With a population of more than 200,000, the industrial center of Charleroi is on e of the largest cities in French-speaking Belgium. Named after the Hapsburg king Charles II, who had the town fortified in 1666, it achieved prominence in the 1800s as the focus of a burgeoning coalmining and steel area known as the Pays Noir. Its busy centre fans out from the River Sambre, dividing into the Lower City, which is largely concerned with commerce and is of little interest to the casual visitor, and the Upper City, an older quarter around Place Charles II.

The highlights are the Photography Museum and the Glass Museum, with its collection of glass ranging from Assyrian necklaces to contemporary glasswork. From Charleroi, it is around 20 kilometres west to the little town of Binche, the site of one of Belgium’s most famous carnivals. Every year in March, parties lead up to a Shrove Tuesday festival.