Old city walls and snow

Parts of the old city fortifications underneath St Martin's, with snow. Yes, the snow is back.

Chateau de Modave 2

Another view of the Chateau de Modave, along with a photo of the coats of arms of some of the people who lived there.

Chateau de Modave

OK, so the test post worked. Here are a couple of photos of the Chateau de Modave, a castle first built in the 15th century as a fortress. It was burned and reconstructed in the 17th century and is now a museum. I will post some more photos of the Chateau over the next few days.

Reflected Palace

The Palais des Princes Eveques reflected in a shop window.

A princely window

A window detail from the Palace of the Bishop Princes.

King and Queen

Portraits of the King an Queen of Belgium hanging over the entrance of the Provincial Palace. Slightly grim...

Even more Palais Provincial

A final set of photos from the Provincial Palace. These are from the main entrance hall column and ceiling decorations.

More Palais Provincial

A couple more photos of the interior of the Provincial Palace. The treats on the tables are raw carrots, radishes and cauliflower to be dipped in two different sauces (probably tartare and thousand island, straight from the supermarket).

Palais Provincial

We were invited to a reception at the Provincial Palace, which happens to be the Palace of the Bishop Princes, in honour of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Liege. It was a great opportunity to finally see what the Palace looks like from the inside. As you might expect, there's plenty of mirrors, chandeliers and gold leaf.

La nocturne des Coteaux de la Citadelle

Yesterday we went to the annual nocturnal opening of the Citadel Hill. It's a sort of festival of lights with many associated events such as concerts, fire eating processions and, of course, food and drink. Most public building were illuminated for the occasion. Here's the Provincial Palace, in shiny green and eerie red.

Château Chokier

Another impressive chateau, built on a rock overlooking the Meuse valley. Château Chokier is privately owned. Apparently it used to have a front yard which was destroyed during a landslide. I hope the rest of the building is based on more solid ground.

Château d'Hermalle 2

Some more photos from the Château d'Hermalle. First, the Cense Cassal, I have no idea what it means but it is obviously some kind of outbuilding.

Then another rear view of the chateau, with the Ferme Castrale (castle farm) on the left.

And, finally, the tower of the Ferme Castrale, seen from the road.

Château d'Hermalle

The Château de Hermalle is a disused chateau in a small town called Hermalle-sous-Huy in the Province of Liège. Despite its beautiful architecture and long history, it is inaccessible to the public, except on special occasions like the Heritage Days.

This is the only photo of the chateau's facade I could take.

More Château Cockerill

Here's some more photos from Château Cockerill!

Château Cockerill

In the 19th century this château used to be the residence of John Cockerill, the pioneer of industrialisation in Liège. It is now the headquarters of CMI, a maintenance and engineering company.

Here's a close-up view of the main courtyard, featuring statues of workers and engineers.

Sunny Palais de Princes-Eveques

Tuesday was the first sunny and warm day we've had in Liège this year. Just look at that gloriously blue sky hanging over the Place Saint Lambert and the Palais des Princes-Eveques.

Here's a wide angle view.

Final Château de Jehay

Here's the last few pictures from the Château de Jehay. I should first mention that there has been a castle in this location since the 13th century but the current buildings were constructed in the 16th and 17th centuries.

This is the main gatehouse, leading to the castle grounds:

This courtyard building is the Visitor's Centre:

A stained glass window inside the Great Hall:

More Château de Jehay

Here's a couple more shots of the Château de Jehay.

Château de Jehay

This chateau, just outside the village of Jehay in the Province of Liège used to belong to the Van de Steen family, until the death of the last Count Van de Steen in 1999. Now, it is the property of the Province and a major tourist attraction. I will post some more photos of the chateau tomorrow.

City walls

Some surviving parts of the old Liège fortifications under the Saint Martin hill. Like most medieval cities, Liège had to take down its walls in order to expand. Only the most inaccessible sections remain standing.