Save up to 50% on River Cruises. Book soon for biggest savings!
- 2-for-1 on Viking
Enjoy 2-for-1 discounts & half-off
airfare with a Viking river cruise!
- Save up to 50% on Europe
Find the best deal on all brands
on a European river cruise!
- 2-for-1 on Viking
8.0/10 (39874 reviews)
Enjoy great savings on all-inclusive river cruises in our new 2024 sale. Unforgettable experiences on board and on shore. River cruise 2024 sale is now on
jetlinecruise.com has been visited by 10K+ users in the past month
Cruise Deals 2024 to 2025. Exclusive Cruise Packages
Search results
The hydraulic boat lifts of the Canal du Centre. Situated in the province of Hainaut, these 4 hydraulic lifts, built beginning of the XIXth century, are standing monuments to the Belgian Industrial revolution. These timeless masterpieces, listed by UNESCO, can be visited.
The lifts on the Canal du Centre are a series of four hydraulic boat lifts near the town of La Louvière in Belgium which are classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. All four are located on the Canal du Centre in Belgium's historic sillon industriel industrial belt.
- Lots of Choice
- Immersive Experiences
- All-Inclusive Fares
- Hassle Free
- Small and Intimate
- Popularity
- Fewer Onboard Options
- Relatively Structured
- Couples
- Water Levels
I thought it would be interesting to look at both the upsides and the downsides of river cruising, so let’s start by looking at the positives. Probably one of the biggest pros of European river cruising is the enormous amount of choice. There’s a huge choice of rivers – you can cruise on pretty much all of the major rivers within continental Europe...
The second biggest pro is that it’s an immersive and in-depth way to explore a region. If you’re cruising the Danube, for example, you’ll travel through several different countries, through lots of beautiful scenery and see a lot of little towns, allowing you to get really close to the culture. I think what’s great about a river cruise is that you’...
Another big pro about European river cruising is that pretty much all of the lines on the European rivers have largely all-inclusive fares, unlike ocean cruising where there’s often the fare and then lots and lots of add-ons. There are very few extras once you’re on board. Normally, the key inclusions will be your accommodation, all your dining, an...
Another great pro of river cruising is that it’s incredibly hassle-free, I think even more stress-free than ocean cruising. On a river cruise, everything is pretty much decided for you. Once you’ve booked the cruise and the destination, there’s nothing else to worry about because you unpack, of course, and the ship becomes your sailing hotel until ...
Another really great plus is the fact that it’s a much smaller, more intimate experience. Obviously on an ocean cruise ship, you can be one of thousands of guests. Even if you’re on some of the smaller lines, there are going to be at least a couple of hundred guests. River cruise ships in Europe are probably going to be between about 150 and 200 gu...
Probably one of the cons of river cruising in Europe is just how popular it’s becoming. As I already mentioned, there are lots of river cruise lines, and more and more people are cruising the rivers all the time, so the places are getting busier, because obviously there are only a certain amount of rivers, and they all tend to go to the same places...
The second possible con for some people, especially if you’re used to ocean cruising, is that the ships are small and there’s not a great deal of choice. You’ll have been used to a wide choice of dining venues, gyms, big production shows… lots going on. That’s not the case on a river cruise ship. They have to be a certain size and height to be able...
Another possible con of European river cruising, particularly if you’re the sort of traveller that likes being independent and doing your own thing, is the whole river cruising process is relatively regimented. It’s a lot similar to joining an escorted tour, because it has a lot of the same attributes to it. You’ll find the days laid out with fairl...
The next possible con depends a little bit on the type of traveller you are. I would say river cruising at the moment in Europe is mostly geared towards couples, and it does tend to be a little bit towards an older demographic, say from 50 to 70 and even older. If you’re a solo traveller, for example, you’ll find that it’s a pretty expensive way of...
Another possible downside of river cruising is the fluctuating water levels. If you’re ocean cruising, you can experience adverse weather, wind in particular, that can disrupt ships getting in and out of ports. In Europe, the issue is water levels, with the water being either too high or too low. There can be various times of the year where you hav...
- Hydraulic Boat Lifts. Bestriding the Canal du Centre close to La Louvière are four century-old technological marvels that look like they might have been dreamed up by H.G.
- Strépy-Thieu Boatlift. As we’ll see, the Canal du Centre was widened in a long-term modern project, completed in 2002. This bypassed the old boatlifts, putting all their work on the shoulders of one record-breaking megastructure.
- Canal du Centre. More on the actual waterway, which is just over 20 kilometres and links the Meuse with the Scheldt. This piece of infrastructure had been centuries in the pipeline as a means of transporting coal, but the almost 100-metre difference in elevation between the two rivers was prohibitive until human technology could catch up at the turn of the 20th century.
- Keramis-Centre de la Ceramique. The old, listed Boch earthenware manufactory on the edge of the city centre now holds this first-rate museum dedicated to ceramics.
La Louvière (French pronunciation: [la luvjɛʁ] ⓘ; Walloon: El Lovire) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium.
Here is our list of the 10 best European river cruise lines for every traveler out there. Effective July 1st. Due to new regulations, prices now include all taxes and fees.
People also ask
What is La Louvière known for?
When did La Louvière become a city?
What is the bestriding Canal du Centre near La Louvière?
What does Château La Louvière mean?
Capital of the Centre region, La Louvière, also named the Wolves city, is sure to delight those curious about history, culture and folkloric traditions. Let’s talk about its rich industrial past: the Canal du Centre, its hundred-year-old boat lift, the mining site of Bois du Luc.
