For wheelchair users and handbike riders, a Belgian "cycling route" or "walking route" is not always what the name suggests. Flemish cycle node networks are usually easy to navigate; some Walloon routes run through hilly terrain on unpaved paths. Below is an honest selection of Belgian routes we feel confident recommending for handbikes or sturdy power chairs - grouped by region and with an estimate of the difficulty level.
Flanders - flat and well paved
City routes
Brussels Art Nouveau
Architecture route along Horta, Hankar, and the finest art-nouveau facades of Brussels. Flat city-centre routes, good asphalt. Combine with our Brussels blog.
Brussels Museums
Flat museum tour past the MIM, Magritte, BELvue and the Royal Museums. Entirely within a 3 km radius on the Mont des Arts. Smooth paving since the 2018 redevelopment.
Antwerp Museums
From KMSKA to MAS, with stops at Mode/MOMU/FOMU. Flat city-centre route. Combine with our Antwerp city trip.
Ghent Museums
STAM, Design Museum, MSK, S.M.A.K. - all within 4 km of walking/rolling distance. Flat route through the Citadelpark.
Bruges City Centre
The classic Bruges route. Main route is step-free, a few side streets have cobblestones - the Bruges 2-day blog points out the flattest navigation.
Provincial and nature routes
Coast and Sea
The Belgian coast from De Panne to Knokke-Heist via the Coast Tram. Completely flat walking/cycling promenade along the sea. See our coast blog for details.
Flemish Breweries
A tour past Westmalle, Westvleteren, Halve Maan and Het Anker. Doable in 2-3 days by car. Not all the breweries themselves are wheelchair-accessible - but the visitor centres are.
Flemish Abbeys
Tour past the best-known Flemish abbeys. See the abbeys overview blog for accessibility details per abbey.
Flemish Libraries
Niche but interesting: a tour of the most beautiful Flemish city libraries (almost all recently renovated, so step-free).
Kortrijk and the Flemish Ardennes
West Flemish route through Kortrijk, Oudenaarde and the rolling Flemish Ardennes. Worth noting: a few hills - opt for the Scheldt valley where the route is flatter.
Wallonia - fewer flat routes, but not impossible
Meuse Valley Dinant
Along the Meuse between Dinant and Namur. The riverside section is flat and paved (RAVeL route). The heights around the Citadelle can be reached via an adapted lift - see Citadelle Dinant and the Namur city trip.
Liège Meuse Valley
Meuse riverbank route in and around Liège. Flat RAVeL paths. Combine with our Liège city trip.
Arlon-Gaume
Southern Belgian route through the Gaume region. Includes a few uneven paths - manageable for handbike riders with sturdy tyres, but limited to the urban sections for a regular wheelchair.
Hainaut Castles
Tour past Beloeil, Seneffe and Modave. A car route - not intended as a wheelchair cycling tour. See the castles blog.
What handbike riders need
Handbike riders are typically used to much longer distances than people walking or rolling on foot. For them, RAVeL (Wallonia) and the Flemish cycle node networks are wide open:
- RAVeL Wallonia: 1500+ km of paved paths, mostly on former railway embankments - almost always flat, often more than 30 km without interruption
- Limburg cycle nodes: the densest network in Flanders, and the flattest region
- Coastal cycle route (the Belgian section of the North Sea Cycle Route, running along the entire coastline)
For these large networks we deliberately do not pick a single starting route, but instead point you to:
- Visit Wallonia RAVeL (official site)
- Toerisme Vlaanderen cycling routes (official site)
Practical tips for your wheelchair or handbike tour
- Check in advance whether the route is flat and paved - use our location pages per route, and check the
surface:value - For handbike: a good tyre with grip is essential, especially on RAVeL where old protected railway embankments can be muddy after rain
- Combine with train transport: NMBS assistance helps you load a handbike or wheelchair - see our NMBS guide
- Plan toilet stops - RAVeL routes are long and adapted sanitary facilities are scarce along the way. Our station overview blog shows where to find an accessible toilet quickly
- Coastal promenade in July-August: busier, plan for before 11am or after 5pm
What we do not recommend
- Classic walking trails in the High Fens - boggy and uneven
- Unpaved cycle paths in the Ardennes - limited for handbike, impossible for a wheelchair
- Urban hill paths such as the Coteaux de la Citadelle in Liège, or the Bueren staircase (374 steps)
In closing
Belgium has a far richer route offering for wheelchair users and handbike riders than is often assumed - especially along the Meuse, the Scheldt, the coast, and in Flemish city centres. The difference between "can I ride here?" and "is it comfortable?" often comes down to the specific route choice within a region. Plan your tour in advance and deliberately choose paved, flat sections.
Have you ridden a Belgian route that is not listed here, or do you have corrections? Let us know - first-hand information about routes is particularly valuable.