BOTTOM LINE: The closest thing I've had to a religious experience. After touring about 5 of the 6 Trappist breweries in Belgium, Orval was hands down the most impressive one and, I would daresay, it requires a mandatory visit if you ever find yourself in the area and/or you're a beer lover. The rich history of the Abbey is preserved side-by-side as you can see both the ruins and the newly built Abbey next to it, the latter built in a Tolkien-esque splendor. Too bad you aren't able to access the new Abbey unless you stay there (minimal stay of 3 nights at about 50 euros a night), but the sight-lines you are given are breathtaking to say the least. The grounds that you're allowed to enter have numerous exhibits of the Abbey's history, brewing process, and even a museum further in. Their gift shop had a lot of offerings, including an array of various glasses. Their standard 25 cL glass starts at 3.5 euros and goes up depending on size. It's definitely/obviously cheaper to purchase their glasses from here than any beer store you may find yourself in (not including any dine-and-dash shenanigans). Down the street is their restaurant where you're able to taste their Vert beer, which is only offered on-site, and isn't available commercially or for purchase. Their vert is a lighter, crisper take on their signature pale ale, and it hit the spot on what was a hot and muggy day. Around the back of the Abbey is there beer store that you can purchase/return directly - if I ever lived here, I'd probably be a regular! read more

Enchanting Trappist modern mixed with old ruins. The legend of the countess losing her beloved's wedding ring and a trout swimming it back to her from the stream where the Abbey sources it's beet. read more

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We came to visit the brewery, but it's only open one weekend a year, during September. We still took the tour of the monastery ruins and visited the old brewery. It was interesting walking through the grounds. There are some modern statues on the grounds, also. My favorite part was walking through the small garden that was used to make medicine. Most people buy beer and cheese from the shop here, but there are no samples before you buy, unfortunately. There's a restaurant down the street from the monastery, so I would recommend trying it out there before buying it. We weren't that impressed with the beer and cheese. read more

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The ruins of the Trappist Orval Monastery date back to the C12th and C13th - this is the part of the monastery that is open to tourists, as well as the obligatory gift shop - and a walk round the ruins takes no more than half an hour. By contrast, the functioning, modern-day monastery dates from the 1930s and is built in something of a socialist-modernist style. It is visible in part from the ruins, but not open to tourists. Whilst in the gift shop on the way out, be sure to stock up on the excellent Orval beer - get enough to be able to lay it down for a while as it improves dramatically with a year-plus of age. Also, be careful when opening as 1) it's quite lively and 2) there is quite a bit of sediment. read more

Abbaye d'Orval - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Villers-devant-Orval, WLX

I spend three days at Orval, and it was really a highlight during my trip to Belgium and the Netherlands. Generally monasteries have guest houses. I decided that I would visit at least one Trappist house while in Belgium. I ended up at Orval mostly because they did such a great job of getting back to me. You can just send them e-mail. They also have a very nice web site with information about visiting: http://www.orval.be/ I sent a note in my version of French along with what I was trying to say in English. I got a very nice note back in English. Several other Trappist places either never wrote back, make you call them, or wrote back with stories about the guest house being closed. Space can be limited, so try to plan far ahead, or tell them that you are flexible with dates. First, Orval is a little bit off the beaten track. From Bruxelles, it's at least two trains and then either a bus or a taxi. The station master called the cab for me because the bus is only a few times a day. Orval is in a beautiful forest area in the Ardennes. Unless you are actually staying at Orval, the only other way that you'll get inside is if you go there for church on Sunday (or if you climb the wall in the middle of the night, but let's not go there). Once you are there, they will take you around, show you to your room, and give you a set of keys. The keys also will let you see the ruined abbey (Closters in New York City? It's a trip to McDonalds next to this). They pretty much leave you alone at that point. Ruins are also accessible to non guests at the gift shop. Meals are in a common area and eaten in silence. They might play classical music. Generally the food is simple. That said: - You can pretty much eat as much of their cheese as you want. They make it themselves. It's like a Port Salut. - You'll be given a bottle of Orval beer for lunch and dinner if you want it (you want it). I found everyone VERY charming and helpful; hospitality is a Trappist virtue. The entire place is very beautiful. Orval was rebuilt in the 1930s; They welcome you at all church services, which are in French. These are not open to the public. Maybe the first service at 3 am is too early for you, but I would at least go for evening prayer. Some of the music and buildings are on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDm7cbUubE0 You don't need to know French. But it helps. Many people in the guest house know enough English to help. Now about the beer. If you are not staying at Orval, there is a very lovely restaurant within staggering distance where you can get a decent meal and a drink. You can also get beer, or an Orval glass, at the gift shop. The brewery is on the monastery grounds. It is fed by the many springs that run through the property. You'll know it when you walk past it along the road because suddenly everything smells like yeast. They give tours once or twice a year, usually in mid September for sure. Check the web site for the dates. If you are a beer fan, then I would ABSOLUTELY try to time your trip for one of those times. They never give tours of where they make the cheese. The rooms are small, comfortable, and quiet. There is a bathroom and shower down the hall. I would bring flip flops for the shower. There is also a wireless Internet connection if you need it. Ask for the password. They ask for about 35 euros per day, if you can afford it. Again, that's for a room and three meals. There is also a small fee if you want to use their sheets. There are about 13 monks. They are good men. The money from the beer and guest house helps to support the place, but any surplus each year they give to charity. As a friend of mine likes to quote them, once when asked to make more beer to keep up with demand, the abbot responded: "we make beer so that we can be monks; we are not monks so that we can make beer." read more

Driving the countryside arriving to the Abbaye itself is worth the trip. Many locals can be seen arriving to the brewery exchanging cases of empty bottles for fresh brew. The people there are friendly and helpful, lots of experience with visitors. The cheese and beer is great, enough said. read more

Abbaye d'Orval - Really nice place - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Villers-devant-Orval, WLX

Trappist Abbey which produces the famous beer. You cannot tour the brewery. You can tour the ruins of the old abbey which is quite fascinating. The area itself is lovely. Howeever, beer thrillseekers you can't tour the brewery or the new, functioning abbey. However the monks will gladly sell you fresh beer at the gift shop and there's a restaurant literally a stone's throw away where you can dine and enjoy fresh beer. read more

Out of all of the abbeys that we visited (or tried to visit) this one was the best. You get access to a bunch of the buildings (though not the brewery or cheese making place) and displays are setup everywhere that interactively give you the history of the abbey and explain the beer and cheese making process. The place is very nice to see and includes buildings that are intact as well as ruins. There is a small gift shop and all of the prices are very reasonable. Make sure to include Orval in your list of places to go if you are touring Belgian Abbeys. read more