An October Saturday in Gaume: Foraging, Polyphony and Village Antiques in the Belgian Ardennes
Saturday 4 October 2026 in the Gaume, Belgian Luxembourg province: guided mushroom walks, polyphonic concerts, a mineral fair and a village flea market. A curated outing guide for curious travellers.
An October Saturday in Gaume: Pick, Listen, Dig for Treasures
On 4 October, the Gaume plays her finest autumn score. Between mossy undergrowth heavy with porcini, an old church filling with polyphonic voices, and a village spilling curiosities onto the cobblestones, southern Wallonia hands the curious traveller a day of rare, unhurried richness.
Under the beeches, the hunt is on
Meet at the Pont de fer at 9:30 a.m. for a guided mushroom foray led by Pascal Gérard and Laurence Gavroy. Ceps, chanterelles and the odd rare species reward those willing to tilt their chin up toward the canopy and down toward the moss.
Chantegaume: a hymn to Gaumais soil
Late afternoon belongs to Florenville, where the second performance of the Ode à la Gaume concert takes the stage, carried by the Chantegaume choir and the Petits Violons. Polyphonic songs rooted in local terroir, sung in a stone church that still holds the echo of abbey monks. Not easily explained; simply felt.
Minerals and fossils: thirty-eight years of patience
In Arlon, the 38th minerals and fossils fair gathers collectors, wide-eyed children and geology romantics. Amethysts, trilobites, golden pyrite: four billion years of Earth history laid out over a single Saturday.
The village flea market
End the day at the village brocante strung out along the main streets. No ticket, no gift shop — just a wobbly old stool, a sun-faded postcard, and an hour of conversation with the neighbour behind the trestle table.
The Gaume is best savoured slowly. And an evening in your own gîte, wood-fire crackling, lingers in a way no grand tour ever will.
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