Cutting through the centre of town, rue de l'Ange is Namur's main shopping street, running north into the rue de Fer, where the Musee des Arts Anciens du Namurois (Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; €1.20) has displays of the work of Mosan goldsmiths and silversmiths of the eleventh to thirteenth centuries. Leaving the mus e um, it's a short stroll southwest to the finest of Namur's churches, the Eglise Saint Loup , a Baroque extravagance that overshadows a narrow pedestrianized street, rue du College. Built for the Jesuits between 1621 and 1645, the church boasts a breezy, flowing facade and a sumptuous interior of marble walls and sandstone vaulting. At the west end of rue du College, on place St-Aubain, the Cathedrale St-Aubain might well be the ugliest church in Belgium, a monstrous Neoclassical pile remarkably devoid of any charm. The interior isn't much better, acres of creamy white paint and a choir decorated with melodramatic paintings by Jacques Nicolai, one of Rubens' less talented pupils.

Heading south from the cathedral towards the river, turn left along rue des Brasseurs and then first left for the Musee Felicien Rops , rue Fumal 12 (daily 10am-6pm, closed Mon except during July & Aug; €2.50; www.ciger.be/rops/ ), devoted to the life and work of the eponymous painter, graphic artist and illustrator, who is best-known for his erotic drawings, which reveal an obsession with the macabre and perverse - characteristically skeletons, nuns and priests depicted in compromising poses. The museum possesses a large collection of his works and is currently being extended to provide enough space to display it all. East of here, the Tresor d'Oignies , rue Julie Billiart 17 (Tues-Sat 10am-noon & 2-5pm, Sun 2-5pm; ring for entry; €1.20), is Namur's best museum, located in a nunnery and holding a unique collection of the beautiful gold and silver reliquaries and devotional pieces created by local craftsman Hugo d'Oignies in the first half of the thirteenth century; the nuns give the guided tour in English.

Across the Sambre River Bridge, Namur's Citadel (June-Sept & Easter daily 11am-5pm; April-May, except Easter, Sat & Sun only 11am-5pm; €6) is inevitably the city's major attraction, and deservedly so. Originally constructed in medieval times to defend Namur's strategic position at the junction of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, it was later turned into one of the most impregnable fortresses in Europe by Vauban and the Dutchman Coheoorn. It's a huge, sprawling place, and the entrance fee includes an audiovisual display, a miniature train ride around the grounds, and a guided tour of the deepest underground passages, as well as access to the fortress's wildlife and armaments museums.