 per person for unlimited rides throughout the day

No. 9 – Coo-Adventure (website)
Close to the Coo Waterfalls the outdoor adventures include kayaking, paintball, zip-lining, mountain biking, and much more.

If you skip the town of Stavelot, then Waterfalls of Coo/ Plopsaland Ardennes is only 12 minutes / 8 kms from Pitlane Lodge

Another 30 minutes down the road is…

No. 10 – Chocolatier Defroidmont – the Belgian chocolatier and creator of Praline chocolates! Hand-made chocolate comes in two varieties: Pralines and Truffles. Pralines are made with a chocolate shell and a wide range of creamy fillings, while Truffles have soft crumbly chocolate shells filled with buttercream. The praline-filled chocolate is to die-for and the Truffles are by far the best we’ve ever tasted. [Time to allow: 50 mins-1.5 hours]
Distance from the Spa-Francorchamps racetrack: 40 mins / 38 kms

Chocolatier Defroidmont – Website [French and Dutch only!!]
Address: Briscol 19a, 6997 Érezée, Belgium. Tour Cost: €4 – worth it! Check out our video –

Conclusion
There’s plenty for the whole family in the Spa-Francorchamps area. You could easily knock-off all our suggestions in a single day (other than Coo-Adventure).

If you have some more spare time, we highly recommend a trip down the road to the town of Dinant. It’s only a total of 90 minutes from Spa-Francorchamps and you’ll easily wish you had more time to spend there – even if you visit all our recommendations in this article

Top 10 Things To Do In Dinant, Belgium (only 90 minutes from the Spa-Francorchamps Racetrack)

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About TravelBloggers…
Iain & Gail started blogging in order to inspire and motivate people to travel the world from their perspective – specializing in having the most fun while using the least amount of money…travelling on the cheap without sacrificing comfort.

** In the end you will only regret the things you didn’t do **